EaRTH Team

Executive Committee

Tracey Woodruff Director

Dr. Tracey Woodruff is Director of the UCSF Environmental Research and Translation for Health (EaRTH) Center at UCSF. She is also the Director of and Alison S. Carlson Endowed Professor for the Program on Reproductive Health and the Environment (PRHE) and is a Professor in the UCSF Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Sciences and the Philip R. Lee Institute for Health Policy Studies. She is a recognized expert on environmental pollution exposures and impacts on health, with a focus on pregnancy, infancy and childhood, and her innovations in translating and communicating scientific findings for clinical and policy audiences. Before joining UCSF, Dr. Woodruff was a senior scientist and policy advisor for the U.S. EPA’s Office of Policy.

 

Diana Laird Deputy Director

Dr. Diana Laird is Deputy Director of the EaRTH Center and head of the Pilot Grant program. She is an Associate Professor in the UCSF Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Sciences and the Eli and Edythe Broad Center for Regeneration Medicine and Stem Cell Research where she runs a research laboratory. Her work focuses on the precursors of egg and sperm in the embryo, and how their developmental trajectories as well as environmental inputs affect their future function in the adult and during aging. Current efforts include understanding how gestational exposures to endocrine-disrupting chemicals and stress hormones may be remembered by developing eggs or sperm. Dr. Laird was recognized as an NIH New Innovator and received an award from the W.M. Keck Foundation for Biomedical Research.

 

Susan Fisher Bioassay Facility Core

Dr. Susan Fisher is the Co-Director of the Bioassay Facility Core of the EaRTH Center. She is a Professor in the UCSF Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Sciences. She is jointly appointed in the Dept. of Anatomy. Dr. Fisher is the Director of the UCSF Human Embryonic Stem Cell Program and Faculty Director of the UCSF Sandler-Moore Mass Spectrometry Facility. Ongoing research projects in her lab include applying mass spectrometry-based approaches to compile protein catalogues with a particular focus on biomarker discovery in relationship to cancer, environmental exposures and pregnancy. They are also studying disease-related changes in posttranslational modifications with an emphasis on glycosylation.

 

Jennifer Fung

Dr. Jennifer Fung is the Co-Director of the Bioassay Facility Core of the EaRTH Center. She is an Associate Professor in the UCSF Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Sciences.

 

Dr. Peggy Reynolds is Co-Director for the Integrated Health Sciences Facility Core for the EaRTH Center. She is a Professor in the UCSF Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics. An environmental epidemiologist, with an emphasis on studies of risks for cancer, much of her research has focused on population exposures to air pollution, agricultural pesticides, and persistent organic pollutants. She is currently engaged in a variety of projects focused on women’s health including collaborative research on chemical exposures in California’s female workforce, drinking water contaminants, air pollutants, and mechanisms of cancer risk associated with sleep disruption.

 

Erin DeMicco, MPH, CCRC, is Co-Director for the Integrated Health Sciences Facility Core for the EaRTH Center. She is also the Associate Director of the Research in the Program on Reproductive Health and the Environment (PRHE) in the UCSF Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Sciences. Ms. DeMicco has 18 years’ experience in research study design and coordination. She manages environmental health research in a diverse population of pregnant women and children and has expertise in human subjects research regulations, recruitment strategies, survey design, data collection methods, and chemical results reporting.

 

Dr. Rashmi Joglekar is the Director of the Community Engagement Core. She also leads the Science, Policy & Engagement team at PRHE. She comes with a wealth of knowledge and understanding of how toxic chemicals impact susceptible populations and communities and is skilled in addressing these issues with decision-makers in Washington, DC. Rashmi completed her PhD in the Integrated Toxicology and Environmental Health Program at Duke University, specializing in neurodevelopmental toxicology. Previously, she was a staff scientist at Earthjustice, where she partnered with lawyers and community leaders working on behalf of impacted communities to build the strongest scientific case for federal agencies to protect communities from harmful chemical exposures.

 

James Earl Schier Nolan, MPH, is the Associate Director of the Community Engagement Core. His work focuses on bridge building and strategic community-researcher collaborations. Informed by intersectional analysis, social determinants of health and structural violence, this work engages partners in environmental and climate work, contextualized to better address the upstream drivers of environmental injustices. He brings an emphasis on diversifying STEM fields and harnessing local assets through community based participatory research (CBPR). This approach helps to build awareness, expand capacity and engages community members in co-designing more relevant and effective health interventions. He has managed a range of CBPR projects on pesticides, cleaning products, and air pollution disparities.

 

Center Staff

Alana D'Aleo

Alana D'Aleo is the Center Administrator for the EaRTH Center. She serves as a project manager for the Center providing overall organizational support to Cores and members, drives communication and outreach efforts, manages all budgets and awards, and supports the implementation of EaRTH's initiatives.

 

 

 

 

 

Meet our Center Members!