
Departmental Affiliations
Lesliam Quirós-Alcalá, PhD, MSc, leverages her expertise in exposure science and environmental epidemiology to investigate the potential health impacts of chemical exposures on high-risk populations.
Contact Info
Research Interests
Antimicrobials; Asthma; Biomarkers/Biomonitoring; Children's environmental health; Consumer products; Endocrine disruptors; Environmental epidemiology; Environmental exposures; Environmental phenols; Exposure assessment; Flame retardants; Consumer Products; Occupational epidemiology; Occupational health/ Industrial Hygiene; Perinatal and Pediatric Epidemiology; Pesticides; Phthalates; Respiratory disease; Women's health
Experiences & Accomplishments
As an exposure scientist and environmental epidemiologist, my research bridges the fields of exposure science and environmental epidemiology to advance our understanding of how environmental factors influence human health. My work focuses on elucidating exposure-response relationships to inform evidence-based public health policies and interventions aimed at mitigating harmful exposures and enhancing health outcomes. Specifically, I investigate environmental exposures to endocrine-disrupting chemicals and their health effects, with a particular focus on occupational groups, pregnant women, women of reproductive age, and children. My research has explored exposures from personal care products, cleaning agents, pesticides, flame retardants, PFAS, and other endocrine disrupting chemicals while also validating biomarkers to improve exposure assessment methodologies.
I integrate both quantitative and qualitative research methods to develop actionable strategies for reducing harmful exposures. In collaboration with colleagues from the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine and the University of Texas Dell Medical School, I am currently investigating the role of environmental exposures on asthma morbidity among inner-city children. Other projects I'm currently engaged in include assessing occupational exposures and their potential effects among hairdressers, examining the impacts of environmental agents on hormones, and assessing environmental exposures and associated health risks in Latin America. I am also a Co-Investigator for the Environmental Influences on Child Health Outcomes (ECHO) Data Analysis Center at Johns Hopkins. I have experience working in children’s environmental health research, occupational health, science communication, and working with neglected communities.
I welcome the opportunity to establish new collaborations and to work with talented undergraduates, graduate students, and postdocs.
Honors & Awards
SELECT AWARDS:
2019: International Society of Exposure Science Joan M. Daisey Outstanding Young Scientist Award
2018: Delta Omega Honorary Society Inductee
2017: NHLBI K01 Career Development Award
2015-16: Stamp Service-Learning Teaching Fellowship; University of Maryland
2014: American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) Science and Technology Fellowship Finalist
2011-13: Passport Foundation, Postdoctoral Grant
2012-13: Environmental Health News Science Communication Fellowship
2012: Environmental Endocrine Disruptors Gordon Research Conference Travel Award
2012, 2010, 2009:International Society of Exposure Science (ISES) Conference Travel Award
2011: UC San Francisco Reach the Decision Makers Science Policy Fellowship
2009: International Society of Exposure Science Poster Competition, 2nd Place
2009,2007: Preston Scholarship for focusing on research that impacts environmental and children’s health , School of Public Health, UC Berkeley
2008: American Public Health Association (APHA) Environment Section Poster Award, 1st Place
2008, 2007: William Griffiths School of Public Health Alumni Scholarship, UC Berkeley
2007: School of Public Health Grossman Alumni Scholarship, UC Berkeley
2005-08: Environmental Protection Agency Science to Achieve Results (STAR) Doctoral Fellowship
2005: Center for Occupational and Environmental Health Student Award
2005: Dr. Robert T. Legge Award for academic excellence in the field of Industrial Hygiene
2003-05: UC Berkeley Opportunity Award Pre-doctoral Fellowship
Select Publications
Select Publications
Quirós-Alcalá L, Hansel NN, McCormack MC, and Matsui EC. Exposure to bisphenols and asthma morbidity among low-income urban children with asthma. The Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology. July 2020. DOI:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jaci.2020.05.031
Boyle M.*#, Buckley JP, and Quirós-Alcalá L*. Associations between urinary organophosphate ester metabolites and measures of adiposity among U.S. children and adults: NHANES 2013-2014. Environment International, 2019; 127:754-763; doi: 10.1016/j.envint.2019.03.055. (*Shared first-authorship; # Student)
Buckley J.P., Quirós-Alcalá L., Teitelbaum S.L., Calafat A.M., Wolff M.S., and Engel S.M. Associations of prenatal environmental phenol and phthalate biomarkers with respiratory and allergic diseases among children aged 6 and 7 years. Environment International, 2018. 115:79-88.
Bradman A.*, Quiros-Alcala L.*, Castorina R., Aguilar Schall R., Camacho J., Holland N.T., Barr D.B., and Eskenazi B. Effect of Organic Diet Intervention on Pesticide Exposures in Young Children Living in Low-Income Urban and Agricultural Communities. Environ Health Perspect, 2015. 123(10): p. 1086-93. (*Shared first-authorship)
Quiros-Alcala L., Bradman A., Nishioka M., Harnly M.E., Hubbard A., McKone T.E., Ferber J., and Eskenazi B. Pesticides in house dust from urban and farmworker households in California: an observational measurement study. Environ Health, 2011. 10: p. 19.