معرفی
Carrie Breton, ScD is a Professor of Population and Public Health Sciences in the Department of Preventive Medicine at the University of Southern California. She co-directs the Maternal And Developmental Risks from Environmental and Social Stressors (MADRES) Center, where she leads an interdisciplinary research program focused on understanding the long-term health risks for cardiovascular, respiratory and metabolic diseases resulting from the interplay between early-life environmental exposures, susceptibility factors, and biological mechanisms.
As an environmental epidemiologist, Dr. Breton takes a multigenerational approach to examine how pre- and postpartum environmental exposures such as air pollution, tobacco smoke, heavy metals and chemical exposures, coupled with exposures to psychosocial and built environment stressors, affect birth outcomes, perturbed infant growth trajectories and increased childhood obesity risk. Her work specifically addresses environmental health inequities and the epigenetic mechanisms underlying child health outcomes, with a focus on vulnerable populations including Hispanic/Latina communities in urban Los Angeles.
Dr. Breton's research portfolio demonstrates strong thematic consistency across her recent publications, with a clear emphasis on the developmental origins of health and disease framework. Her work integrates environmental exposure assessment with advanced molecular techniques including epigenome-wide and targeted epigenomic investigations to understand how environmental exposures alter DNA methylation and miRNA profiles in pregnancy and in newborns. This research provides critical insights into how environmental factors program future disease risk, particularly in underserved communities experiencing multiple stressors.
As co-director of the MADRES Center, Dr. Breton leads a major research hub focused on environmental and social stressors affecting maternal and child health. Her work frequently involves large cohort studies and collaborations with the Environmental influences on Child Health Outcomes (ECHO) program, contributing significantly to our understanding of how early-life exposures shape long-term health trajectories.
