Center & Institute Affiliations
Genee Smith, MSPH, PhD, is passionate about using her training in environmental epidemiology exposure assessment and spatial analysis to promote environmental justice and alleviate placed-based health disparities.
Research Interests
Environmental Epidemiology; Environmental Justice; Health Disparities; Neighborhood-level exposures; Air Pollution; Climate Change; Extreme Weather; Race; Social Determinants of Health; Infectious Disease
Experiences & Accomplishments
As an epidemiologist, I combine training in environmental health, exposure assessment, and spatial analysis to promote climate and environmental justice and alleviate place-based health disparities. My research focuses on understanding the disproportionate burden of a changing climate on vulnerable populations and the impacts of neighborhood-level environmental exposures, including degraded infrastructure, unfair development, and chemical pollutants, on health disparities. I utilize large national datasets to explore the synergistic effects of inequities in the built, natural, and social environment and conduct community based participatory research to address local environmental concerns. I am passionate about researchers, community members, and students merging skills to promote equal access to a healthy environment.
Honors & Awards
American Lung Association Lung Health Dissertation Grant
NIEHS Environmental Epidemiology Predoctoral Training Grant
Sigma Xi International Scientific Research Honor Society
Joan Cornoni-Huntley Scholarship, UNC Chapel Hill Department of Epidemiology
Graduate Tuition Incentive Scholarship, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Select Publications
Select publications
Song L, Smith GS, Adar SD, Post WS, Guallar E, Navas-Acien A, et al. Ambient air pollution as a mediator in the pathway linking race/ethnicity to blood pressure elevation: The multi-ethnic study of atherosclerosis (MESA). Environmental Research. 2020;180:108776.
Smith G.S., Van Den Eeden S.K., Garcia C., Shan J., Baxter R., Herring A.H., Richardson D.B., Van Rie A., Emch M., Gammon M.D. Air Pollution and Pulmonary Tuberculosis among a Population-based Sample of Northern California Residents. Environmental Health Perspectives. 2016; 124 (6): 761-768.
Smith G.S., Van Den Eeden S.K., Baxter R., Shan J., Van Rie A., Herring A.H., Richardson D.B., Emch M., Gammon M.D. Cigarette smoking and pulmonary tuberculosis in northern California. Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health. 2015; 0:1-6.