Devon Payne-Sturges

Dr. Devon Payne-Sturges is a tenured Professor of Environmental Health Sciences at the University of Michigan School of Public Health. She directs a multidisciplinary research portfolio that confronts environmental health disparities, focusing on cumulative risk assessment, children’s environmental health, and the health of migrant farmworkers. Recognized with the 2024 Environmental Health Career Award by the American Public Health Association’s Environment Section, she integrates systems modeling with community-engaged research to inform equitable policy solutions.

Education:

• Dr.P.H., Environmental Health Sciences, Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health, 2002
• M.P.H., Environmental Health Sciences, Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health, 1997
• M.Engr., Environmental Engineering, University of Virginia, 1990
• B.S., Civil Engineering, University of Virginia, 1989

Research Interests:

Dr. Payne-Sturges advances three interlocking themes. First, she develops cumulative risk methods that integrate non-chemical stressors such as structural racism into regulatory frameworks like the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA). Second, she applies system-dynamics tools to uncover how social and environmental drivers combine to shape children’s neurodevelopmental outcomes, working with community partners in Cleveland and the national Project TENDR consortium. Third, through the NIH-funded RESPIRAR project, she examines how historical and contemporary institutional policies affect respiratory health among migrant seasonal farmworkers, translating findings into policies that improve living and working conditions.

Across more than 120 peer-reviewed publications, her recent work (2023-2025) clusters around four domains: (1) methodological innovation in cumulative risk and evidence-to-decision frameworks; (2) empirical studies quantifying disparities in exposures to endocrine-disrupting chemicals such as phthalates and bisphenols; (3) intervention research evaluating behavioral, clinical, and policy strategies to reduce toxic exposures; and (4) large-scale epidemiological and cohort studies linking air pollution, heat events, and disaster exposure to neurodevelopment, mental health, and educational outcomes in children and adolescents.

Awards & Honors:

• 2024 Environmental Health Career Award, APHA Environment Section
• Runner-up, 2023 Best Paper Award (Policy Analysis), Environmental Science & Technology

Funding & Collaborations:

Her research has been continuously funded by the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS), the Environmental Defense Fund, the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency, and the University of Michigan Vice President for Research. She leads transdisciplinary teams that partner with community organizations, state agencies, and international scholars to co-produce knowledge and translate science into equitable policy.

Laboratory & Teams:

Dr. Payne-Sturges directs the RESPIRAR Project (respirarproject.org), a multi-site investigation of migrant farmworker respiratory health, and collaborates closely with the University of Michigan’s Global Public Health and Environmental Health Sciences departments. She fosters transdisciplinary training environments that integrate engineering, epidemiology, policy analysis, and community engagement.