Stephanie M. Engel

Dr. Stephanie M. Engel is a Professor in the Department of Epidemiology at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill’s Gillings School of Global Public Health. She holds leadership roles as Deputy Director of the Center for Environmental Health and Susceptibility (CEHS), Director of the UNC Center for Early Life Exposure and Neurotoxicity, and Associate Director for Population Science at the UNC Biomedical Research Imaging Center. Her expertise spans Perinatal and Reproductive Epidemiology and Children’s Environmental Health, with a focus on xenobiotic exposures’ impacts on pregnancy outcomes and child development. She has secured over $25M in research funding and published extensively in environmental health sciences.

Dr. Engel earned a BA/BS in Psychology and Animal Physiology/Neuroscience from UC San Diego (1997), followed by an MSPH (2000) and PhD (2003) in Epidemiology from UNC Chapel Hill. She teaches “Advanced Methods in Perinatal and Pediatric Epidemiology” (EPID 853) and co-directs an NIEHS-funded T32 training program supporting 28 trainees across three departments.

Her research integrates environmental exposures (e.g., phthalates, pesticides) with neurodevelopmental and reproductive health outcomes. Notable projects include studies on phthalate exposure and preterm birth (pooled analysis of 16 US cohorts), vaginal microbiome racial disparities in preterm birth, and maternal thyroid function’s role in ADHD risk. She has pioneered neurotoxicity studies using advanced imaging techniques.

Dr. Engel’s work has been recognized with the John E. Larsh Jr. Excellence in Mentoring Award (2017). Her grants include NIMHD R01 funding for vaginal microbiome research and an EPA Early Life Center grant. She collaborates widely on initiatives like the HEALthy Brain and Child Development Study and the UNC Baby Connectome Project.

Key contributions include advancing methods for exposure mixture analysis, studying prenatal pesticide effects on ADHD, and linking environmental neuroactive chemicals to human health. Her interdisciplinary approach bridges epidemiology, toxicology, and public health policy to address environmental inequities.