Discipline(s):
Environmental Health, Epidemiology

Area(s) of Expertise:
Epigenetics, Gene/Environment Interactions

E-Mail:
rpils@umich.edu

Background:
Richard Pilsner will receive his PhD in Environmental Health Sciences at the Mailman School of Public Health at Columbia University in the summer of 2007. His dissertation investigates the interplay of inorganic arsenic exposure and folate nutritional status on genomic DNA methylation in adults residing in Bangladesh. Epigenetic events represent important mechanisms by which reversible heritable changes in gene function occur without change in DNA sequence, mainly through alterations in DNA methylation and histone modifications. Many cancers and other adverse health outcomes have been linked to underlying epigenetic mechanisms. As a Health and Society Scholar, Richard plans on investigating how aberrations in epigenetic markers are influenced by the interaction between environmental exposures and nutrition/social/other demographic indicators. He aims to bridge the gaps between these indicators by combining epigenetic research and molecular epidemiology to further the field of population health epigenomics. Richard holds a Masters degree in Public Health from Columbia University, where in 2001, he was awarded a two year EPA STAR fellowship to study the effects of manganese exposure on mitochondrial respiration and iron homeostasis.

Journal Articles:
Click here for a list of Richard Pilsner's available publications in PubMed.