Julia Heck

Julia Heck is an Adjunct Associate Professor of Epidemiology at the UCLA Fielding School of Public Health and a member of the Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center. She joined UCLA in 2009 and holds a PhD in Epidemiology from Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health. Her research focuses on environmental and occupational factors influencing childhood cancers, including prenatal pesticide exposure, parental occupational exposures, and air pollution. Key affiliations include the Childhood Leukemia International Consortium, Children’s Oncology Group, and Brain Tumor Epidemiology Consortium.

Education:

• AB, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
• MPH, Boston University
• PhD, Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health

Research Interests: Dr. Heck’s work explores how environmental chemicals, occupational hazards, and maternal/fetal health interact to influence pediatric cancer risks. Key areas include:

• Pesticide exposure and childhood leukemia
• Maternal occupational exposures and germ cell tumors
• Air toxics and brain tumors
• Residential mobility’s impact on exposure misclassification

Recent Trends in Publications: Her articles emphasize geospatial epidemiology and environmental justice, with studies addressing pesticide applications’ spatial distribution, industrial air pollutants in pregnancy, and UV exposure’s role in melanoma. Methodological contributions include improving exposure assessment in longitudinal studies.

Awards & Recognitions: Not explicitly listed, but her work is supported by collaborations with WHO’s International Agency for Research on Cancer and multiple NIH-funded consortia.

Labs/Teams: Active in the Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center and collaborates with global groups like the Children’s Oncology Group to advance translational research in pediatric oncology.