معرفی
Loren Hopkins is a Professor in the Practice of Statistics at Rice University and the Chief Environmental Science Officer at the Houston Health Department. Her dual role bridges academia and public health, focusing on environmental statistics and translating scientific research into actionable policies. She leads the Data Science Division and Wastewater Sampling Surveillance programs for Houston, pioneering wastewater-based disease surveillance systems.
Education: PhD, MS, and BS degrees in Environmental Science/Geophysics from Rice University and the University of Texas at Austin.
Research interests include environmental statistics, human health risk assessment, air pollution exposure impacts, and policy translation. She has published over 24 peer-reviewed articles, with recent work emphasizing wastewater surveillance for pathogens like SARS-CoV-2 and measles.
Awards include the CDC’s National Wastewater Surveillance System Center of Excellence Award (2022) and teaching accolades from Rice University (2016).
Advisory roles include chairing the Regional Air Quality Planning Advisory Committee and Houston Wilderness Executive Board, plus service on the National Environmental Justice Advisory Council (NEJAC). She co-leads the Houston Wastewater Surveillance Program, a 2023 Gulf Coast Collaborative accomplishment.
Labs/Teams: Directs interdisciplinary teams at Rice and the Houston Health Department, integrating environmental data science with public health practice.
