Environmental and Spatial Epidemiology Laboratory

The Environmental And Spatial Epidemiology Lab (EASEL) is engaged in a variety of research,  including spatial modeling and mapping, evaluating environmental exposures associated with chronic health outcomes, and examining the intersection between mind, body, environment and health. The lab is directed by Dr. Robin Puett, an Associate Professor in the Department of Global, Environmental, and Occupational Health (GEOH), formerly the Maryland Institute for Applied Environmental Health (MIAEH). Students in this lab have assisted with many different projects, including the development of spatio-temporal models for acute and chronic air pollution exposures using Geographic Information Systems (GIS). Exposure estimates from these and other models have been used in studies linking air pollution exposures to various health outcomes. Dr. Puett’s students have also examined associations of the built environment with physical activity and chronic diseases such as diabetes. Additional  studies are exploring topics at the intersection of mind, body, environment and health such as how meditation and greenspace exposures impact health.

The research group is comprised of master’s and doctoral students, faculty in GEOH, and affiliates across other departments within the School of Public Health and across the UMD College Park campus. Completed and on-going research has involved collaborators from the University of Maryland Baltimore, the University of Memphis, the University of Wisconsin, Danish Cancer Society Research Center, the University of South Carolina, Harvard University, Kaiser Permanente Southern California, Rush Institute in Chicago, University of Georgia, University of Colorado, University of Washington, University of Ohio, Wake Forest University, University of Wisconsin, University of Rochester, Johns Hopkins University, and the Pennsylvania State University. 

Current Students

Julia Clark is an undergraduate Mathematics major.

Meg Lanthier is an undergraduate Biology major

Joanna Barton is the Teaching Assistant for SPHL291: Can we move beyond medication. She is an undergraduate majoring in Ecology & Evolution and minoring in Sustainability and Russian Studies. Most of her integrative health experiences and research interests related to art and outdoor therapies and eco-therapy.

Nicole Sieck is a doctoral student in Environmental Health Sciences

Rosemary Ezeugoh is a doctoral student in Environmental Health Sciences

Natalie Crnosija is a doctoral student in Environmental Health Sciences

Former DoctoralStudents

Jessica Montresor-Lopez 
In 2019, Jessica received her PhD from the Toxicology and Environmental Health program at the Department of Global, Environmental, and Occupational Health (GEOH), formerly the Maryland Institute for Applied Environmental Health, within the University of Maryland College Park. In 2013, Jessica obtained an MPH in Environmental Health from the University of Maryland School of Public Health. Prior to enrolling at UMD, Jessica conducted biomedical research at Washington University in St. Louis and St. Louis University for five years. She also obtained a Bachelor of Science degree in Animal Science from the Pennsylvania State University in 2005. Jessica's research primarily focused on ambient air pollution and chronic disease, and she is also interested in health disparities and the built environment. She earned a Dean's Scholar and an Associate Member Travel Award from the American College of Epidemiology for her research poster. She is currently a Faculty Assistant in the Office of the Dean in the College of Behavioral & Social Sciences at the University of Maryland. 

Dina Huang
In 2019 Dina Huang received her PhD from the Department of Epidemiology at the University of Maryland School of Public Health. She earned a Dean's Scholar Award and won first place for doctoral students in the Public Health Research Day Research Poster Competition in 2017.  Her research focused on chronic disease and environmental epidemiology and the use of social media for epidemiologic investigations. She is currently a Statistical Analyst at Abbott Vascular Inc

Jared Fisher
Jared Fisher received his PhD the Department of Epidemiology at the University of Maryland School of Public Health in the Environmental Epidemiology track. His research focused on environmental and chronic disease epidemiology methods, climate change and air pollution exposures and cardiovascular health. He was awarded a  UMD Flagship Fellowship and is currently a Research Fellow at the National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health.

View our publications on the National Library of Medicine website.