Two Former PROTECT Trainees Awarded Harvard JPB Environmental Health Fellowships

Nov 16, 2022 | PROTECT Trainees

Former PROTECT Trainees Dr. Max Aung and Dr. Stephanie Eick are among the 14 new scholars to be awarded Harvard JPB Environmental Health Fellowships this year. They are part of just the third cohort to join the program, which now supports 41 Fellows from institutions across the US.

Dr. Max Aung

The JPB Foundation established the JPB Environmental Health Fellowship Program in 2014 to support the careers of junior faculty and federal research scientists who investigate the influence of the social and environmental determinants of health inequities in under-resourced communities. Fellows are selected through a highly competitive, multi-stage process that looks at scholars from across the country. Over 3.5 years, they receive up to $250,000 in funding for workshop travel, approved research projects, and participation in program activities. The program also offers opportunities for training in proposal development, multidisciplinary research, leadership, and communications. Scholars remain at their home institutions and schools, but meet twice a year for week-long workshops for training and career development.

Max and Stephanie are both excited to pursue environmental justice research and work with their fellow scholars. As an Assistant Professor in the Division of Environmental Health at USC’s Keck School of Medicine, Max looks primarily at the environmental influences on developmental health across the life course, as well as the links between environmental toxicants and changes in pregnant women’s and children’s bodies. Stephanie, an Assistant Professor in the Rollins School of Public Health at Emory University, is an environmental epidemiologist and focuses on how non-chemical stressors can intensify the harmful effects of chemicals, and how this can impact maternal and child health outcomes. This fellowship will not only support them both as they pursue their respective work, but it will also further their continued growth into well-rounded and leading researchers.

Dr. Stephanie Eick

Congratulations to Max and Stephanie for this major recognition!