Frederica Perera (born 1941) is an American environmental health scientist and the founder of the Columbia Center for Children's Environmental Health at the Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health.[1] Her research career has focused on identifying and preventing harm to children from prenatal and early childhood exposure to environmental chemicals and pollutants.[2] She is internationally recognized for pioneering the field of molecular epidemiology, incorporating molecular techniques into epidemiological studies to measure biologic doses, preclinical responses and susceptibility to toxic exposure.[3]

Biography

Born in Boston, Massachusetts, Perera received her bachelor's degree in Liberal Arts from Harvard University/Radcliffe College in 1963. She received her DrPH in Environmental Health Sciences from Columbia University in 1976 and a PhD in Environmental and Social Policy from Columbia University in 1981.

In 1982, Perera joined the faculty of Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health in the Department of Environmental Health Sciences. In 1998, she founded the Columbia Center for Children's Environmental Health to conduct community-based research on environmental risks to childhood's health.[4]

Research

Since the late 1980s, Perera has led studies applying molecular and imaging techniques within longitudinal cohort studies of pregnant women and their children in the U.S., Poland, and China, with the goal of identifying preventable environmental risk factors for developmental disorders, asthma, obesity, and cancer in childhood.[5] These exposures include toxic chemicals, pesticides, and air pollution, with particular focus on the adverse effects of prenatal and early childhood exposures.[6] This research has revealed that the prenatal period of development is especially vulnerable to toxic environmental exposures and that prenatal exposures such as air pollutants, chemicals in plastics, pesticides and flame retardants are linked to neurodevelopmental problems, obesity and/or asthma in childhood.[7][8][9] The research also found that stress and maternal hardship can increase the harm from chemical exposures.[10] The research has demonstrated the benefits of policies and other interventions to reduce or eliminate such exposures.[11][12]

In 1982, Perera co-authored a seminal paper that defined the nascent field of molecular epidemiology, which uses biomarkers such as DNA adducts to understand the links between environmental exposures and disease with the goal of prevention—an approach she uses in her own research.[13] Perera was also among the first to report evidence that prenatal exposures to environmental toxicants result in adverse health outcomes in childhood and adolescence.[14][15]

Perera has written extensively on the multiple threats to children's health and future well-being from fossil fuel combustion emissions, both from climate change and toxic air pollution, and the benefits of government action on health, the economy, and equity.[16]

Research findings by Perera and colleagues have been used to support, pass, and enforce laws that protect environmental and public health. Through a longstanding partnership with WE ACT for Environmental Justice, the center's findings have been used to influence policy in the areas of air pollution, asthma initiatives, secondhand smoke, residential pesticides, and chemical reform.[17]

Perera has received numerous honors, including the 20th Annual Heinz Award in the Environment for her lifetime achievement in research for the protection of children's health.[18][19]

References

  1. ↑ "Center Research Overview". ccceh.org. Retrieved 2019-09-24.
  2. ↑ "Frederica Perera, DrPH, PhD". ccceh.org. Retrieved 2019-09-24.
  3. ↑ Perera, F. P.; Weinstein, I. B. (1982). "Molecular epidemiology and carcinogen-DNA adduct detection: new approaches to studies of human cancer causation". Journal of Chronic Diseases. 35 (7): 581–600. doi:10.1016/0021-9681(82)90078-9. ISSN 0021-9681. PMID 6282919.
  4. ↑ "Frederica Perera, DrPH, PhD". ccceh.org. Retrieved 2019-09-24.
  5. ↑ "Frederica Perera, DrPH, PhD". ccceh.org. Retrieved 2019-09-24.
  6. ↑ "Frederica Perera | Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health". www.mailman.columbia.edu. Retrieved 2019-09-24.
  7. ↑ Perera, Frederica P.; Li, Zhigang; Whyatt, Robin; Hoepner, Lori; Wang, Shuang; Camann, David; Rauh, Virginia (August 2009). "Prenatal Airborne Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbon Exposure and Child IQ at Age 5 Years". Pediatrics. 124 (2): e195–e202. doi:10.1542/peds.2008-3506. ISSN 0031-4005. PMC 2864932. PMID 19620194.
  8. ↑ Herbstman, Julie B.; Sjödin, Andreas; Kurzon, Matthew; Lederman, Sally A.; Jones, Richard S.; Rauh, Virginia; Needham, Larry L.; Tang, Deliang; Niedzwiecki, Megan; Wang, Richard Y.; Perera, Frederica (May 2010). "Prenatal Exposure to PBDEs and Neurodevelopment". Environmental Health Perspectives. 118 (5): 712–719. doi:10.1289/ehp.0901340. ISSN 0091-6765. PMC 2866690. PMID 20056561.
  9. ↑ Perera, Frederica; Vishnevetsky, Julia; Herbstman, Julie B; Calafat, Antonia M; Xiong, Wei; Rauh, Virginia; Wang, Shuang (August 2012). "Prenatal Bisphenol A Exposure and Child Behavior in an Inner-City Cohort". Environmental Health Perspectives. 120 (8): 1190–1194. doi:10.1289/ehp.1104492. ISSN 0091-6765. PMC 3440080. PMID 22543054.
  10. ↑ Perera, Frederica P.; Wheelock, Kylie; Wang, Ya; Tang, Deliang; Margolis, Amy E.; Badia, Gladys; Cowell, Whitney; Miller, Rachel L.; Rauh, Virginia; Wang, Shuang; Herbstman, Julie B. (January 2018). "Combined effects of prenatal exposure to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and material hardship on child ADHD behavior problems". Environmental Research. 160: 506–513. Bibcode:2018ER....160..506P. doi:10.1016/j.envres.2017.09.002. PMC 5724364. PMID 28987706.
  11. ↑ Perera, Frederica; Li, Tin-yu; Zhou, Zhi-jun; Yuan, Tao; Chen, Yu-hui; Qu, Lirong; Rauh, Virginia A.; Zhang, Yiguan; Tang, Deliang (October 2008). "Benefits of Reducing Prenatal Exposure to Coal-Burning Pollutants to Children's Neurodevelopment in China". Environmental Health Perspectives. 116 (10): 1396–1400. doi:10.1289/ehp.11480. ISSN 0091-6765. PMC 2569101. PMID 18941584.
  12. ↑ Perera, Frederica; Weiland, Katherine; Neidell, Matthew; Wang, Shuang (August 2014). "Prenatal Exposure to Airborne Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons and IQ: Estimated Benefit of Pollution Reduction". Journal of Public Health Policy. 35 (3): 327–336. doi:10.1057/jphp.2014.14. ISSN 0197-5897. PMC 4231817. PMID 24804951.
  13. ↑ Perera, F. P.; Weinstein, I. B. (1982). "Molecular epidemiology and carcinogen-DNA adduct detection: new approaches to studies of human cancer causation". Journal of Chronic Diseases. 35 (7): 581–600. doi:10.1016/0021-9681(82)90078-9. ISSN 0021-9681. PMID 6282919.
  14. ↑ Groopman, Jerome (2010-05-24). "The Plastic Panic". The New Yorker. ISSN 0028-792X. Retrieved 2019-09-24.
  15. ↑ Park, Alice. "Mom's Exposure to Air Pollution Can Increase Kids' Behavior Problems". Time. ISSN 0040-781X. Retrieved 2019-09-24.
  16. ↑ Perera, Frederica P. (February 2017). "Multiple Threats to Child Health from Fossil Fuel Combustion: Impacts of Air Pollution and Climate Change". Environmental Health Perspectives. 125 (2): 141–148. doi:10.1289/EHP299. ISSN 0091-6765. PMC 5289912. PMID 27323709.
  17. ↑ "Policy Impact". ccceh.org. Retrieved 2019-09-24.
  18. ↑ "Frederica Perera, DrPH, PhD". ccceh.org. Retrieved 2019-09-24.
  19. ↑ "Frederica Perera".
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