Frederica Perera (born 1941) is an American

environmental health Environmental health is the branch of public health concerned with all aspects of the natural and built environment affecting human health. In order to effectively control factors that may affect health, the requirements that must be met in ...

scientist and the founder of the Columbia Center for Children's Environmental Health at the

Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health The Joseph L. Mailman School of Public Health is the public health graduate school of Columbia University. Located on the Columbia University Medical Center campus in the Washington Heights neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City, the school ...

. Her research career has focused on identifying and preventing harm to children from prenatal and early childhood exposure to environmental chemicals and pollutants. She is internationally recognized for pioneering the field of

molecular epidemiology Molecular epidemiology is a branch of epidemiology and medical science that focuses on the contribution of potential genetic and environmental risk factors, identified at the molecular level, to the etiology, distribution and prevention of disease ...

, incorporating molecular techniques into epidemiological studies to measure biologic doses, preclinical responses and susceptibility to toxic exposure.

Biography

Born in Boston, Massachusetts, Perera received her bachelor's degree in

Liberal Arts Liberal arts education (from Latin "free" and "art or principled practice") is the traditional academic course in Western higher education. ''Liberal arts'' takes the term ''art'' in the sense of a learned skill rather than specifically the ...

from

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...

Radcliffe College Radcliffe College was a women's liberal arts college in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and functioned as the female coordinate institution for the all-male Harvard College. Considered founded in 1879, it was one of the Seven Sisters colleges and he ...

in 1963. She received her DrPH in Environmental Health Sciences from

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...

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.

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. These exposures include toxic chemicals,

pesticide Pesticides are substances that are meant to control pests. This includes herbicide, insecticide, nematicide, molluscicide, piscicide, avicide, rodenticide, bactericide, insect repellent, animal repellent, microbicide, fungicide, and lampri ...

s, and

air pollution Air pollution is the contamination of air due to the presence of substances in the atmosphere that are harmful to the health of humans and other living beings, or cause damage to the climate or to materials. There are many different types ...

, with particular focus on the adverse effects of prenatal and early childhood exposures. 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. The research also found that stress and maternal hardship can increase the harm from chemical exposures. The research has demonstrated the benefits of policies and other interventions to reduce or eliminate such exposures. In 1982, Perera co-authored a seminal paper that defined the nascent field of

, 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. Perera was also among the first to report evidence that prenatal exposures to environmental toxicants result in adverse health outcomes in childhood and adolescence. 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. 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. 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.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Perera, Frederica 1941 births Living people Columbia University alumni Radcliffe College alumni Harvard University alumni People from Boston 20th-century women scientists 21st-century women scientists American women environmentalists American environmentalists Environmental scientists 21st-century American women