ISCHE R2A

R2A Fellows

Alaba C Angole


Alaba is a PhD Social Anthropology candidate at the University of Oxford with an interdisciplinary background in Chemistry and Law. Her current research delves into understanding the infrastructure of the skin lightening industry in Zambia and explores the mechanisms driving the widespread use of skin lightening products among Zambian youth. Her ethnographic study aims to illuminate the interconnected networks and channels influencing the movement and utilization of these products. Additionally, she delves into the multifaceted concept of toxicity, examining scientific and institutional definitions alongside the affective dimensions and perceptions of toxicity experienced by everyday users of skin lightening products.

Amy Kuritzky


Amy Kuritzky is a PhD student in Sociocultural Anthropology and MS student in Environmental Health Sciences at the University of Michigan. She is interested in environmental justice and health equity, and her current research looks at ambient hydrogen sulfide exposure in Michigan. She is passionate about experimenting with research methods, including bringing together ethnographic and quantitative data.

Arbor Quist


Arbor Quist is a postdoctoral fellow in environmental health at the University of Southern California. She received her PhD in epidemiology from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Arbor conducts community-engaged research that addresses environmental injustice, especially related to disasters and malodors. Her current research examines the health effects of a hydrogen sulfide crisis in southern Los Angeles County, CA, USA.

Battsetseg Ulziikhuu


Battsetseg was born and raised in Mongolia and currently resides in Vancouver, Canada. She completed her PhD in environmental health at Simon Fraser University, following her master’s degree at McGill University. She has over ten years of experience in industrial and occupational health and safety. Her research focuses on prenatal exposure to environmental toxicants such as air pollution and children’s early development, with a specific emphasis on neurocognitive development. 

Connie Valencia


Connie Valencia is a first- generation Latina researcher and Presidential Sustainability Solutions Postdoctoral Fellow with the Department of Population and Public Health Sciences at the Keck School of Medicine at the University of Southern California.  Connie has a PhD and Masters in Public Health focused on community and environmental health.  Connie’s research interests are focused on lived experiences, mixed methods studies, environmental justice, air pollution and addressing social determinants of health.  Connie’s dissertation work focused on assessing how neighborhood resources mitigate residents' experiences living in communities overburdened by various environmental hazards.

Emily Pennoyer


Emily is a PhD student at Boston University School of Public Health. Her research uses epidemiological methods and human biomonitoring data to estimate dietary and non-dietary sources to per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS). She is also interested in class-based approaches to addressing environmental toxicants. Emily is a three-time recipient of the Foreign Language Area Studies (FLAS) fellowship through the Department of Education and African Studies Center at Boston University and has field experience in Tanzania and Ghana.  

ISCHE R2A Fellowship Members

Gina Castiblanco-Rubio


Gina is a Visiting Assistant Professor at the Department of Dental Public Health and Dental Informatics, Indiana University School of Dentistry. As a dentist with a background in biomedical sciences and environmental epidemiology, she is interested in the intersection of oral and environmental health. Her research has focused on fluoride as an environmental exposure and its effects on oral and general health in vulnerable populations.

Grant Tore


Grant Tore is a PhD student in the Department of Environmental Health and Engineering at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and a trainee in the Johns Hopkins Education and Research Center (ERC) for Occupational Safety and Health. His research interests focus on the intersection between occupational and home environments and understanding new strategies to prevent exposures, especially among vulnerable populations, including children. His dissertation project focuses on the impact of heat stress and pesticide exposures on kidney function among agricultural workers in the United States and Chile.

Iben Have Beck


Iben is a postdoctoral researcher in the Environmental Medicine group at the University of Southern Denmark. She investigates associations between prenatal and early life exposure to per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) and health outcomes in children primarily from the Odense Child Cohort. She has investigated the complex role of breastfeeding associated to early life PFAS exposure and neuropsychological health outcomes and is interested in dissemination and communication to decision makers and the general population.

Kristina Brandveen


Kristina Brandveen is a PhD student within the Joint Doctoral Program in Public Health at San Diego State University and the University of California, San Diego. She holds a Master of Public Health from the Colorado School of Public Health. Her research implores health behavior applications to environmental and occupational epidemiology for health equity. Her dissertation measures the perception of risk using industrial products in family shoe-making workshops of Ticul, Yucatán, México.

Leonel Córdoba-Gamboa


Leonel is a professor from the Geography School at the National University in Costa Rica. He completed a master's degree in public health and a doctorate in environmental health. His dissertation was on lead exposure, stunted growth, and early childhood development. Leonel is interested in pesticide exposure, environmental injustice, and early childhood development.

Lissa Fortes Soares


Lissa is a postdoctoral associate with the Program in Public Health at Stony Brook Medicine where she studies the association between chronic cadmium exposure and loss of muscle strength. Her dissertation work examined harmful methylmercury and beneficial selenium and omega-3 fatty acid concentrations in fish in Suriname with regards to neurodevelopmental risk in children. Lissa is interested in nutrient-heavy metal interactions.

Maria Jose Talayero Schettino


Maria is a DrPH candidate at the George Washington University where she studies birth defects and environmental exposures in Mexico. She is passionate about raising awareness around environmental exposures and health hazards and she’s an avid advocate for children’s environmental health in LMIC regulatory settings.

Natália Yumi Noronha


Natália is a PhD candidate at the University of Groningen – The Netherlands, interested in the intersection of epigenetics and lifestyle. She was born in São Paulo, Brazil, and studied at the University of São Paulo (USP). Her PhD research at The University of Groningen focuses on unraveling the interlinks of DNA methylation, heavy metals, and obesity. With a dedication to bridging the gap between research and society, she strives to make science accessible and relevant to people, supporting studies and initiatives that focus on health interventions to improve the quality of life for people from disadvantaged communities. 

Piyush Kumar


Piyush is a postdoctoral fellow at Dept of Environmental Medicine and Public Health, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York City, working at the interface of environmental health and imaging techniques to elucidate biomarkers for lifelong exposure and stressors. He is an associate editor of Journal of Science Policy and Governance and is involved with the National Science Policy Network.

Rafael Buralli


Rafael is a postdoctoral researcher in environmental epidemiology at the University of São Paulo, Brazil. He has a Masters and PhD in Public Health, and experience in assessing the health impacts of environmental and occupational exposures and public policies, especially for vulnerable populations. Rafael believes that no one should be left behind.

Rebecca Mlelwa


Rebecca Mlelwa is a PhD student at the University of Cape Town, South Africa. She holds a Master of Science in Environmental and Occupational Health. Her research focuses on children's environmental health, examining Brominated Flame Retardants in toys, childcare products, and intervention strategies. Rebecca has over six years of experience as a lecturer in higher education. Her expertise includes curriculum development, course designing and facilitation in traditional face-to-face classrooms, online platforms and blended-learning environments.

Rebecca Robbins


Rebecca is a PhD Candidate within the department of Environmental and Occupational Health at the Milken Institute of Public Health at The George Washington University. Rebecca earned her MSc from the University of Charleston and later went on to practice as a physician assistant in the fields of neuropsychiatry and neuroradiology. Her current research focuses on how early-life and adult exposure to chemicals such as herbicides, per and polyfluoro alkyl substances (PFAS) and polychlorinated biphenyl groups (PCBs) impact human reproductive health outcomes.

Savannah Sturla Irizarry


Savannah (she/her) is a PhD candidate in Environmental Health Sciences at the School of Public Health at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. She is broadly interested in how environmental exposures contribute to disparities in adverse birth and developmental outcomes in Latinx communities. Additionally, Savannah aims to integrate biomarker epidemiology with mixed-methods and community-based frameworks in her work. Her dissertation research focuses on prenatal exposure to metals as a mixture, child neurodevelopment, and multi-sectoral perspectives on drinking water contamination in Puerto Rico.

Siti Nurshahida Nazli


Shida is an academician at Universiti Teknologi MARA, Malaysia who is now doing her postdoctoral research fellowship at the Centre for Children’s Health Research, University of Queensland, Australia. Her PhD is in Environmental Health and Safety, focusing on the dynamics of indoor pollutants and their profound effects on human health. She is passionate about exploring the intersections between air quality and its impact on children.  

Sophie Blaauwendraad


Sophie is a PhD student at the Generation R Study Group in Rotterdam, the Netherlands. In this longitudinal birth cohort, she studies the association of prenatal exposure to bisphenols, phthalates and organophosphate pesticides with child health outcomes. She has a masters in Medicine and Clinical Epidemiology. Sophie is interested in dissemination of the hazardous effects of environmental chemicals to policy, clinicians, and the general population.

Victor Florez-Garcia


Victor is a PhD candidate at the University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee. His dissertation examines the relationship between metal mixtures and child cognition in Mexican children. He has a master's degree in Epidemiology and a bachelor's in Biology. Victor is interested in examining the effect of environmental exposures on perinatal health, women's health, and international health.

2023 Fellows
Cecilia Alcala
Abosede Alli
Jenn Ames
Alaba Angole
Iben Beck
Sietske Berghuis
Rafael Buralli
Patricia Cintora
Leonel Córdoba Gamboa
Carly Goodman
Meaghan Hall
Carly Hyland
Piyush Kumar
Jamil Lane
Rebecca Mlelwa
Emily Pennoyer
Lissa Soares
Kam Sripada
Battsetseg Ulzikhuu
Dwan Vilcine
Maria Jose Talayero Schettino
Savannah Sturla
Nátalia Yumi


2023 Mentors
Aderonke Akinkugbe
Joe Braun
Cynthia Curl
Ruth Etzel
Paulina Farías
Alexis Handal
Kim Harley
Megan Horton
Amanda Mbikwana
Rob McConnell
Nosiku Muyinda
Youssef Oulhote
Lesliam Quriós- Alcalá
Jennifer Sass
Peter Sly
Marcela Tamayo Ortiz
Mara Téllez-Rojo
Kam Sripada
Battsetseg Ulzikhuu
Christine Till
Alicia Timme-Laragy
Nse Witherspoon


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Children are essential to our future and the continuation of human life. Children around the world are confronted by multiple environmental threats to health, including toxins, air pollution, psychosocial stress, and climate change. Infants and children are often exquisitely vulnerable to these threats; exposures during critical windows of vulnerability have been associated with a wide range of childhood diseases. Early life exposures can also increase the risk of chronic diseases in adulthood.