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Erika Garcia, PhD, MPH

Assistant Professor of Population and Public Health Sciences

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Overview

Erika Garcia is an Assistant Professor in the Division of Environmental Health of the Department of Preventive Medicine at the Keck School of Medicine of USC. She is an environmental epidemiologist whose research focuses on the role of airborne environmental contaminants in the development of human disease and applies both traditional epidemiologic as well as advanced causal inference methodologies. She has published studies conducted in both occupational and community exposure settings. Her early research involved examination of the healthy worker survivor effect and application of g-methods in cancer studies of autoworkers exposed to metalworking fluids. More recently, her research has focused on the effects of early-life air pollution exposure on pediatric respiratory and metabolic health outcomes, including new-onset asthma, lung function, and childhood obesity. As part of these studies, she uses causal inference methods to estimate effects of policy-relevant air pollution interventions. Dr. Garcia received a PhD and MPH in Environmental Health Sciences from the University of California, Berkeley.

Publications

  • Childhood Air Pollution Exposure Associated with Self-Reported Bronchitic Symptoms in Adulthood Am J Respir Crit Care Med. 2024 Jun 28. . View in PubMed
  • Development and Validation of a Novel Placental DNA Methylation Biomarker of Maternal Smoking during Pregnancy in the ECHO Program Environ Health Perspect. 2024 Jun; 132(6):67005. . View in PubMed
  • J Expo Sci Environ Epidemiol. 2024 May 07. . View in PubMed
  • Effect of parental adverse childhood experiences on intergenerational DNA methylation signatures from peripheral blood mononuclear cells and buccal mucosa Transl Psychiatry. 2024 Feb 12; 14(1):89. . View in PubMed
  • Ambient temperature and air pollution associations with suicide and homicide mortality in California: A statewide case-crossover study Sci Total Environ. 2023 May 20; 874:162462. . View in PubMed
  • California’s early transition to electric vehicles: Observed health and air quality co-benefits Sci Total Environ. 2023 Apr 01; 867:161761. . View in PubMed
  • Adaptation Resources and Responses to Wildfire Smoke and Other Forms of Air Pollution in Low-Income Urban Settings: A Mixed-Methods Study Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2023 04 04; 20(7). . View in PubMed
  • The Effects of Coexposure to Extremes of Heat and Particulate Air Pollution on Mortality in California: Implications for Climate Change Am J Respir Crit Care Med. 2022 Nov 01; 206(9):1117-1127. . View in PubMed
  • Independent associations of short- and long-term air pollution exposure with COVID-19 mortality among Californians Environ Adv. 2022 Oct; 9:100280. . View in PubMed
  • Health Outcomes in Children Associated with Prenatal and Early-Life Exposures to Air Pollution: A Narrative Review Toxics. 2022 Aug 08; 10(8). . View in PubMed
  • Temperature variability associations with cardiovascular and respiratory emergency department visits in Dhaka, Bangladesh Environ Int. 2022 06; 164:107267. . View in PubMed
  • Prenatal metal(loid) mixtures and birth weight for gestational age: A pooled analysis of three cohorts participating in the ECHO program Environ Int. 2022 03; 161:107102. . View in PubMed
  • Moving beyond medication: Assessment and interventions on environmental and social determinants are needed to reduce severe asthma J Allergy Clin Immunol. 2022 02; 149(2):535-537. . View in PubMed
  • Long-term air pollution and COVID-19 mortality rates in California: Findings from the Spring/Summer and Winter surges of COVID-19 Environ Pollut. 2022 Jan 01; 292(Pt B):118396. . View in PubMed
  • Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2022 09 04; 19(17). . View in PubMed
  • Climate Change Health Effects and What You Can Do Am J Respir Crit Care Med. 2022 01 01; 205(1):P1-P2. . View in PubMed
  • Association of Prenatal Exposure to Endocrine-Disrupting Chemicals With Liver Injury in Children JAMA Netw Open. 2022 07 01; 5(7):e2220176. . View in PubMed
  • The Role of Childhood Asthma in Obesity Development: A Nationwide US Multicohort Study Epidemiology. 2022 01 01; 33(1):131-140. . View in PubMed
  • Association of improved air quality with lower dementia risk in older women Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2022 01 11; 119(2). . View in PubMed
  • Prenatal and childhood exposure to air pollution and traffic and the risk of liver injury in European children Environ Epidemiol. 2021 Jun; 5(3):e153. . View in PubMed
  • COVID-19 Mortality in California Based on Death Certificates: Disproportionate Impacts Across Racial/Ethnic Groups and Nativity medRxiv. 2021 Mar 03. . View in PubMed
  • Long-term exposures to air pollutants affect FeNO in children: a longitudinal study Eur Respir J. 2021 11; 58(5). . View in PubMed
  • In Utero Exposure to Mercury Is Associated With Increased Susceptibility to Liver Injury and Inflammation in Childhood Hepatology. 2021 09; 74(3):1546-1559. . View in PubMed
  • Air pollution and lung function in children J Allergy Clin Immunol. 2021 07; 148(1):1-14. . View in PubMed
  • COVID-19 mortality in California based on death certificates: disproportionate impacts across racial/ethnic groups and nativity Ann Epidemiol. 2021 06; 58:69-75. . View in PubMed
  • The clear and persistent impact of air pollution on chronic respiratory diseases: a call for interventions Eur Respir J. 2021 03; 57(3). . View in PubMed
  • It’s Not Just a Smoking-related Disease: Outdoor Pollution May Increase Risk of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease Am J Respir Crit Care Med. 2021 05 01; 203(9):1057-1058. . View in PubMed
  • Prenatal Exposure to Perfluoroalkyl Substances Associated With Increased Susceptibility to Liver Injury in Children Hepatology. 2020 11; 72(5):1758-1770. . View in PubMed
  • COVID-19, Climate Change, and the American Thoracic SocietyA Shared Responsibility. Ann Am Thorac Soc. 2020 09; 17(9):1052-1055. . View in PubMed
  • Patterns and determinants of exhaled nitric oxide trajectories in schoolchildren over a 7-year period Eur Respir J. 2020 07; 56(1). . View in PubMed
  • Arsenic and birth outcomes in a predominately lower income Hispanic pregnancy cohort in Los Angeles Environ Res. 2020 05; 184:109294. . View in PubMed
  • Outdoor Air Pollution and New-Onset Airway DiseaseAn Official American Thoracic Society Workshop Report. Ann Am Thorac Soc. 2020 04; 17(4):387-398. . View in PubMed
  • The Potential Effects of Policy-driven Air Pollution Interventions on Childhood Lung Development Am J Respir Crit Care Med. 2020 02 15; 201(4):438-444. . View in PubMed
  • Effects of policy-driven hypothetical air pollutant interventions on childhood asthma incidence in southern California Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2019 08 06; 116(32):15883-15888. . View in PubMed
  • Association of Changes in Air Quality With Incident Asthma in Children in California, 1993-2014 JAMA. 2019 05 21; 321(19):1906-1915. . View in PubMed
  • Lung cancer mortality and exposure to synthetic metalworking fluid and biocides: controlling for the healthy worker survivor effect Occup Environ Med. 2018 10; 75(10):730-735. . View in PubMed
  • Contrasting Causal Effects of Workplace Interventions Epidemiology. 2018 07; 29(4):542-546. . View in PubMed
  • Breast Cancer Incidence and Exposure to Metalworking Fluid in a Cohort of Female Autoworkers Am J Epidemiol. 2018 03 01; 187(3):539-547. . View in PubMed
  • Assessment of the healthy worker survivor effect in cancer studies of the United Autoworkers-General Motors cohort Occup Environ Med. 2017 03; 74(4):294-300. . View in PubMed
  • Evaluating a county-based healthy nail salon recognition program Am J Ind Med. 2015 Feb; 58(2):193-202. . View in PubMed
  • Hazardous air pollutants and breast cancer risk in California teachers: a cohort study Environ Health. 2015 Jan 30; 14:14. . View in PubMed
  • Environmental Street Audits and Black Carbon Measurements in Vietnamese Immigrant Communities Prog Community Health Partnersh. 2015; 9(2):179-90. . View in PubMed
  • Evaluation of the agreement between modeled and monitored ambient hazardous air pollutants in California Int J Environ Health Res. 2014 Aug; 24(4):363-77. . View in PubMed
  • A cross-sectional analysis of light at night, neighborhood sociodemographics and urinary 6-sulfatoxymelatonin concentrations: implications for the conduct of health studies Int J Health Geogr. 2013 Aug 30; 12:39. . View in PubMed
  • Reducing chemical exposures in nail salons through owner and worker trainings: an exploratory intervention study Am J Ind Med. 2013 Jul; 56(7):806-17. . View in PubMed
  • Determinants and within-person variability of urinary cadmium concentrations among women in northern California Environ Health Perspect. 2013 Jun; 121(6):643-9. . View in PubMed
  • Ischemic heart disease mortality and PM(35) in a cohort of autoworkers. Am J Ind Med. 2013 Mar; 56(3):317-25. . View in PubMed

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