CEW+ is inspired by Lauren’s leadership and names her a Menakka and Essel Bailey Graduate Fellow.

Lauren Ward is a PhD student in Environmental Health Sciences passionate about producing research that is useful for policymakers in reducing harmful exposures and improving overall health. Previously, Lauren conducted research on the epidemiology of waterborne pathogens in Kathmandu as a master’s student in public health and tropical medicine. This research marked the beginning of Lauren’s ongoing collaboration with colleagues in Nepal and resulted in three co-authored publications.

Now, Lauren is returning to Nepal to research the immune system effects of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) exposure on adolescents in the Chitwan Valley. PFAS are a class of persistent and toxic chemicals that are found in products and contaminating the environment all over the world, yet most studies on PFAS toxicity have been conducted in North America and Europe. Lauren’s project will be the first known study to measure PFAS blood levels in adolescents in Nepal (along with antibody levels to two common infectious diseases, cytomegalovirus and COVID-19). As Lauren’s professor remarks, Lauren’s work will make an impact by “provid[ing] important empirical evidence that Nepalese public health officials can use to assess and manage these exposures.”

Lauren is committed to ethical and mutually beneficial community research, and in the future, she hopes to pursue a career as a research professor and to continue collaborating with colleagues in Nepal. Her committee chair remarks that she is “poised to become a leader in global environmental health research” with a particular interest in the contributions of occupational and environmental exposures to infectious disease susceptibility and immune function. Lauren is already recognized for her “exceptional leadership” at U-M, where she has served as president of her department’s graduate student organization, a peer mentor in the SOAR program, and a doctoral representative for multiple department- and school-wide professional student organizations.

CEW+ is inspired by Lauren’s leadership and names her a Menakka and Essel Bailey Graduate Fellow.