Christine Samuel-Nakamura worked for multiple years in several Indian Health Service (IHS) and tribal hospitals/clinics as a nationally board certified Family Nurse Practitioner (FNP). A portion of her clinical work focused on chronic health conditions such as diabetes, renal failure, autoimmune disorders, and cancer. Her clinical work with these chronic health conditions led her to contemplate whether there is a connection between these chronic conditions and the community environment. These hypotheses ultimately led to her research question and work examining environmental contamination from U and other heavy metals. Dr. Samuel-Nakamura received her doctorate from UCLA and her dissertation study focused on U and associated heavy metals in the food chain on the Diné (Navajo) reservation. Her postdoctoral work examined U and heavy metals in a common AI herbal tea plant. Before joining the UCLA SON, Dr. Samuel-Nakamura was a Lecturer in the UCLA Interdepartmental Program in American Indian Studies (IDP-AIS). She is a member of the Diné Nation.
Dr. Krause is the former Director of the NIOSH Southern California Education and Research Center and Professor in Environmental Health Sciences at UCLA. Before his appointment at UCLA, Dr. Krause has been associate professor in residence in the Division of Occupational and Environmental Medicine of the Department of Medicine at the University of California San Francisco. He received his medical degree and a doctoral degree in orthopedic medicine from the University of Hamburg, Germany, and a doctoral degree in epidemiology from the University of California Berkeley. Dr. Krause retired from UCLA in 2021 but remains an emeritus member.
The focus of the laboratory is to determine the reasons for differential mouse strain responses to chemical agents that cause birth defects (teratogens). One of the malformations that has been induced by a wide variety of teratogens is postaxial forelimb ectrodactyly (absence of digits with the highest prevalence in the fifth digit then the fourth then the third, etc.) which occurs preferentially on the right limb as opposed to the left limb. This malformation has been produced in mice with acetazolamide, cadmium, carbon dioxide, dimethadione, diphenylhydantoin, ethanol, hyperthermia, retinoic acid (13-cis- and all-trans-) and valproic acid. These compounds include many documented human teratogens. In all cases where both the C57BL/6 and SWV mouse strains have been examined with these agents, the C57BL/6 strain is highly susceptible compared to the SWV strain. The goal of our experiments is to determine the reason for this consistent differential susceptibility. Alternatively, several teratogens have been examined in the same two strains for the ability to induce the neural tube defect exencephaly. For this malformation, the relative strain susceptibility is dependent on the specific teratogen. Thus, for some agents the C57BL/6 mouse is more susceptible and for other agents the SWV is more susceptible. Approaches that have been used to generate hypotheses regarding the cause of these strain differences include whole genome scanning followed by positional cloning, gene expression profiling, proteomic analysis, determining synexpression of limb development genes during the embryonic period following administration of the teratogen, and examining other malformations induced by the teratogens when administered at different gestational times that share the same strain susceptibility. Ongoing experiments are designed to determine the reasons for the different strain responses.
Timothy Malloy teaches Environmental Aspects of Business Transactions, Regulatory Lawyering, Regulation of the Business Firm, Environmental Policy and Politics, and Contracts. With Dr. John Froines of the School of Public Health, Malloy is Faculty Director of the interdisciplinary UCLA Sustainable Technology and Policy Program. After receiving his law degree, Professor Malloy clerked for Judge Donald W. VanArtsdalen of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. He joined the UCLA faculty in 1998, after spending a combined 11 years in practice at private firms and at the United States Environmental Protection Agency, Region III. Professor Malloy’s research interests focus on environmental, chemical and nanotechnology policy, regulatory policy, and organizational theory and decision analysis, with particular emphasis on the relationship between regulatory design and implementation and the structure of business organizations. In addition, he has worked and written extensively in the area of risk governance and prevention-based regulation, melding together his academic interests with his work in the Sustainable Technology Policy Program.
Dr. Yifang Zhu is a Professor of the Environmental Health Sciences Department in UCLA Fielding School of Public Health. She graduated from Tsinghua University in 1997 and received her Ph.D. in Environmental Health Sciences from UCLA in 2003. Her research interest is primarily in the field of air pollution, environmental exposure assessment, and aerosol science and technology. Specifically, she is interested in quantitative exposure/risk assessments on ultrafine particles from various indoor and outdoor sources. Her current research focuses on measuring and modeling ultrafine particle emissions, transport, and transformation on and near roadways as well as in various indoor environments. Her scholarship and creativity has been recognized by several national awards, including the Walter A. Rosenblith New Investigator Award from the Health Effects Institute in 2007, the Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) Award from the National Science Foundation in 2009, and the Haagen-Smit Prize from Atmosphere Environment in 2011. Dr. Zhu was appointed to California Air Resource Board (CARB)’s Research Screening Committee in January 2014.
Professor of Environmental Health Sciences (EHS) and a faculty member of the UCLA Center for Occupational and Environmental Health (COEH), came to the Department in 1989 from the University of Cincinnati where he had been Assistant and Associate Professor since 1978. As of the end of 2010, he had 161 peer-reviewed publications including 126 in peer-reviewed journals, 25 book chapters, 4 books, six EPA criteria documents,134 national & international meeting presentations, and 46 keynote addresses at international and national meetings. In addition, he has had 41 grants awarded as Principal Investigator at UCLA. He has organized 13 scientific roundtables and symposia at national and international meetings. He is a Fellow of the American Institute of Chemists and the American Industrial Hygiene Association. He formed the first national committee for risk assessment of skin absorbed chemicals. He reviews for many journals, and many government agencies. He has been a member of TOXNET, the NIOSH Board of Advisors, and currently reviews for the National Toxicology Program.
Dr. Candace Tsai is an Associate Professor in the Department of Environmental Health Sciences at UCLA. She is a Certified Industrial Hygienist (CIH) and has several years of practical experience in industry and business settings. She has been working on multidisciplinary research projects and collaborates with scientists in the U.S. and internationally. She has applied her expertise in research and teaching, in the fields of health science, aerosol science, toxicology, engineering, human protection, and policy. She serves as a board member in the Sustainable Nanotechnology Organization, as Associate Editor for Journal of Nanoparticle Research, and on the Editorial Advisory Board for ACS Chemical Health and Safety Journal. With her special expertise in nanomaterials, she has served as an expert for the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) and the World Health Organization (WHO) in the nanotechnology programs and she currently serves as a Threshold Limit Value (TLV) committee candidate for the American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists (ACGIH).
Books
Ellenbecker, M.J., and Tsai, S., Health and Safety Considerations for Working with Engineered Nanoparticles, Wiley Interscience, 2015.
Peer-Reviewed Journal Articles
Tsai, C.S.J.*, Shin, N., Brune, J., Evaluation of sub micrometer sized particles generated from diesel locomotive and drilling within an experimental underground mine, Annals of Work Exposures and Health, July 28, 2020.
Back, D., Theisen, D., Seo, W., Tsai, C.S.J.*, Janes, D.*, Development of Interdigitated Capacitive Sensor for Real-time Monitoring of Sub-micron and Nanoscale Particulate Matters in Personal Sampling Device for Mining Environment, IEEE Sensors Journal, May 20, 2020.
Calcaterra, H., Shin, N., Quirk, P., Tsai, C.S.J.*, Low Concentration Analysis of Silver Nanoparticles in Consumer Spray Products, Atmosphere, 11, 403, April 17, 2020.
Khattak, J., Theisen, D., Tsai, C.S.J.*, Sampling Techniques on Collecting Fine Carbon Nanotube Fibers for Exposure Assessment, Scientific Reports, 9, article number: 7137, 2019.
Shin, N., Velmurugan, K., Su, C., Bauer, A., Tsai, C.S.J.*, Assessment of fine particles emitted during paper printing and shredding processes, Environmental Science: Processes & Impacts, 21, 1342-1352, 2019.
Tsai, C.S.J.*, Theisen, D., A sampler designed for nanoparticles and respirable particles with direct analysis feature, Journal of Nanoparticle Research, 20:209, 2018.
Ellenbecker, M., Tsai, C.S.J., Jacobs, M., Riedeker, M., Peters, T., Liou, S., Avila, A., Foss-Hanson, S., The difficulties in establishing an occupational exposure limit for carbon nanotubes, Journal of Nanoparticle Research, 20:131, 2018.
Pastrana, H., Avila, A., Tsai, C.S.J.*, Nanomaterials in cosmetics products: the challenges with regard to current legal frameworks and consumer exposure, NanoEthics, Aug. 12(2), 2018.
Lo, L., Tsai, C.S.J.*, Heitbrink, W., Dunn, K., Topmiller, J., Ellenbecker, M., Particle emissions from laboratory activities involving carbon nanotubes, Journal of Nanoparticle Research, 19:293, 2017.
Tsai, S.*, Shin, N., Castano, A., Khattak, J., Wilkerson, A., Lamport, N., A pilot study on particle emission from printer paper shredders, Aerosol Science and Technology, 1-12, 2017.
Shinde, A., Tsai, S.*, Toxicity mechanism in fetal lung fibroblast cells for multi-walled carbon nanotubes defined by chemical impurities and dispersibility, Toxicology Research, 5:248-258, 2016.
Tsai, S.*, Dysart, A., Beltz, J., Pol, V., Identification and mitigation of generated solid by-products during advanced electrode materials processing, Environmental Science and Technology, 50(5):2627-2634, 2016.
Tsai, S.*, Contamination and release of nanomaterials associated with the use of personal protective clothing, Annals of Occupational Hygiene, 59(4):491-503, 2015.
Tsai, S.*, Hofmann, M., Kong, J., Hallock, M., Ada, E., Ellenbecker, M., Assessment of exhaust emissions from carbon nanotube production and particle collection by sampling filters, Journal of the Air & Waste Management Association, 65(11):1376-1385, 2015.
Liou, S.H., Tsai, S., Pelclova, D., Schubauer-Berigan, M., Schulte, P., Assessing the first wave of epidemiological studies of nanomaterial workers, Journal of Nanoparticle Research, 17:413, 2015.
Lo, L., Tsai, S.*, Dunn, K., Hammond, D., Marlow, D., Topmiller, J., Ellenbecker, M., Performance of particulate containment at nanotechnology workplaces, Journal of Nanoparticle Research, 17:435, 2015.
Gordon, S., Butala, J., Carter, J., Elder, A., Gordon, T., Gray, G., Sayre, P., Schulte, P., Tsai, S., West, J., Workshop report: strategies for setting occupational exposure limits for engineered nanomaterials, Regulatory Toxicology and Pharmacology, 68:305-311, 2014.
Dunn, K., Tsai, S., Woskie, S., Bennett, J., Garcia, A., Ellenbecker, M., Evaluation of leakage from fume hoods using tracer gas, tracer nanoparticles and nanopowder handling test methodologies, Journal of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene, 11(10):D164-D173, 2014.
Tsai, S.*, Echevarría-Vega, M., Sotiriou, G., Santeufemio, C., Schmidt, D., Demokritou, P., Ellenbecker, M., Evaluation of environmental filtration control to engineered nanoparticles using the Harvard versatile engineered nanomaterial generation system (VENGES), Journal of Nanoparticle Research, 14:812, 2012.
Ellenbecker, M., Tsai, S., Engineered nanoparticles: safer substitutes for toxic materials, or a new hazard? Journal of Cleaner Production, 19(5):483-487, 2011.
Tsai, S.*, Huang, R.F., Ellenbecker, M., Airborne nanoparticle exposures while using conventional, constant velocity and air-curtain isolated hoods, Annals of Occupational Hygiene, 54(1):78-87, 2010.
Tsai, S.*, Ada, E., Isaacs, J., Ellenbecker, M., Airborne nanoparticle exposures associated with the manual handling of nanoalumina and nanosilver in fume hoods, Journal of Nanoparticle Research, 11(1):147-161, 2009.
Tsai, S.*, Hofmann, M., Kong, J., Hallock, M., Ada, E., Ellenbecker, M., Characterization and evaluation of nanoparticle release during the synthesis of single-walled and multi-walled carbon nanotubes by chemical vapor deposition, Environmental Science and Technology, 43(15):6017-6023, 2009.
More Publications at Google Scholar
Select Publications:
Cushing LJ, K Vavra-Muser, K Chau, M Franklin, JE Johnston, “Flaring from unconventional Oil and Gas Development and Birth Outcomes in the Eagle Ford Shale in South Texas”, Environmental Health Perspectives (2020) 128(7): 770031-770039, PMCID: PMC7362742, doi: 10.1289/EHP6394
Johnston, J.E., K. Chau, M. Franklin, L. Cushing, “Environmental Justice Dimensions of Oil and Gas Flaring in South Texas: Disproportionate Exposure among Hispanic communities”, Environmental Science & Technology (2020), PMID: 32338877, doi: 10.1021/acs.est.0c00410
Johnston, J., and Cushing, L., “Chemical exposures, health, and environmental justice in communities living on the fenceline of industry”, Current Environmental Health Reports (2020), PMCID: PMC7035204, doi: 10.1007/s40572-020-00263-8
Yang, J., L. Cushing, R. Morello-Frosch, “An Equity Analysis of Clean Vehicle Rebate Programs in California”, Climatic Change (2020) doi: 10.1007/s10584-020-02836-w
Cushing L., Blaustein-Rejto D., Wander M., Pastor M., Sadd J., Zhu A., Morello-Frosch R. “Carbon trading, co-pollutants, and environmental equity: Evidence from California’s cap-and-trade program (2011–2015)”, PLOS Medicine (2018) 15(7): e1002604, PMCID: PMC6038989, doi: 10.1371/journal.pmed.1002604
Cushing, L., J. Faust, L. August, R. Cendak, W. Wieland and G. Alexeeff, “Racial/ethnic disparities in cumulative environmental health impacts in California: evidence from a state-wide environmental justice screening tool (CalEnviroScreen 1.1)”, American Journal of Public Health (2015) 105(11): 2341-2348, PMCID: PMC4605180, doi: 10.2105/AJPH.2015.302643
Cushing, L., R. Morello-Frosch, M. Wander and M. Pastor, “The Haves, the Have-nots, and the Health of Everyone: The Relationship between Social Inequality and Environmental Quality”, Annual Review of Public Health (2015), 18(36): 193-209, PMID:25785890, doi: 10.1146/annurev-publhealth-031914-122646