Dear Friends,

We at the Columbia Center for Children's Environmental Health stand with Historically Black Colleges and Universities, the students, families and the college community, as they face unconscionable threats to disrupt their sense of wellbeing, education and community.

We know our nation's African American community is resilient and brave, yet acts like these have no place in our schools and communities. This is especially painful during Black History Month as we pause to recognize the resilience, determination, creativity, contributions and inspiration the Black community has provided our nation and world.

We are heartened by the greater awareness of most Americans and are grateful to WE ACT, and our larger Community Advisory and Stakeholder Board members that make it their life's work to address these social ills.

We would also like to recognize and express our deepest appreciation and gratitude to CCCEH's African American study participants from Harlem, the South Bronx and Washington Heights, and our staff.

It is through their participation and work, that we gain knowledge of the deleterious effects environmental toxins and air pollution have on children, especially the children in marginalized communities. As we work within a environmental health and justice framework, we will seek to understand and address toxicity in all its forms.

We will remember, celebrate and educate!


In Solidarity and Peace
10 Decades, 10 Black Columbians You Should Know
By Kelly Moffitt and Jennifer Pellerito
February 01, 2022

In the last 100+ years, Black Columbians have made their mark on the university and our world. This Black History Month, we are highlighting 10 Black Columbians you should know more about, each one representing a decade stretching back 100 years. 

There are, of course, many, many more noteworthy Black Columbians, but this list is a good place to start. Indeed, you might want to check out last year’s list about historic Black activism at the university and beyond. As always, you can read more on our Black History and Culture website. Throughout the month, we will be tweeting every day about notable Black Columbians. Follow along with the hashtag: #CUBlackHistory. 

CCCEH & EHS Department
News & Research
An Environmental Health Scientist Widens the Lens, January 18th, 2022

As the saying goes: beauty is only skin deep. Yet the way beauty is defined often inflicts damage that cuts deeper. In her research, Ami Zota, an incoming faculty member in the Department of Environmental Health Sciences, has exposed the hidden risks of chemicals used in beauty products and documented their disproportionate harms among women of color.

Beyond a simple account of environmental risk factors, Zota, who will join the Columbia Mailman faculty in June, has widened her scientific lens to account for the roles played by social forces and societal injustices in shaping exposures. Over the last decade, she has shared her insights on these injustices with community groups and policymakers to change how consumer products are used and regulated.
Columbia at COP26: Climate Change and Public Health, January 19, 2022
Many of the world’s leading climate experts gathered recently in Glasgow, Scotland to discuss the state of our planet’s environment at the 26th Annual United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP26).
Living in a Walkable Neighborhood Lowers Risk of Excessive Weight Gain During Pregnancy, February 2, 2022

In one of the first studies to examine the link between neighborhood characteristics and weight gain during pregnancy, Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health researchers find that pregnant people who live in walkable neighborhoods in New York City have lower odds of excessive gestational weight gain (GWG) than those who live elsewhere in the city. They also found that living in a neighborhood with high rates of poverty increased the odds of excessive GWG. The findings are published in the journal Obesity.
Support the Success of the NYC Clean Heat Program
Spread the Word
Burning Dirty Heating Oil infographic available in English and Spanish. Download at our CCCEH website or email mu3@cumc.columbia.edu, (email subject line: Poster Wanted) and we will send you posters.

Support our Children's Environmental Health Research:
PREGNANT STUDY PARTICIPANTS NEEDED

We are actively recruiting:

  • Pregnant women 30 weeks or less
  • Delivering at NYP hospital or Allen Pavilion

Thank you! 

For more information in English and Spanish click here.
OMICRON
Information/Información
Vaccine Finder

  •  NY Presbyterian
Call: 646-838-0319
 Mon-Fri 9:00 am – 4:45 pm

  • EXCELSIOR PASS- secure, digital proof of COVID-19 vaccination or negative test results.
For more information on children's vaccine, please find the links below. Para mas informacion sobre las vacunas para niños, los enlaces a continuación tambien en español.




CONTINUE THESE PREVENTION PRACTICES EVEN AFTER YOU RECEIVE THE VACCINE

Support Columbia's Center for
Children's Environmental Health
Help us create a world in which every child has a healthy start.
 
The Center’s research is powering action to reduce the impacts of climate change, air pollution, and toxic chemicals on children and families.

Your support is yielding both immediate and long-term benefits to children’s health today and in the future. Your gift will protect the gains that we have achieved together.
 
We hope you will make a tax-free gift donation to the Center in order to continue this important work. 
 
With Gratitude
Julie Herbstman, PhD
Director, Columbia Center for Children's Environmental Health

Frederica P. Perera, DrPH, PhD
Director of Translational Research and Founding Director
Columbia Center for Children's Environmental Health

Columbia Center for Children's Environmental Health