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Keeve
E.
Nachman
,
PhD

Robert S. Lawrence Professorship in Environmental Health & Engineering
Professor

Keeve Nachman, PhD ’06, MHS ’01, aims to generate the scientific evidence needed to support decisions that mitigate human exposures to chemical and microbial hazards associated with food production.

Contact Info

615 N. Wolfe Street, Room W7007
Baltimore
Maryland
21205
US        

Research Interests

dust; computational toxicology; risk modeling; quantitative microbial risk assessment; QMRA; COVID-19; transit; public health; arsenic; lead; metals; food systems; risk science; risk assessment; diet; climate change; environmental epidemiology; local food systems; systematic review; industrial food animal production; animal waste; animal feed; exposure factors; soil; foraging; urban agriculture; agriculture; biosolids; veterinary drugs; Chesapeake Bay watershed protection; antimicrobial resistance; antibiotic resistance; exposure science; regulatory toxicology; regulatory policy; chemical residues in food; drinking water; product safety; policy; TSCA; environmental justice; non-chemical stressors; vulnerability; chemicals; toxics;

Experiences & Accomplishments
Education
PhD
Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health
2006
MHS
Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health
2001
Overview

I am interested in the interface between science and policy, and the application of a multidisciplinary lens to solve public health and environmental problems associated with the food system.  My research aims to generate the scientific evidence needed to support decisions that mitigate human exposures to chemical and microbial hazards associated with food production.  In addition, I am committed to ensuring that the findings of my research are presented to legislative and regulatory policymakers, public health practitioners and members of the general public in a form that is accessible and useful.
My involvement in the field of public health and the risk sciences spans more than ten years, and includes experiences working in two federal agencies on issues related to toxicology and chemical risk assessment.  My research of food system issues (including antibiotic misuse and arsenic-based drugs) uses a multidisciplinary approach to identify and characterize public health risks that can be addressed through modifications to production practices.

I have published in high-profile publications documenting public health risks stemming from veterinary drug use in industrial food animal production.  My work has been highlighted by national television, radio, print and internet media outlets, including ABC, CNN, CBS Radio, Comedy Central, NPR, the New York Times, the Washington Post, USA Today, the Guardian, the Baltimore Sun, and the San Francisco Chronicle.  My research has twice been covered/parodied on the Colbert Report with Stephen Colbert, illustrating its spread into the public consciousness.
My research interests include: the public health and environmental consequences of industrial food animal and crop production; chemical and microbial food safety; risk assessment and communication; regulatory approaches to synthesis of scientific evidence in decision-making; and transparency in federal rulemaking.

Follow me on Twitter @keeve_nachman.

Honors & Awards

Excellence in Baltimore Public Health Practice, Johns Hopkins Office of Public Health Practice and Training, April 2019
Lipitz Public Health Policy Award, May 2018
EPA “S” Award, July 2008 (Spatial Databases Linking Project)
EPA “S” Award, July 2008 (Probabilistic Risk Activities)
EPA “S” Award, July 2007 (Probabilistic Risk and Risk Portal Activities)
Delta Omega Public Health Honor Society, May 2007
Center for a Livable Future Doctoral Fellowship, July 2005
Center for a Livable Future Doctoral Fellowship, July 2004
Health Policy and Management Departmental Scholarship, September 2002
Risk Sciences and Public Policy Institute Certificate, May 2001

Select Publications

A sampling of recent publications:

  • Lupolt SN, Santo RE, Kim BF, Green C, Codling E, Rule AM, Chen R, Scheckel KG, Strauss M, Cocke A, Little NG, Rupp VC, Viqueira R, Illuminati J, Epp Schmidt A, Nachman KE. The Safe Urban Harvests study: A community-driven cross-sectional assessment of metals in soil, irrigation water, and produce from urban farms and gardens in Baltimore, MD. Environmental Health Perspectives, 2021. https://doi.org/10.1289/EHP9431

  • Overbey KN, Hamra GB, Nachman KE, Rock C, Schwab KJ. 2021. Quantitative microbial risk assessment of human norovirus infection in environmental service workers due to healthcare-associated fomites. Journal of Hospital Infection 117:52-64.

  • Lupolt SN, Agnew J, Burke TA, Kennedy RD, Nachman KE. 2021. Key considerations for assessing soil ingestion exposures among agricultural workers. Journal of Exposure Science & Environmental Epidemiology. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41370-021-00339-z

  • De Pee S, Hardinsyah, Jalal F, Kim BF, Semba RD, Deptford A, Fanzo JC, Ramsing R, Nachman KE, McKenzie S, Bloem MW. 2021. Balancing a sustained pursuit of nutrition, health, affordability and climate goals – The case of Indonesia. The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 114:1686-1697.

  • Santo RE, Kim BF, Goldman SE, Dutkiewicz J, Biehl EMB, Bloem MW, et al. 2020. Considering plant-based meat substitutes and cell-based meats: A public health and food systems perspective. Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systems 4.

Projects
Longitudinal study of pathogen exposure and CAFO worker health
Ending Drinking Water Disparities: A Community Right to Know Approach
INnovations to Generate Estimates of children's Soil/dust inTake (INGEST)