Lara J. Cushing

Lara J. Cushing is an Associate Professor of Environmental Health Sciences at UCLA's Fielding School of Public Health, holding the Jonathan and Karin Fielding Presidential Chair in Health Equity. Her work centers on environmental justice, health disparities, and climate change impacts, with emphasis on racial equity in exposure to environmental hazards.

Her educational background includes a PhD in Energy & Resources Group, MPH in Epidemiology, and BS in Molecular Environmental Biology, all from UC Berkeley.

Dr. Cushing's research investigates how structural racism manifests in environmental health through historical redlining, oil and gas infrastructure siting, drinking water contamination, and climate vulnerability. She employs mixed-method epidemiological and geospatial approaches to study impacts on pregnant women and infants, focusing on urban greenspace, extreme heat, and sea level rise. Her community-engaged methodology partners with frontline organizations to ensure research directly informs environmental justice advocacy.

Analysis of her recent publications reveals three dominant trends: (1) Historical discrimination's enduring impact on current environmental hazards, (2) Health consequences of fossil fuel infrastructure on marginalized communities, and (3) Methodological innovations in measuring cumulative environmental and social stressors. Her work spans climate adaptation, drinking water justice, and air pollution epidemiology with consistent focus on racial health disparities.

Her significant honors include:

• Contributing Author to the IPCC Fourth Assessment
• Robert & Patricia Switzer Foundation Environmental Fellowship
• JPB Environmental Health Fellowship at Harvard Chan School

Dr. Cushing maintains active community partnerships that shape her research agenda and policy recommendations, particularly through UCLA's Center for Healthy Climate Solutions and Kaiser Permanente Center for Health Equity. Her work bridges academic rigor with community-driven solutions for environmental health equity.

She leads interdisciplinary collaborations examining climate-water-health intersections, with current projects focusing on Permian Basin emissions, urban heat vulnerability, and drinking water justice in California frontline communities.