Department of Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences (EOHS)

Welcome

The Department provides graduate education, engage in public health practice and conduct both basic and applied research. Our faculty is actively engaged in research and teaching on the assessment, control and prevention of environmental and occupational chemical, biological, physical and work organization hazards and in better understanding their impacts on human health and safety.

A special focus of our department is the impact of the urban built environment on public health. We view the "built environment" broadly to include:

proximity to public amenities such as parks and recreation facilities
the availability of healthy (and unhealthy) sources of food
the physical environment, including air pollution and unhealthy buildings
the social environment, including violence and socioeconomic disadvantage

Together with other departments at SUNY-Downstate and with community groups, we are developing a geographic information system for Brooklyn that uses state-of-the-art database utilities and mapping software for better understanding risks and rates of disease and for developing programs to improve the health of Brooklyn's citizens.

Other faculty interests include:

the health and safety of public employees in New York City and State
reducing health disparities due to environmental and occupational hazards and socioeconomic status
programs for balancing work and family, reducing workplace violence and reducing work stress
risks to maternal-fetal health from environmental contaminants

Occupational and environmental health often involves multidisciplinary teams and we therefore work closely and collaboratively with:

other departments throughout SUNY Downstate Health Sciences University, in public health, the basic sciences and clinical sciences.
city, state and federal agencies, community organizations, labor unions and others.

Our Department offers students exciting opportunities for graduate education:

the Master of Public Health student will develop the competencies needed to identify, assess, and manage environmental and occupational health problems.
the Doctor of Public Health program prepares a practitioner to use approaches for recognizing and assessing environmental and occupational hazards and for developing programs designed to reduce risk and prevent injury and disease.

Sincerely,

Laura Geer, PhD, MHS
Chair, Department of Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences

Associate Professor, Department of Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences

Recent Presentations & Publications

Dr. Paul Landsbergis, Associate Professor of Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences, is senior author of a new chapter written with a team of international researchers on the impact of urban public transport work on the mental health of transport workers: Cendales BE, Gómez-Ortiz V, Useche SA, Cedillo L, Stephenson DWH, Landsbergis P. Mental health outcomes among urban public transport workers: A systematic literature review. Journal of Transport & Health (in press), https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jth.2024.101804
Dr. Laura Geer, Chair and Associate Professor of Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences, was quoted in an article in The Hill on the climate crisis and the role of maternal mental health as a factor in climate resilience.
SUNY Downstate EOHS master’s student, Amber Cadore, published a climate equity op-ed Greening Brooklyn: A Prescription for Health and Equity in the BkReader for Dr. Lori Hoepner’s public health course. Dr. Hoepner is an assistant professor of the Department of Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences.
Dr. Lori Hoepner, Assistant Professor of Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences, was a 2023-24 New York Academy of Sciences Scientist in Residence at the High School for Sports Management in Brooklyn. Dr. Hoepner led 9th graders in a project to study air pollution in their school using handheld air monitors.
Dr. Laura Geer, Chair and Associate Professor of Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences, was been named a 2024 Climate and Health Scholar by the National Institutes of Health (NIH). As one of only seven individuals nationwide to receive this honor, Dr. Geer will contribute to NIH’s initiatives addressing health threats from climate change, focusing on enhancing health resilience globally.
Dr. Lori Hoepner, Assistant Professor of the Department of Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences, has won the Association for Child and Adolescent Mental Health (ACAMH) Awards' "Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry" Best Paper Award 2023 as co-author on the paper "Prenatal exposure to air pollution is associated with altered brain structure, function, and metabolism in childhood" with researchers at Columbia University and the University of Southern California. Dr. Hopener's winning paper can be accessed at the linked below https://lnkd.in/e3fAWMua.
Dr. Paul Landsbergis, Associate Professor of Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences, is senior author of a new chapter written with a team of international researchers on the global epidemic of cardiovascular disease and its work-relatedness: Landsbergis P, Garcia-Rivas J, Juarez A, Choi BK, Dobson M, Gomez V, Krause N, Li J, Schnall PL. Occupational Psychosocial Factors and Cardiovascular Disease. In Tetrick LE, Fisher GG, Ford MT, Quick JC (Eds.) Handbook of Occupational Health Psychology, Volume 3 (pp. 309-339). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association, 2024. https://psycnet.apa.org/record/2024-16899-016
Dr. Lori Hoepner, Assistant Professor of the Department of Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences, and her collaborators have published a research article titled "Associations Between Nutrients in One-carbon Metabolism and Fetal DNA Methylation in Pregnancies With or Without Gestational Diabetes Mellitus," in Clinical Epigenetics. Download the full article: https://lnkd.in/dR_J-F-p