Departmental Affiliations
Research Interests
Air pollution, PFAS, obesity, type 2 diabetes, neurodevelopment
Additional Links
Experiences & Accomplishments
Dr. Tanya Alderete's current research is centered on the intersection of environmental exposures, metabolic health, and the human microbiome, with a focus on obesity and type 2 diabetes. Dr. Alderete employs a multidisciplinary approach, integrating clinical research, epidemiological methods, and omics techniques to explore how environmental factors contribute to chronic diseases. One of her notable areas of research includes examining the impact of near-roadway and ambient air pollution on the development of type 2 diabetes in youth. Her studies have been among the first to demonstrate how exposure to air pollutants can influence the pathophysiology of this condition and affect the gut microbiome's composition and function throughout life.
Overall, her team investigates various projects such as the effects of persistent organic pollutants on diabetes risk factors in youth and the influence of environmental exposures on breastmilk and infant growth trajectories. Additionally, she collaborates on several NIH-funded projects focusing on environmental exposures and their longitudinal impacts on growth trajectories and neurodevelopment outcomes in early life. Dr. Alderete has received an National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) K99/R00 Pathway to Independence Award, the Health Effects Institute (HEI) Rosenblith New Investigator Award, and an two NIEHS R01s. Additionally, she co-leads Project 1 of the Southern California Center for Chronic Health Disparities in Latino Families and Children (SCC-CHDLFC), further highlighting her commitment to addressing critical public health issues.
Honors & Awards
- 2024: Anschutz-Boulder (AB) Nexus Award, University of Colorado Boulder
- 2023: Provost’s Faculty Achievement Award, University of Colorado Boulder
- 2020, 2021: Outstanding Mentor Award (Honorable Mention), University of Colorado Boulder, Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program (UROP)
- 2019: Rosenblith New Investigator Award, Health Effects Institute (HEI)
Select Publications
Selected publications from the last 5 years
Fouladi F, Bailey MJ, Patterson WB, Sioda M, Blakley IC, Fodor AA, Jones RB, Chen Z, Kim JS, Lurmann F, Martino C, Knight R, Gilliland FD, Alderete TL. Air pollution exposure is associated with the gut microbiome as revealed by shotgun metagenomic sequencing. Environ Int. 2020 May;138:105604. doi: 10.1016/j.envint.2020.105604. Epub 2020 Mar 2. PMID: 32135388; PMCID: PMC7181344.
Patterson WB, Glasson J, Naik N, Jones RB, Berger PK, Plows JF, Minor HA, Lurmann F, Goran MI, Alderete TL. Prenatal exposure to ambient air pollutants and early infant growth and adiposity in the Southern California Mother's Milk Study. Environ Health. 2021 Jun 5;20(1):67. doi: 10.1186/s12940-021-00753-8. PMID: 34090448; PMCID: PMC8180163.
Alderete TL, Jones RB, Shaffer JP, Holzhausen EA, Patterson WB, Kazemian E, Chatzi L, Knight R, Plows JF, Berger PK, Goran MI. Early life gut microbiota is associated with rapid infant growth in Hispanics from Southern California. Gut Microbes. 2021 Jan-Dec;13(1):1961203. doi: 10.1080/19490976.2021.1961203. PMID: 34424832; PMCID: PMC8386720.
Bailey MJ, Holzhausen EA, Morgan ZEM, Naik N, Shaffer JP, Liang D, Chang HH, Sarnat J, Sun S, Berger PK, Schmidt KA, Lurmann F, Goran MI, Alderete TL. Postnatal exposure to ambient air pollutants is associated with the composition of the infant gut microbiota at 6-months of age. Gut Microbes. 2022 Jan-Dec;14(1):2105096. doi: 10.1080/19490976.2022.2105096. PMID: 35968805; PMCID: PMC9466616.
Holzhausen EA, Shen N, Chalifour B, Tran V, Li Z, Sarnat JA, Chang HH, Jones DP, Goran MI, Liang D, Alderete TL. Longitudinal profiles of the fecal metabolome during the first 2 years of life. Sci Rep. 2023 Feb 2;13(1):1886. doi: 10.1038/s41598-023-28862-z. PMID: 36732537; PMCID: PMC9895434.