CAPS February Seminar

The Impact of Environmental Pollutants on Cardiometabolic Health Disparities

Presenter:
Chibuzor Abasilim, PhD, MPH
Assistant Professor of Epidemiology
Joseph J. Zilber College of Public Health
University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee

For groups facing elevated exposure to pollutants due to occupation, residence and sociocultural factors, the risk and burden of cardiometabolic conditions including diabetes and hypertension may be elevated. My research focuses on two main questions in this area. First, I study which pollutants people are actually exposed to and how much of these substances they encounter in their environment. Second, I assess whether these pollutants increase the risk of hypertension and diabetes, and how this occurs biologically in order to prevent poor health outcomes. Findings from my collaborations will be presented and future directions will be discussed, with a particular focus on Milwaukee County. Bio: Chibuzor Abasilim is an assistant professor of epidemiology. His research interests are in measuring exposure to legacy and emerging pollutants and studying their contribution to the progression of cardiometabolic disease, particularly in those of Hispanic/Latino and African ancestry. Some of his ongoing research is in collaboration with the Hispanic Community Health Study/Study of Latinos (HCHS/SOL), the Chicago Multiethnic Prevention and Surveillance Study (COMPASS), the Hypertension Treatment Program in Nigeria and the Household Air Pollution In-utero through Early Childhood on Neurocognitive Development from Infancy to 9 years (HAPCOG) study.