Marianne Sullivan

Professor • Department of Public Health

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Marianne Sullivan is an interdisciplinary public health researcher. The overall aim of her research is to critically analyze developments in society, science, government, and industry that contribute to or cause environmental and occupational health problems. She received her doctorate in public health from the Department of Sociomedical Sciences, at the Mailman School of Public Health at Columbia University and a master of public health degree from the University of California, Berkeley. She has also held teaching appointments at Hofstra University and New York University. Prior to working in academia, she was an Epidemiologist at Public Health - Seattle & King County, where she worked on many community based participatory research projects. Her book, Tainted Earth: Smelters, Public Health and the Environment was published in 2014 by Rutgers University Press. She has also published numerous papers on occupational and environmental health policy and community based participatory research in peer-reviewed journals.

Professional Interests

Environmental health, children's health, occupational health, lead poisoning prevention, tobacco control, environmental justice

Degrees

Sociomedical Sciences, DrPH, Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University New York, NY

MPH Behavioral Science, University of California, Berkeley Berkeley, CA

BA Cultural Anthropology, University of Pennsylvania Philadelphia, PA

Specialization

environmental and occupational health policy, lead exposure prevention policy, toxic metal exposure in mining and smelting communities

Representative Publications

Tainted Earth: smelters, public health and the environment; New Brunswick, NJ; Rutgers University Press; 2014

Toward eliminating children's lead exposure: a comparison of policies and their outcomes in three lead producing and using countries. Environmental Research Letters; Volume 15, Issue 10 2020
https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1748-9326/abb55e/meta

Compliance with Mandated Lead in Water Testing in New Jersey’s School Districts. Journal of Environmental Health; Volume 82, 2019

History of US Presidential Assaults on Modern Environmental Health Protection.; , American journal of public health; Volume 108, Issue S2 2018

Misled about lead: an assessment of online public health education material from Australia's lead mining and smelting towns. Environmental Health; Volume 15, 2016

Awards and Honors

New York Academy of Medicine Student Essay Prize in the History of Public Health and Medicine
New York Academy of Medicine
10/01/2006

Media

Three decades after the Asarco smelter shutdown, its toxic legacy surprises Tacoma newcomers
https://www.thenewstribune.com/news/local/article43503663.html

Risks of lead exposure in affected communities not communicated properly: research.
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-01-13/risks-of-lead-exposure-in-affected-communities-not-communicated/7085386

Pregnant Women and Parents Misled About Dangers of Living with Lead Pollution
https://theconversation.com/pregnant-women-and-parents-misled-about-dangers-of-living-with-lead-pollution-52752

The EPA has backed off enforcement under Trump—here are the numbers
https://theconversation.com/the-epa-has-backed-off-enforcement-under-trump-here-are-the-numbers-108640

EPA is reluctant to punish law-breaking polluters.
https://www.hcn.org/articles/pollution-trumps-epa-reluctant-to-punish-polluters-for-breaking-the-law
Republished in Mother Jones, Salon, Grist

Fellowships, Grants and Research

American Legacy Foundation Fellow, 2002-2003

Environmental Protection Agency, Science to Achieve Results grant, 2005-2008

Research Support grant 2015-2016, Schlesinger Library, Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study, Harvard University

Notable Courses Taught

Environmental Determinants of Health (honors), Epidemiology, Research Methods, Tobacco as a Public Health Issue, Environmental Health

Undergraduate Admissions

Graduate Admissions

International Students

Administration

Faculty and Staff