Julia Heck

Associate Professor

Associated Faculty

jeheck@ucla.edu

310.442.3989

Department of Epidemiology
UCLA Fielding School of Public Health
650 Charles E. Young DR S
Los Angeles, CA 90095

Website

Academic Titles/Accomplishments/Affiliations:

AB, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
MPH, Boston University
PhD, Epidemiology, Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health

I joined UCLA in 2009 and am an Associate Adjunct Professor of Epidemiology and a member of the Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center. Prior to coming to UCLA I completed a postdoctoral fellowship at the International Agency for Research on Cancer, an agency of the World Health Organization. I am a member of the Childhood Leukemia International Consortium, the Children’s Oncology Group, and the Brain Tumor Epidemiology Consortium.

Recent Publications

Prenatal pesticide exposure and childhood leukemia- A California statewide case-control study.
Park AS, Ritz B, Yu F, Cockburn M, Heck JE. International journal of hygiene and environmental health. (2020) May 1;226:113486.

Spina bifida and pediatric cancers
Heck JE, Lee PC, Wu CK, Li CY, He D, Federman N, Yu F, Olsen J, Ritz B, Arah OA, Hansen J. Pediatric Hematology and Oncology. 2020 Apr 29:1-7.

Gestational risk factors and childhood cancers: a cohort study in Taiwan.
Heck JE, Lee PC, Wu CK, Tsai HY, Ritz B, Arah OA, Li CY. International Journal of Cancer. (2020) Feb 5.

Publications

Residential proximity to pesticide application as a risk factor for childhood central nervous system tumors Lombardi, C., Thompson, S., Ritz, B., Cockburn, M. and Heck, J.E. (2021). Environmental Research, 197, p.111078.
Parental occupation and childhood germ cell tumors: a case–control study in Denmark, 1968–2016. Hall, C., Hansen, J., Olsen, J., He, D., von Ehrenstein, O.S., Ritz, B. and Heck, J.E. Cancer Causes & Control, pp.1-10.
Parental Occupation and Risk of Childhood Retinoblastoma in Denmark. Omidakhsh, N., Hansen, J., Ritz, B., Coleman, A. L., McKean-Cowdin, R., Olsen, J., & Heck, J. E. (2021). Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, 63(3), 256-261.
Analysis of epidemiologic study data when there is a geolocation uncertainty. Langholz, B., Escobedo, L. A., Goldberg, D. W., Heck, J. E., Thompson, L. K., Ritz, B., & Cockburn, M. (2020). Spatial Statistics, 100486.
Spina bifida and pediatric cancers. Heck, J. E., Lee, P. C., Wu, C. K., Li, C. Y., He, D., Federman, N., Ritz, B.R., … & Hansen, J. (2020). Pediatric hematology and oncology, 37(7), 630-636.
Prenatal pesticide exposure and childhood leukemia- A California statewide case-control study. Park AS, Ritz B, Yu F, Cockburn M, Heck JE. International journal of hygiene and environmental health. (2020) May 1;226:113486.
Occupational livestock or animal dust exposure and offspring cancer risk in Denmark, 1968-2016. Hall C, Hansen J, von Ehrenstein OS, He D, Olsen J, Ritz B, Heck JE. International Archives of Occupational and Environmental Health. 2020 Feb 5:1-0.
Phototherapy and childhood cancer: shared risk factors. Heck, J. E., Huang, X., Calkins, K. L., Sun, Y., Olsen, J., Ritz, B., & Hansen, J. (2019). International journal of cancer.
High parental occupational social contact and risk of childhood hematopoietic, brain and bone cancers. Omidakhsh, N., Hansen, J., Ritz, B., Olsen, J., & Heck, J. E. (2019). Cancer epidemiology, 62, 101575.
Maternal serum metabolome and traffic-related air pollution exposure in pregnancy. Yan, Q., Liew, Z., Uppal, K., Cui, X., Ling, C., Heck, J. E., … & Ritz, B. (2019). Environment international, 130, 104872.
Prenatal Exposure to Air Toxics and Malignant Germ Cell Tumors in Young Children. Hall, C., Heck, J. E., Ritz, B., Cockburn, M., Escobedo, L. A., & von Ehrenstein, O. S. (2019). Journal of occupational and environmental medicine, 61(6), 529-534.
Residential mobility in early childhood and the impact on misclassification in pesticide exposures. Ling, C., Heck, J. E., Cockburn, M., Liew, Z., Marcotte, E., & Ritz, B. (2019). Environmental Research.
High Birth Weight, Early UV Exposure, and Melanoma Risk in Children, Adolescents, and Young Adults. Wojcik, K. Y., Escobedo, L. A., Wysong, A., Heck, J. E., Ritz, B., Hamilton, A. S., … & Cockburn, M. G. (2019). Epidemiology, 30(2), 278-284.
Fetal programming and Wilms tumor. Heck, J. E., He, D., Janzen, C., Federman, N., Olsen, J., Ritz, B., & Hansen, J. (2019). Pediatric blood & cancer, 66(1), e27461.
Parental occupational exposures and the risk of childhood sporadic retinoblastoma: a report from the Children’s Oncology Group. Omidakhsh N, Bunin GR, Ganguly A, Ritz B, Kennedy N, von Ehrenstein OS, Krause N, Heck JE. Occup Environ Med. 2018 Mar;75(3):205-211. doi: 10.1136/oemed-2017-104404. PMID: 29074554
Parental occupational exposures and the risk of childhood sporadic retinoblastoma: a report from the Children’s Oncology Group Omidakhsh N, Bunin GR, Ganguly A, Ritz B, Kennedy N, von Ehrenstein OS, Krause N, Heck JE Parental occupational exposures and the risk of childhood sporadic retinoblastoma: a report from the Children’s Oncology Group. Occup Environ Med Published Online First: 26 October 2017. doi: 10.1136/oemed-2017-104404 10/26/2017
Exposure to ambient dichloromethane in pregnancy and infancy from industrial sources and childhood cancers in California. Park AS, Ritz B, Ling C, Cockburn M, Heck JE. Int J Hyg Environ Health. 2017 Oct;220(7):1133-1140. doi: 10.1016/j.ijheh.2017.06.006. PMID:28720343
Residential Pesticide Exposures in Pregnancy and the Risk of Sporadic Retinoblastoma: A Report From the Children’s Oncology Group. Omidakhsh N, Ganguly A, Bunin GR, von Ehrenstein OS, Ritz B, Heck JE. 2017. Am J Ophthalmol. 176:166-173. doi: 10.1016/j.ajo.2017.01.016. PMID:28131887
Maternal Preeclampsia and Odds of Childhood Cancers in Offspring: A California Statewide Case-Control Study. Xu X, Ritz B, Cockburn M, Lombardi C, Heck JE. 2017. Paediatr Perinat Epidemiol. 2017 Mar;31(2):157-164. doi: 10.1111/ppe.12338. PMID:28124497
Risk of malignant childhood germ cell tumors in relation to demographic, gestational, and perinatal characteristics. Hall C, Ritz B, Cockburn M, Davidson TB, Heck JE. 2017. Cancer Epidemiol. 2017 Feb;46:42-49. doi: 10.1016/j.canep.2016.12.002. PMID:28013088
Residential pesticide exposures in pregnancy and the risk of sporadic retinoblastoma: a report from the Children’s Oncology Group. Omidakhsh N, Ganguly A, Bunin GR, von Ehrenstein OS, Ritz B, Heck JE. 2017. American Journal of Ophthalmology.
Maternal pre-pregnancy and gestational diabetes, obesity, gestational weight gain, and risk of cancer in young children: a population-based study in California. Contreras ZA, Ritz B, Virk J, Cockburn M, Heck JE. 2016. Cancer Causes Control. 27(10):1273-85. doi: 10.1007/s10552-016-0807-5.
Smoking in pregnancy and risk of cancer among young children: A population-based study. Heck JE, Contreras ZA, Park AS, Davidson TB, Cockburn M, Ritz B. 2016. Int J Cancer. 139(3):613-6. doi: 10.1002/ijc.30111.
In Utero and Early-Life Exposure to Ambient Air Toxics and Childhood Brain Tumors: A Population-Based Case-Control Study in California, USA. von Ehrenstein OS, Heck JE, Park AS, Cockburn M, Escobedo L, Ritz B.
Risk of Childhood Cancer by Maternal Birthplace: A Test of the Hispanic Paradox. Heck JE, Park AS, Contreras ZA, Davidson TB, Hoggatt KJ, Cockburn M, Ritz B. 2016. JAMA Pediatr. 170(6):585-92. doi: 10.1001/jamapediatrics.2016.0097.
Sporadic Retinoblastoma and Parental Smoking and Alcohol Consumption before and after Conception: A Report from the Children’s Oncology Group. Azary S, Ganguly A, Bunin GR, Lombardi C, Park AS, Ritz B, Heck JE. PLoS One. 2016 Mar 18;11(3):e0151728. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0151728. eCollection 2016.