Healthy and Resilient Communities Research Webinar Series

December 10, 2024 from 3:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. ET

Register for the webinar on Zoom

About the Webinar

Human health is determined by the combined effects of natural traits, such as genetics, and extrinsic factors, such as living conditions. Chronic social stress and environmental pollution have been linked with increased risks of systemic morbidity and mortality, while contact with the natural environment and greenspace has been linked with reduced risks of chronic systemic diseases and death. The combined effects of these stressors on human health can shape resiliency over time.

This webinar will discuss how EPA researchers use allostatic load and epigenetic age in their research.

• Allostatic load is the cumulative wear and tear on the body due to stress.
• Epigenetic age is a biological measure of the body’s aging processes.

Presentation 1

EPA researchers explore the degree to which environmental pollutants cause negative health effects, whether physiological or behavioral. This includes measuring and characterizing a set of non-chemical stressors that can increase allostatic load and “prime” the body’s subsequent response. This presentation will discuss some of the basic in-vivo approaches that EPA researchers can use to characterize the underlying basis for reduced resiliency. These analyses can support risk identification in people and communities and highlight the most biologically plausible mitigation strategies to increase resilience among vulnerable populations.

Presentation 2

This presentation will discuss how combined biomarker-based indices of health, such as allostatic load and epigenetic age, can be used to assess the cumulative health impacts in the total environment. The presentation will highlight how EPA researchers used epidemiologic studies to demonstrate that exposure to a green residential environment was associated with reduced allostatic load, systemic inflammation, and epigenetic age. Several factors, including low socioeconomic status, insomnia, and excessive leisure screen time, were associated with negative impacts on biomarker-based indices of health.

About the Presenters

Mehdi Hazari, Ph.D.

Mehdi is a research physiologist in the Office of Research and Development’s Center for Public Health and Environmental Assessment. Mehdi’s work has focused on the effects of air pollution on cardiovascular and respiratory health. More recently, his research investigates the role of non-chemical stressors, such as noise and poor housing in altering body resiliency and subsequent response to air pollution. This work also examines climate change-related factors like ambient heat and addresses their broader implications from an environmental justice perspective. Mehdi has a BSc from Florida Atlantic University in Medical Technology, a MSc in Pulmonary Medical Science from University of Toronto, and a Ph.D. in Physiology from Johns Hopkins University. He was awarded the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers in 2012.

Michelle Fiamingo, Ph.D.

Michelle completed her dissertation research with Dr. Mehdi Hazari in the Office of Research and Development’s Center for Public Health and Environmental Assessment. Her work has focused on characterizing the combined impact of non-chemical stressors, specifically housing and heat, and their ability to modify physiological resiliency to subsequent environmental stressors. Michelle received her B.S. in biochemistry and environmental public health from the Ohio State University in 2020, and her Ph.D. in Toxicology and Environmental Medicine from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 2024.

Andrey Egorov, ScD

Andrey is a research health scientist in the Office of Research and Development’s Center for Public Health and Environmental Assessment. His career included a faculty position at Tufts School of Medicine, a position of technical officer at the World Health Organization in Europe, and over 14 years working in different research positions at EPA. His research at EPA involves the development of biomarkers and biomarker-based indices of health and their application in observational epidemiological studies to assess the sub-clinical cumulative health impacts of harmful and beneficial social, behavioral, and environmental factors. Andrey has a M.S. and a Doctor of Science degree in Environmental Health from Harvard University.

Certificates of Attendance

Attendees will have the option to receive a certificate of attendance. Acceptance is contingent on organization requirements—EPA cannot guarantee acceptance.