Environmental Chemical Drivers of Health Inequities and Chronic Disease

Webinar from March 28, 2024

Summary
People are exposed to a wide array of toxic industrial chemicals coming from a wide range of uses - from personal care products to plastics to air, water and food pollutions. Chemical exposures and risks are not distributed evenly, with poor and communities of color having higher exposure to many environmental chemicals and those at developmental stages being at higher risk. Chemical exposures are linked to the increasing incidence of multiple childhood and adult diseases, including asthma, neurodevelopmental disorders, cancer, and metabolic disorders like diabetes, and obesity. The relationship between toxic chemicals and health is complex, and heightened by other environmental and socioeconomic factors, such as cumulative exposure to chemicals, poverty, diet, and stress. This talk will review exposures to environmental chemicals and their contributions to health inequities.

About the Speaker
Dr. Tracey Woodruff is the Alison S. Carlson Endowed Professor in the Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology, and Reproductive Sciences at UCSF and the Director of the Program on Reproductive Health and the Environment. 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. She was previously a senior scientist and policy advisor for the U.S. EPA’s Office of Policy. For more information on Tracey’s work, visit www.prhe.ucsf.edu, or follow on Twitter @UCSF_PRHE and @TraceyJWoodruff.y.

About the ISD Webinar Series
The Investigator Skills Development (ISD) Webinar Series is presented by the Investigator Skills Development Unit (ISDU) of the UCSF Research Coordinating Center to Reduce Disparities in Multiple Chronic Diseases (RCC-RD-MCD).

Co-Sponsored by CAPS Town Hall and the CAPS Implementation Science and Health Systems (ISHS) Core

ISDU Director: Mandana Khalili, MD, MAS, Professor of Medicine, UCSF, Chief of Clinical Hepatology, San Francisco General Hospital

ISDU Co-Director: Edwin Charlebois, PhD, Professor of Medicine, Division of Prevention Science, UCSF

Learn more at https://health-equity-action.org