Nicholas Shapiro

Nicholas Shapiro is an Associate Professor in the Department of Society & Genetics at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), within the School of Life Sciences. His multidisciplinary research focuses on chemical contamination, climate change, and environmental justice, often collaborating with communities impacted by environmental hazards. He co-founded the Environmental Data and Governance Initiative (EDGI) in 2016 and leads a lab examining environmental health in carceral institutions.

• DPhil, Anthropology, University of Oxford
• MPhil, Medical Anthropology, University of Oxford
• BA, Global Public Health and Anthropology, Bard College

Shapiro's research spans environmental health, carceral geography, and toxic exposures. He designs interventions like bio-phyto air remediation systems and smartphone-based formaldehyde testing apps. His work critiques environmental governance and regulatory policies, particularly during the Trump administration, and explores intersections between settler-colonialism, climate change, and the concept of "toxic homes."

His recent publications highlight environmental justice in prisons, smartphone-based pollution monitoring, and the sociopolitical impacts of data governance. These works emphasize interdisciplinary approaches, blending technology, anthropology, and public health to address systemic environmental inequities.

Scientific Awards

• 2017 Outstanding Contribution to Making and Doing, Society for the Social Studies of Science
• 2017 J. Franklin Jameson Archival Advocacy Award, Society of American Archivists
• 2015 Cultural Horizons Prize, Society for Cultural Anthropology

Shapiro co-founded EDGI and collaborates with communities on grassroots environmental monitoring. His lab develops tools for air quality assessment and investigates health disparities in carceral settings, merging activism with scientific rigor to advocate for policy reforms.