2023 John P. Wyatt, M.D. Environment and Health Symposium

Johnnye Lewis, PhD

Director of the Community Environmental Health Program at the University of New Mexico METALS Superfund Research Center/Navajo Birth Cohort Study/ECHO

Partnering with Indigenous Communities on Uranium Exposure Science: From Populations to Mechanisms to Interventions

Dr. Johnnye Lewis is a toxicologist and the founder and Director of the Community Environmental Health Program (CEHP) at the University of New Mexico’s Health Sciences Center College of Pharmacy from 1996 until her retirement in 2022.  She now co-directs CEHP with Dr. Debra MacKenzie. She holds an MA in Psychology (University of Victoria), Ph.D. in Pharmacology (University of Manitoba), and did her postdoctoral work in inhalation toxicology at the DOE Inhalation Toxicology Research Institute.  After running her own environmental health consulting business, she went to the University of New Mexico in 1996 and began building community/research partnerships, primarily with Indigenous communities, to address environmental injustice concerns through team science that integrates population and field studies with mechanistic laboratory studies to link exposures to outcomes, confirm mechanisms, and develop environmental and health interventions to reduce risk. As a Professor Emerita, she now remains Director of the UNM METALS Superfund Center (NIEHS), and MPI of the Navajo Birth Cohort/ECHO study (NIH-OD) and of the Center for Native American Environmental Health Research Equity (NIMHD).  Her work has been recognized through awards from diverse sectors including Communities, the New Mexico Environmental Law Center, the Society of Toxicology, and Navajo Nation Environmental Protection Agency.

Ellen J. Hahn, PhD, RN, FAAN
Professor and Director, BREATHE and UK-CARES, Marcia A. Dake Professorship UK College of Nursing

Ellen J. Hahn is a Professor in the Colleges of Nursing and Public Health at the University of Kentucky (UK) in Lexington. She holds the Marcia A. Dake Endowed Professorship in the College of Nursing. Dr. Hahn is Director for UK-CARES (Center for Appalachian Research in Environmental Sciences; P30 ES026529). Dr. Hahn is also the Director for the Occupational and Environmental Health Nursing (OEHN) Core of the NIOSH-funded Central Appalachian Regional Education and Research Center (CARERC). Dr. Hahn also directs the Kentucky Center for Smoke-free Policy and the BREATHE (Bridging Research Efforts and Advocacy Toward Healthy Environments) research team in the College of Nursing. Dr. Hahn conducts community-engaged environmental health outreach and research to reduce risk from tobacco use, tobacco smoke exposure, and radon exposure especially in disparate rural, lower-income communities. She leads two types of community-engaged research and outreach initiatives in implementation and dissemination science: 1) population-based environmental risk reduction intervention and observational studies; and 2) development and testing of evidence-based policy advocacy interventions guided by stage of community readiness to promote policy change. Dr. Hahn has worked with community partners to conduct several citizen science projects to reduce environmental risks from tobacco smoke and radon exposure.

Dr. Hahn will moderate the discussion.

Panelists:

Lindi Campbell, Founder & President, Breath of Hope Kentucky, Inc., Lung Cancer Patient and Advocate

Lindi Campbell had two lobes of her right lung removed in 2017, when she was diagnosed with lung cancer at the age of 53. After she experienced a recurrence of cancer in her left lung in 2020, biomarker testing revealed she has the EGFR Exon 19 mutation that is driving her cancer. She is currently on the targeted therapy drug, Osimertinib and has remained recurrence free for the past 2 ½ years. When radon testing of her childhood home revealed a level of 21.6 pCi/L, a toxicity level equal to smoking 40 cigarettes a day, Lindi made it her mission to improve and expand conversations around lung cancer that include discussions on the varied causes and factors surrounding this deadly diagnosis. She founded the nonprofit, Breath of Hope Kentucky, and has raised over $135,000 for lung cancer research initiatives focused on improving survival statistics in and around her home state of Kentucky.

Natalie DuPre, ScD, MS, University of Louisville

Dr. Natalie DuPré is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Epidemiology and Population Health at the University of Louisville.  Her research goals are to investigate the role of environmental factors and biological mechanisms influencing carcinogenesis and cancer progression in humans by combining expertise across cancer, environmental and molecular epidemiology.

Scott J. Chiavacci, PhD, U.S. Geological Survey

Dr. Scott Chiavacci is an Ecologist with the U.S. Geological Survey’s Science and Decisions Center.  His interdisciplinary research covers topics such as the value of scientific information, the socio-economic impacts of chronic wasting disease, market-based conservation, and the effects of invasive species on ecosystem services.

Stacy Stanifer, PhD, Assistant Professor of Nursing, UK College of Nursing

Dr. Stacy Stanifer is an Oncology Clinical Nurse Specialist and Assistant Professor at the University of Kentucky College of Nursing. As an early-stage investigator, her research interests concentrate on investigating co-exposures to two environmental carcinogens, radon and tobacco smoke, to guide cancer prevention and health policy development.