Vaia Lida Chatzi

Dr. Vaia Lida Chatzi is Professor of Population and Public Health Sciences and Pediatrics at the Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California. She serves as Director of the USC Center for Translational Research on Environmental Health (USC-R-TEN) and Deputy Director of the NIEHS-funded Southern California Environmental Health Science Center (SCEHSC). With over 20 years of experience in environmental health research, she leads an interdisciplinary program focused on advancing understanding of how environmental chemical exposures affect metabolic health, particularly in children and adolescents.

Dr. Chatzi's research program centers on environmental health with particular emphasis on endocrine disruptors including perfluoroalkyl substances, organochlorine pesticides, phenols, phthalates, and metals. Her work integrates human population data with experimental study designs to investigate health effects on obesity, type 2 diabetes, and fatty liver disease. As a physician-epidemiologist, she employs multi-omics approaches to develop comprehensive understanding of exposure risk and disease development across the lifespan.

Her recent publications demonstrate strong focus on PFAS exposures and metabolic consequences, air pollution effects on childhood obesity, and multi-omics methods for environmental health risk assessment. Her work frequently involves large international cohort studies with particular attention to Hispanic youth populations, reflecting commitment to health equity and translational research.

Scientific Awards

• Fulbright Scholarship from Harvard Medical School (2014)
• Erasmus Fellowship from Centre for Environmental Research, Spain (2012)
• Marie Curie Fellowship from Department of Public Health, University of Sheffield, UK (2003)

Dr. Chatzi maintains significant research funding through multiple R01s, R21s, and U01 grants supporting her environmental health research program. Her leadership roles in major research centers indicate substantial mentoring of graduate students and postdoctoral fellows, though specific advisees aren't listed in the available information. She has demonstrated strong career development through progressive leadership roles in environmental health research.

Dr. Chatzi leads the USC Center for Translational Research on Environmental Health (USC-R-TEN), which integrates human population data and multi-omics methods to understand environmental pollutant impacts. Her work with the Southern California Environmental Health Science Center (SCEHSC) promotes bench-to-population team science, community-engaged solution-based research, and comprehensive training across all career stages in environmental health sciences.