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Delivering Discovery Across Generations
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Project Overview
The ELEMENT study (Early Life Exposures in Mexico to ENvironmental Toxicants) is a multi-institutional and international research effort that has initiated and followed three birth cohorts in Mexico City for more than 30 years. During this period, a vast international research team has participated in the different phases of the project, developed more than ten specific projects, initiated and followed up on three different cohorts of mother / child pairs, competed and obtained various grants from US and Mexican agencies, published the study's findings in journals of high international impact, formed a large number of master's and doctoral students on both sides of the border and, above all, contributed to relevant public policy discussions.
The ELEMENT Story
The first ELEMENT cohort began in 1994 with support from an inter-institutional collaboration among Harvard University, the Center for Population Health Research of the National Institute of Public Health in Mexico, the American British Cowdray Medical Center and the National Institute of Perinatology of Mexico.
ELEMENT was founded by Dr. Mauricio Hernández Ávila, researcher and current Director of Economic and Social Benefits of the Mexican Social Security Institute (Instituto Mexicano del Seguro Social, IMSS), and Dr. Howard Hu, a physician (internist and occupational/environmental medicine specialist) and environmental epidemiologist.
Study population
The mother–child pairs of study participants were recruited over a series of years:
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Cohort 1, 1994-1997
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Cohort 2, 1997-2000
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Cohort 3, 2001-2005
This first cohort sought to study the effects of lead on maternal and child health. However, since then, the study has expanded its area of study in order to understand the effects on health and neurodevelopment derived from exposure to other environmental toxins, exploring how these effects are modified by nutrition, social environment and genetic susceptibility.
Meet The ELEMENT Team
Principal Investigators
Karen E Peterson, DSc
Co-Principal Investigator
University of Michigan School of Public Health
Martha Maria Téllez-Rojo, MsC, DSc
Co-Principal Investigator
Instituto Nacional de Salud Pública (INSP)
Co-Investigators
Erica Jansen, PhD, MPH
Co-Investigator
University of Michigan School of Public Health
Research Interests: Sleep, Physical Activity, Metabolic Syndrome, Dietary Patterns, Epigenetics, and Endocrine Disrupting Chemicals (EDCs)
Peter X. K. Song, PhD
Co-Investigator
University of Michigan School of Public Health
Research Interests:
Longitudinal cohort study design and analysis, Causal mediation/mechanistic pathway analysis, Supervised, learning of exposure mixtures, Data integration and harmonization, Digital features from wearable devices, High-dimensional omics data analyses
Jackie Goodrich, PhD
Co-Investigator
University of Michigan School of Public Health
Research Interests: Epigenomics/Epigenetics, Developmental Origins of Health and Disease, Maternal and Child Health, Global Health
Deborah J Watkins, PhD, MPH
Co-Investigator
University of Michigan School of Public Health
Research Interests: Environmental Epidemiology, Exposure Assessment, Endocrine Disrupting Chemicals (EDCs), Maternal and Child Health, Bone Health, Reproductive Health, Menopause, Neurodevelopment
Olivia Halabicky, M.Sc., PhD, RN
Co-Investigator
University of Michigan School of Public Health & School of Nursing
Research Interests: Early Life Environmental Toxicant Exposure, Social Determinants of Health, Cardiometabolic Health, and Allostatic Load
Sara Stein, PhD, LMSW
Co-Investigator
University of Michigan School of Public Health
Research Interests: Effects of Trauma from Mother to Child Prenatally, Postnatally, and in Early Life
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Elizabeth Roberts, PhD
Co-Investigator
University of Michigan Anthropology Department
Research Interests: Environmental Health, Mixed Methods, Food Systems, Anthroposomics, Social Justice and Equity, Chronic illness, Sleep, Water Access, Ethnography
Dana Dolinoy, PhD, MSc
Co-Investigator
University of Michigan School of Public Health
Research Interests: Children's Environmental Health, Cancer and the Environment, Developmental Origins of Disease, Epigenetics, Epigenome Editing, Nutrient-Toxicant Interactions
John Meeker, ScD, CIH
Co-Investigator
University of Michigan School of Public Health
Research Interests: Exposure Assessment and Epidemiology Research Investigating Reproductive and Developmental Impacts of Environmental Exposures such as Pesticides, PFAS, Phthalates, Phenols, PAH, Metals, and Others
Howard Hu, MD, MPH, ScD
Co-Investigator
University of Southern California, Keck School of Medicine
Research Interests: Exposure to Toxic Elements (e.g., Lead and other Metals, Fluoride); impacts on Neurobehavioral Development and Cardiovascular Health; and the role of DNA methylation, genetic polymorphisms, nutrition, etc.
Marcela Tamayo-Oritz, PhD, MS
Co-Investigator
Columbia University, Mailman School of Public Health
Research Interests: Bone Health and Aging, Climate Change, Urban Health, Environmental Epidemiology
E. Angeles Martinez Mier, DDS, MSD, PhD
Co-Investigator
Indiana University School of Dentistry
Research Interests: Dental Public Health, Fluoride, Cariology, Oral and Environmental Health
Lan Luo, PhD
Co-Investigator
Rutgers University School of Public Health
Research Interests: Online statistical inference, Epigenetic Clocks, and Transfer learning
Christine Till, PhD, C. Psych
Co-Investigator
York University Department of Psychology
Research Interests: Environmental determinants of health (environmental-gene interactions), Neuropsychology, Child Psychology, Epidemiology
Hector Lamadrid-Figueroa, MD, ScD
Co-Investigator
Instituto Nacional de Salud Pública (INSP)
Research Interests: Perinatal Health, Epidemiology, Lead, Fluoride, Neurobehavioral Development, Genomics, Program Impact Evaluation
Alejandra Cantoral, ScM, ScD
Co-Investigator
Universidad Iberoamericana
Research Interests: Environmental Exposures, Maternal and Child Health, Diet and Nutrition Patterns, Adiposity, Cardiometabolic Diseases
Brisa N. Sánchez, PhD
Co-Investigator
Drexel University Dornsife School of Public Health
Research Interests: Statistical Methods Development, Data Integration, Health and Built Environment, Health Disparities, Environmental Exposures
Jose Luis Figueroa Oropeza, PhD
Co-Investigator
Instituto Nacional de Salud Pública (INSP)
Research Interests: Health economics, environmental exposures, children's health, exposure reduction interventions, and human capital development
Belem Trejo Valdivia, PhD
Co-Investigator
Instituto Nacional de Salud Pública (INSP)
Research Interests: Statistics and Epidemiology
Abeer A. Aljahdali , PhD
Co-Investigator
King Abdulaziz University
Research Interests: Dietary patterns, food insecurity, physical activity, sleep, cardiometabolic health, nutrition and lifestyle interventions, metabolic and chronic disease risk, and biological determinants of diet- and lifestyle-related outcomes
Edward Ruiz-Narvaez, ScD, MS
Co-Investigator
University of Michigan School of Public Health
Research Interests: Healthy aging and longevity, gene-diet interaction on relation to chronic diseases, and social epigenomics
Ana Baylin, MD, DrPH, FAHA
Co-Investigator
University of Michigan School of Public Health
Research Interests:
Nutritional determinants of cardiometabolic risk, including fatty acids, dietary patterns, ultra processed foods, and organic food consumption. Development and evaluation of workplace interventions to prevent cardiometabolic risk.
Staff Members
Libni Avib Torres-Olascoaga, MD, MS
ELEMENT Fieldwork Manager
Instituto Nacional de Salud Pública (INSP)
E. Rebeca Trejo Reyes, MSc
ELEMENT Nutrition Component Lead & Field Work Coordinator
Instituto Nacional de Salud Pública (INSP)
Cinnya Idalia Robles Valencia (MPH)
ELEMENT Fieldwork Coordinator
Instituto Nacional de Salud Pública (INSP)
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Adriana Mercado Garcia MHP, M.D.
ELEMENT Research and Fieldwork Coordinator
Instituto Nacional de Salud Pública (INSP)
Teresa Verenice Mũnoz-Rocha, M.S
ELEMENT Biostatistician and Database Manager
Instituto Nacional de Salud Pública (INSP)
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Yanira Huerta Garcia
ELEMENT Database Management and Programming
Instituto Nacional de Salud Pública (INSP)
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Luis F. Bautista
ELEMENT Research Manager
Instituto Nacional de Salud Pública (INSP)
Jesica Pedroza, MS
ELEMENT Cohort Manager
University of Michigan School of Public Health
Claire Roberts, MS
ELEMENT Research Data Coordinator
University of Michigan School of Public Health
Trainees
PhD Students
Post-Doctoral Fellows
Dr. Karen Peterson:
Lindsey English, MPH, RD, CHES
Maria Kofas, MSPH, RDN, LN (co-mentored by Dr. Edward A Ruiz-Narvaez)
Haneen Bou Ghanem, MS, RD
Yanxin (Esther) Zhu, MS
Dev Ram Sunuwar, MS, RD
Junru Pan (co-Mentor Dr. Dana Dolinoy)
Dr. Peter Song:
Canyi Chen, PhD
Menghan Yi, PhD
Zheshi Zheng, PhD
Dr. Jackie Goodrich:
Ariana Haidari, MS, RD
Dr. Erica Jansen:
Michael Kaye, MS, MAcc, CPA
Donghan Su, MS
Afnan Mohy, MS
Dr. Deb Watkins:
Meizhen Yao, MS
Dr. Peter Song:
Rui Nie
Yahui Zhang
Dr. Angeles Martinez Mier:
Guillermo Tamayo, MS
Our Collaborators
