2008 - Laura Senier, Brown University

Superfund Basic Research Program

Ms. Laura Senier, M.P.H., M.A., is the eleventh recipient of the annual Karen Wetterhahn Memorial Award. Dr. William Suk, NIEHS Acting Director, presented her with the award on December 9th, 2008 at the 21st SBRP Annual Meeting hosted by the University of California-Davis in Pacific Grove, CA. The SBRP acknowledged Ms. Senier for her contributions to public health, community outreach, and environmental justice in New England.

Ms. Senier is a doctoral candidate in the Department of Sociology at Brown University. Her dissertation research examines how genomics is changing public health research and practice in the United States. She earned her M.A. in Sociology from Brown University in 2005, an M.P.H. in Epidemiology and Social and Behavioral Sciences from Boston University School of Public Health in 2000, and is a cum laude graduate of Colby College.

Ms. Senier's dissertation explores how the search for genetic causes for common, complex diseases, such as cancer, heart disease, and diabetes, may divert epidemiology's focus on social and environmental causes of disease, such as poverty or environmental pollution. In addition to this research, Ms. Senier is also working on a project applying GIS methods and spatial analyses to explore the siting of public elementary and secondary schools near toxic waste sites and polluting industries in Massachusetts and Rhode Island.

Ms. Senier joined the Brown University SBRP Community Outreach Core in 2005 and has since taken an active role in all aspects of the program. According to her research advisor, Dr. Phil Brown, "Laura has a deep sensitivity to these communities, finds creative ways to use university resources to assist these underfunded and understaffed groups, and facilitates their interaction with the state agencies." She and other members of the Brown SBRP team helped secure passage of legislation making homeowners of contaminated properties eligible for home-equity loans, so that they could secure temporary financial relief while they await a more comprehensive cleanup.

Beyond the Brown University SBRP, Ms. Senier is involved in other multidisciplinary collaborations.

• Boston University School of Public Health (NIEHS-funded): Project Goal: to help identify communication problems that arise among different stakeholders involved in the design of community health studies
• Center for State Health Policy at Rutgers University: Project Goal: to focus on the health beliefs and behaviors among residents of an assisted living facility

The NIEHS congratulates Ms. Senier on her research accomplishments and wishes her continued success in her career.