DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL MEDICINE
INSIDE
Message from the Chair
Dear Faculty, Trainees, Staff, and Friends,
We hope you enjoy the April 2025 edition of our departmental newsletter, highlighting the amazing work happening across our community. From clinical care to symposia, workshops, community engagement, and advances in artificial intelligence and exposomics, this issue showcases the broad nature of our interests and expertise. It is truly an honor to be part of this vibrant and inspiring team.
Robert O. Wright, MD, MPH
Ethel H. Wise Chair, Department of Environmental Medicine
Co-Director, Institute for Exposomic Research
Exposome Perspectives
The Clinical, Translational, Implementation Science Blues
The Exposome Perspectives Blog has moved to Substack! The latest writing from Dr. Bob Wright is a personal essay that challenges the conventional divide between public health and clinical medicine, highlighting the need to expand exposomics beyond prevention to address disease progression and treatment.
Drawing on Dr. Wright’s own experience as a physician, public health scientist, and patient, it calls for integrating environmental exposures into clinical care to improve real-world health outcomes. Subscribe Today
Stay Informed
New Study: Early-Life Lead Exposure Weakens Immune Responses to Vaccinations, New Study Finds
A new study published in the American Journal of Epidemiology has identified critical periods during early life when lead exposure can significantly diminish children’s antibody responses to routine vaccinations. The research found that increased lead levels in the first three weeks after birth are associated with a notable decrease in anti-tetanus antibody levels, while exposure around the time of birth (one week before to one week after), correlates with reduced anti-diphtheria antibody levels. Elena Colicino, PhD, Associate Professor, Department of Environmental Medicine, is first author. Read more
New Study: A Lifestyle Medicine Intervention to Reduce GERD Symptoms and Medication Use
A recent study published in Lifestyle Medicine introduces a novel telehealth-based intervention aimed at reducing gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) symptoms and medication use among 9/11 first responders. The program integrates lifestyle medicine principles—such as nutrition, physical activity, and stress management—with personalized health coaching over a six-month period. Participants engage in virtual consultations, set individualized health goals, and receive SMART (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, Time-bound) prescriptions tailored to their needs. This initiative seeks to empower patients to manage GERD through sustainable lifestyle changes, potentially reducing reliance on long-term medication. Authors: Emily Senay, Maya Korin, Elizabeth Garland, Michael S. Smith, John D. Meyer. Access the publication
Building Trust Through Health Education in East Harlem
In partnership with the East Harlem-based community organization SMART University, Megha Srivastava, MD, a Preventive Medicine Resident, has been leading a well-attended series of weekly virtual community talks on vaccine equity and respiratory health. These sessions regularly draw 40–60 participants and cover a range of timely topics—including COVID-19, flu, RSV, long COVID, COPD, and asthma—with a strong focus on prevention, treatment options, and improving access to care. The initiative has received enthusiastic feedback from both community members and the physicians who deliver the talks. SMART University, founded in 1998 by women living with HIV/AIDS, continues to serve East Harlem through a wide array of health and wellness programs, including offerings on diabetes, nutrition, digital literacy, and youth education. Learn more about SMART University here.
Environmental Health Community Mapping Workshop Series
A four-part Research to Action Community Mapping workshop series was held over the past 18 months, during which participants engaged in facilitated, hands-on exercises to explore publicly available datasets and learn how data story mapping can be used to improve community health.
It was organized by the Mount Sinai HEALS Community Engagement Core and the Conduits Clinical and Translational Science Award Program (CTSA) Community and Collaboration Core, in collaboration with community and agency partners. Read more
Civic Engagement
Department members interested in learning how to translate public health research to educate decision makers and communities are invited to join the newly formed Civic Engagement and Policy Working Group. The first meeting was held in February. This group will explore how to share research findings and clinical expertise with local, state, and federal decision-makers; engage with environmental and public health legislation, including chemical regulations; support policies that address social and structural determinants of health; and promote academic scholarship through civic and community involvement. Contact Sarah Evans, PhD, MPH, for details about upcoming meetings.
Sarah Evans, PhD, Assistant Professor, Department of Environmental Medicine at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, recently joined the Connecticut Health Professionals for Climate Action in Hartford for a press event focused on educating policymakers about the critical role of climate adaptation and mitigation in protecting public health. You can read the press release and view the briefing here.
Earlier in the month, Dr. Evans and Dr. Sofia Curdumi Pendley, Assistant Professor in the Department of Environmental Medicine at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, partnered with Save the Sound and the Sierra Club to meet with elected officials in Hartford, CT. Together, they highlighted how environmental exposures disproportionately affect the health of children and vulnerable communities.
Community-Led Air Quality Monitoring in the Lower East Side
Cecilia Alcala, PhD, MPH, Instructor, and Sofia Curdumi Pendley, PhD, MPH, Assistant Professor—both from the Department of Environmental Medicine at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai—joined local partners for the kickoff of the Community-Led Air Quality Monitoring in the Lower East Side project, a HEALS pilot project.
CME Conference: “Preparing For Patient Care During Environmental Extremes
On March 14, over 100 healthcare professionals, researchers, and trainees gathered at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai for a full-day CME conference focused on preparing for the growing health impacts of environmental extremes. The event featured expert panels, research presentations, and dynamic discussions centered on clinical preparedness, sustainability, and resilience-building across healthcare systems.
Speakers addressed a wide range of timely topics, including healthcare readiness, protecting frontline workers, health risks from wildfires and infectious diseases, institutional sustainability efforts, and the role of community partnerships in emergency response. The conference also explored innovative strategies in event medicine and heat-related illness, as well as institutional planning for research continuity after disasters.
The conference was organized by the Department of Environmental Medicine in partnership with the Mount Sinai Center for Healthcare Readiness. Special thanks to Perry Sheffield, Ismail Nabeel, Terry Thompson, Robert Wright, Michael Redlener, and Sara Zaat for organizing the meeting. Learn more
Department of Medicine Grand Rounds: Exposome and Clinical Medicine
Robert Wright, MD, MPH, Ethel H Wise Professor and Chair, Environmental Medicine, presented at the Department of Medicine’s Grand Rounds at the Icahn School of Medicine on March 11. The topic was “The Exposome and Clinical Medicine.” Dr. Wright explores how the exposome—the comprehensive account of environmental exposures over a person’s lifetime—can be integrated into clinical medicine to better understand disease origins and enhance patient care.
Healthy World, Healthy You
An updated edition of the three-volume storybook series “Healthy World, Healthy You” was published in March 2025 with support from the Mount Sinai HEALS Community Engagement Core. It is a resource for community groups and classrooms, providing engaging stories and hands-on activities on environmental health topics.
The series follows a young girl named Isabella and her younger brother Joel, who live in Brooklyn, New York. Together, they explore the intersection of health and the environment and what they can do to protect their own health and that of their friends and neighbors. Learn more
Upcoming Events
Harnessing the Power of Geoinformatics
Dates: May 29 and 30, 2025, 9:00 am – 5:00 pm
Location: Online or In person, Annenberg Building, 1468 Madison Avenue, Classroom A5-212
Discover the potential of geoinformatics in healthcare! This two-day workshop explores GIS technologies and spatial data analysis for improving healthcare outcomes. Led by experts from Mount Sinai’s Icahn School of Medicine, including Itai Kloog, PhD and Mike He, PhD, it is ideal for clinicians and researchers interested in leveraging spatial data for public health research. No previous GIS knowledge is necessary. Click here for more information.
Professional Development Retreat
Date: June 11, 9:00 am
This retreat is for Faculty, Postdocs, Residents, Nurses, and Nurse Managers.
Machine Learning in Public Health
Dates: July 7 and 8, 2025, 9:00 am – 5:00 pm; July 9, 9:00 am – Noon
Location: Online or In person, Annenberg Building, 1468 Madison Avenue, Classroom A5-212
Unlock the power of machine learning in healthcare! Join us for a two-day workshop focused on applying machine learning techniques to address critical issues in public health. Led by Vishal Midya, PhD this workshop is perfect for clinicians and researchers seeking to develop or enhance their understanding of machine learning’s role in healthcare research innovation. Click here for more information.
Computational Metabolomics for Clinical Research
Dates: July 21– 25, 2025, 2pm to 5pm EDT
Location: Online
The Computational Metabolomics for Clinical Research course led by Dinesh Barupal, PhD, will cover innovative software, online tools and knowledge bases to analyze metabolomics datasets. Metabolomics enables discoveries of metabolic mechanisms and predictive biomarkers that can be translated into new prevention and treatment strategies for human diseases. Click here for more information.
2025 Santiago Exposome Symposium
Integrating Environmental Exposures into Aging and Alzheimer’s Research
September 25-27, 2025 | Santiago, Chile
The Second Latin American Exposome Symposium will be held at the University of Chile in Santiago, focusing on the theme “Integrating Environmental Exposures into Aging and Alzheimer’s Research.”
This event will bring together leading scientists in Alzheimer’s Disease and Related Dementias (ADRD), Environmental Health, and Exposomics to examine how environmental exposures impact ADRD.
The symposium is organized by faculty from the Institute for Exposomic Research and the Brookdale Department of Geriatrics and Palliative Medicine at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai (New York), the Institute of Nutrition and Food Technology at the University of Chile, and the National Institute of Public Health of Mexico. Learn more
Upcoming Deadlines Trainee Travel Award Deadline for Poster Presenters: May 9.
Recognitions
Two Mount Sinai Studies Recognized as NIEHS Papers of the Month
Two studies from researchers in the Department of Environmental Medicine were selected as NIEHS Papers of the Month for February 2025, recognizing their significant contributions to environmental health research. The first, “Impact of metabolism-disrupting chemicals and folic acid supplementation on liver injury and steatosis in mother-child pairs” by Sandra India-Aldana, PhD, lead author of the study, highlights the protective effects of prenatal folic acid supplementation against liver damage from chemical exposures during pregnancy, emphasizing the potential role of nutritional interventions in reducing environmental health risks.
In a separate study, “The World Trade Center exposome and health effects in 9/11 rescue and recovery workers,” lead author Elza Rechtman, PhD, examined the complex mixture of exposures experienced by 9/11 responders. As the first study to investigate the WTC exposome—the totality of exposures during rescue and recovery efforts—it provides new insights into how these exposures may have contributed to long-term physical and mental health conditions.
26th Annual Child Health Research Day at Mount Sinai
Michelle Rodriguez, an associate researcher in Dr. Megan Horton’s lab was recently awarded a poster award at the 26th Annual Child Health Research Day at Mount Sinai, an event celebrating exceptional pediatric research at the Icahn School of Medicine. Her study examined the total body burden of copper and its association with olfactory bulb volume and function in adolescents, offering novel insights into a largely underexplored area of research. The Horton Lab and the Department of Environmental Medicine are incredibly proud of her achievements. Michelle’s poster was titled: “Total Body Burden of Copper and Olfactory Bulb Volume and Function: Investigating the Nasal-Brain Pathway in Adolescents.” Congratulations, Michelle!
Additionally, Azzurra Invernizzi, PhD, a postdoctoral fellow in the lab, gave a talk titled ‘Early-Life Metal Exposure and Adolescent Brain Age Maturation: Identifying Critical Windows of Neurodevelopmental Vulnerability,’ where she presented new research utilizing a ‘brain age’ biomarker to assess the impact of metal exposure on neurodevelopment. PhD candidate Kristie Oluyemi shared her findings in a poster titled ‘Early Life Metal Mixture Exposure is Associated with Neurocognitive Mechanisms Underlying Adolescent Risk-Taking,’ highlighting the relationship between metal exposure, risk-taking behavior, and its neurocognitive correlates.”
Arlette Loeser, MA, OTR, CIE, Program Director, Injury Prevention, Ergonomics and Accommodation at the Selikoff Center for Occupational Health, presented on “Development of a Novel Ergonomic Exposure Assessment to Prevent Worker Injuries” at the Annual Conference of the Radiation Therapy Association of New York State (RTANYS) and the New York State Society of Radiologic Sciences (NYSSRS), November 2024.
Resident of the Month: Dr. Cameron Kiani
Congratulations to Cameron Kiani, MD, MPH, Occupational Medicine Resident ’25, for being named Mount Sinai’s Resident of the Month for April! Dr. Kiani was recognized for his extraordinary commitment to patient advocacy, particularly in navigating a complex workers’ compensation case that highlighted the systemic barriers vulnerable patients often face. From personally securing access to diabetes support programs and completing extensive documentation for a patient with limited mobility, to coordinating directly with immigration officials to resolve urgent medical access issues, Dr. Kiani exemplifies compassionate, whole-person care. A proud graduate of Mount Sinai’s Early Assurance Program, Dr. Kiani credits his many colleagues—co-resident Dr. Taelor Lee, mentors Dr. Candace Tannis, Dr. Hannah Thompson, Dr. John Meyer, and program coordinator Ms. Sultana Bracic—and the opportunities provided by Sinai for shaping both his career in medicine. His work is a powerful reminder that healing extends beyond clinical treatment to meaningful, systems-level advocacy.
IRB and Research Ethics
This section is designed to keep you informed about new policies related to human subjects research at Mount Sinai. If you have any questions at any time, please contact Ilene Wilets, PhD, Associate Professor, Environmental Medicine at ilene.wilets@mssm.edu or Holly Miller, MPH, Research Program Manager, Environmental Medicine at holly.miller@mssm.edu.
In February, Ilene and Holly presented at Grand Rounds “Transferring Data to and From Mount Sinai: Which Way Forward?” alongside representatives from Mount Sinai Innovation Partners (MSIP). If you are sending or receiving data/biospecimens, MSIP must be contacted at MSIPInfo@mssm.edu or click here to request an agreement.
To continue the conversation on data agreements, we will have a part two presentation in the coming months to provide more details. Additionally, we plan to conduct a skill-building workshop in the fall on developing consent forms. Stay tuned!
Did You Know?
- Federal regulations governing human subjects research require that research studies be reviewed at a minimum of every 12 months. Therefore, an annual continuation submission to the IRB is required. The Mount Sinai IRB requires a minimum of 6 weeks to submit a continuing review to avoid study expiration. Please be aware of the date your study expires. If you are uncertain about when and how to renew your study, please reach out to Dr. Wilets.
- A checklist is now required for initial (new) submissions. This HRP-450—CHECKLIST—RUTH Initial Submission must be completed and uploaded with your submission in RUTH. This checklist provides researchers with guidance on all the necessary documentation needed to submit a new study.
- For new studies using the HRP 502a MSHS Template Consent for Adults, there are updated requirements. To improve the readability and quality of research informed consent forms, the summary section of your consent form should not be more than 500 words and the Flesch-Kincaid Reading Ease grade should be less than 70, and/or the Flesh-Kincaid grade level should be below 9th grade level. To determine the readability of the summary section of your consent form use this guide “How to Check a Readability Score with Microsoft Word 365 and Professional Plus 2016.”
- For continuation submissions, a new form is now required, the HRP-451—CHECKLIST—RUTH Continuing Review-Final Reports. This checklist ensures that investigators include all necessary documentation when submitting a continuing review to the IRB.
Wellness and Community
Wellness Walks
DEM wellness walks are on the first Wednesday of each month at 12 pm, departing from East 102nd Street and Fifth Avenue. Participation is voluntary, simple, and free. Come out, enjoy the outdoors, catch up with colleagues, and meet new ones. A healthy lunch will be provided afterward for those who RSVP. Please reach out to Erika Molina with questions.
Junior Faculty Meetings
The hybrid Junior Faculty meetings are held on the 2nd Tuesday of the month with a healthy lunch for those on site. Last month, Susan Teitelbaum presented important new information on the tracks, appointments, and promotions. All the new forms are located on the DEM J-drive in the Common Folder. Contact Sofia Pendley for information or suggestions for monthly topics.
Resources
Mount Sinai Daily is the employee communications platform for the Mount Sinai Health System. You may need to log in using your Mount Sinai email and password. Want to learn more and sign up? Click here.
Pure Scholars Portal at Mount Sinai
The Scholars Portal is a tool that enables insights into the scholarly expertise and collaborative opportunities that exist within the Mount Sinai research community and beyond. The aim is to organize scholarly products and publications by researchers. The publications list on faculty profiles will be pulled from this resource space. Click here to explore the portal and review your profile.
Department of Environmental Medicine
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