A federally funded study led by Brown University researchers links increased childhood blood lead concentrations with increased depressive symptoms in adolescence, with larger increases when exposure occurred later in childhood.
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Department of Epidemiology
Joseph Braun
Professor, Director of the Center for Children’s Environmental Health
Research Interests
Environmental Health & Climate Change, Child & Adolescent Health
Biography
Joseph Braun was formerly a school nurse in Milwaukee, WI before receiving his master's and doctoral degrees in Epidemiology from the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill. He completed postdoctoral training in environmental health at the Harvard School of Public Health.
For 15 years, Dr. Braun has been committed to identifying modifiable risk factors of pediatric diseases in order to improve public health. Working with an interdisciplinary team that includes epidemiologists, biostatisticians, exposure scientists, physicians, and engineers, he studies the health effects of environmental pollutant exposures before conception and during gestation, infancy, childhood, and adolescence.
Dr. Braun’s research foci includes endocrine disrupting chemicals, toxic metals, obesity, cardiometabolic health, and neurodevelopmental disorders. His research group use advanced biostatistical techniques to quantify the health effects of chemical mixtures, identify periods of heightened susceptibility to chemical exposures, and characterize metabolic and epigenetic pathways that are perturbed by chemical exposures. Finally, Dr. Braun is developing interventions to prevent chemical exposures and their health effects in vulnerable populations.
Dr. Braun and his research team use three prospective cohort studies in North America (HOME, MIREC, and PEACE Studies) to conduct these studies. These cohorts have been following children since before conception or during pregnancy; follow-up now continues as children transition into adolescence.
Recent News
Researchers at Brown University’s School of Public Health found that children exposed to higher levels of triclosan may be more likely to develop eczema and allergy symptoms.
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News from SPH
The city effect: How urban landscapes shape our health
A special live Commencement & Reunion Weekend episode of our podcast, Humans in Public Health, brings Brown University experts from epidemiology and urban studies for a discussion on cities: How they collect public health problems and the ways they might help us to address those same issues.
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During a campus conversation to celebrate the launch of the Center for Climate, Environment and Health, panelists explored the impacts of climate change on human health and the research that will drive life-saving solutions.
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An analysis by Brown University researchers found an association between the use of personal care products and concentrations of PFAS in people who were pregnant or lactating.
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News from SPH
Heavy Metal
Firearms are dangerous, but their ammunition holds a silent threat: dangerously high levels of lead. Brown doctoral student Christian Hoover teams up with Professor Joseph Braun to examine the connection between guns and elevated lead levels in America’s children and adults.
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