CERCH – Center for Environmental Research and Children's Health

Staff

This page is currently under development. We apologize for any omissions or inconsistencies and welcome your feedback.

	Norma Calderón Psychometrician (831) 759-6548 Ms. Calderon is a psychometrician for the CHAMACOS study and conducts the 9 year and 10.5 year interviews. The interview visits include getting the consent signed, taking measurement of mother participants, helping in collecting urine and hair samples and aliquoting samples and administer the 9 year and 10.5 year questionnaire and other duties required to complete the investigation.
	Rosemary Castorina, PhD Assistant Researcher (510) 642-9545 Dr. Castorina is an environmental health scientist; she researches methods for quantifying exposure and health risk. She is currently analyzing determinants of brominated flame retardant exposure in pregnant women and children.
	Johanna Camacho Psychometrician (831) 759-6548 Ms. Camacho is a pyschometrician for the CHAMACOS study and conducts the 9 Year, 9 Year Interim, and 10.5 Year visits. This include taking child’s measurements, administering neurological assessments, Tanner Staging, collecting urine and hair samples, and collecting blood samples via venipuncture.
	Jose Camacho Community Outreach (831) 759-6548 Mr. Camacho is a long-time resident of the Salinas Valley and has worked with the CHAMACOS study for 11 years. He is an expert trainer and has presented hundreds of talks and workshops about environmental health and children. His presentations have focused on results of the CHAMACOS study, pesticide exposure prevention, environmental health in child care, and healthy homes. Mr. Camacho has also contributed to many CHAMACOS studies, helping to organize and collect environmental samples from homes, fields, and child care facilities, and has inspected thousands of Salinas Valley homes.
	Gardenia Casillas Student research assistant (510) 642-9079 Ms. Casillas works on the community outreach projects of the CHAMACOS study. She graduated from Everett Alvarez High School in Salinas and is currently a third year undergraduate student at UC Berkeley. She will be graduating in the Spring of 2013 with a bachelor’s degree in Public Health.
	Samantha Ehrlich PhD Student (831) 759-6548 Ms. Ehrlich is a doctoral student in the Epidemiology program. Her research focuses on the relationship between pregnancy plasma glucose values in women without overt diabetes and subsequent childhood obesity. She will also examine the association between pregnancy glucose values and components of the metabolic syndrome in offspring.
	Fraser Gaspar, MPH PhD Student (510) 642- 7194 Fraser Gaspar is a doctoral student in the Environmental Health Sciences program. His research focuses on insecticide exposure in South Africa from indoor residual spraying for malaria control. Fraser’s research combines biomonitoring and environmental measurements with indoor fate and transport models to understand insecticide distribution and exposure. Fraser’s ultimate goal is to develop practical intervention strategies to reduce insecticide exposure.
	Lisa Goldman Rosas, PhD MPH Consultant (650) 575-9519 Dr. Goldman Rosas provides consultation for the Community Outreach and Translation Core particularly in the area of youth involvement and health policy. Dr. Goldman Rosas’s research interests focus on the determinants of childhood obesity in Latino children.
	Bob Gunier, MPH Data Analyst and PhD student (510) 642-9419 Mr. Gunier is a doctoral student in the Environmental Health Sciences program focusing on the use of geographic information systems to assess residential exposure to agricultural pesticides. Mr. Gunier also analyzes data to evaluate the relationship between biological and environmental samples and adverse health outcomes in children.
	Hedy Hernandez Study Interviewer (831) 759-6548 Ms. Hernandez conducts the 9 year and 10.5 year interviews for the CHAMACOS study. The interview visits include getting the consent signed, taking measurement of mother participants, helping in collecting urine and hair samples and aliquoting samples and administer the 9 year and 10.5 year questionnaire and other duties required to complete the investigation.
	Sanie Hernandez-Weldon, PhD Postdoctoral Scholar (510) 642-6428 Dr. Weldon is a Post-Doctoral Scholar in the School of Public Health at UC Berkeley. She coordinates the Age and Genetic Effects in Sperm Study (AGES), a study of the associations of nutrients in semen and semen quality and genetic endpoints measured in the sperm of healthy men, as well as the China Benzene and Sperm Study (C-BASS), a study of the genetic effects of benzene in the sperm and blood of Chinese men. Dr. Weldon’s research focuses on exposure assessment of mothers and children with particular emphasis on measuring pesticides and other environmental chemicals in breast milk.
	Geri Kavanagh Field Office Lab Director (831) 759-6548 Geri Kavangh is a long-time resident of Monterey County and has worked with the CHAMACOS study for 11 years. Ms. Kavanagh worked many years helping to organize and collect environmental samples from homes, fields, and child care facilities, and has inspected thousands of Salinas Valley homes. In the last 5 years she has been the Field Laboratory Manager, ensuring proper collection, handling, and tracking of environmental and biological samples. She is also working on a project with UC Davis examining the distribution of E Coli and other organisms among Salinas Valley wildlife adjacent to agricultural fields.
	Katie Kogut, MPH MSc CHAMACOS Study Coordinator (510) 642-8917 Ms. Kogut is the Study Coordinator of the CHAMACOS Study. She oversees all aspects of data collection for CHAMACOS including development of questionnaires and developmental asssessments, training of staff, and quality assurance activities. She is particularly interested in factors affecting children’s neurodevelopment and behavior. Ms. Kogut holds a Masters of Public Health from UC Berkeley and a Masters of Psychology from University College in London.
	Daniel S. Madrigal, MPH Coordinator of Community Outreach (510) 642-9508 Mr. Madrigal coordinates and helps carry out efforts to share study findings with study participants, Salinas Valley community members, and other people that have a vested interest in the results of the study. These efforts include: planning forums, co-facilitating a youth group, writing newsletters, and managing CERCH’s web presence.
	Ana Maria Mora, MD MPH PhD Student (510) 295-9575 Dr. Mora is a doctoral student in the Epidemiology program focusing on prenatal pesticide exposure and health effects in children living near banana plantations in Costa Rica.
	Andrea Oliva Student Research Assistant (831) 759-6548 Ms. Oliva is completing her fourth year as an undergraduate at UC Berkeley. She will be graduating in the Spring 2011 with a Bachelor’s in Public Health and plans on applying to graduate school for a Master’s in Public Health.
	Kimberly Parra Field Office Coordinator (831) 759-6548 Ms. Parra works for the CHAMACOS study and conducts the 9 Year, 9 Year Interim, and 10.5 Year visits. This include taking child’s measurements, administering neurological assessments, Tanner Staging, collecting urine and hair samples, and collecting blood samples via venipuncture.
	Lesliam Quirós Alcalá, PhD MS Postdoctoral Scholar (510) 642-9420 Dr. Quirós Alcalá received her PhD in Environmental Health Sciences from UC Berkeley. She has a background in bioengineering and industrial hygiene and safety engineering. Dr. Quirós Alcalá’s main research areas include environmental exposure disparities in vulnerable populations including mothers, children, and occupationally-exposed and low-income populations.
	Michelle Gubatina Vedar, MPH Data Manager (510) 642-8930 Ms. Gubatina Vedar oversees the data management of the CHAMACOS study and other CERCH projects, including coordination of data processing, quality control, and secondary analysis support.
	Diana Villaseñor Psychometrician (831) 759-6548 Ms. Villaseñor is a child examiner for the CHAMACOS study. Her work includes administering a battery of neurological tests, taking child’s measurements, collecting biological samples, and recruiting participants for the study.
	Kristina Staros Grant Administrator (510) 642-9431 Ms. Staros manages all of the funding including federal, state, gift, and endowed funds that support the Center and ensures compliance with award regulations and reporting requirements. She also oversees CERCH office operations and acts as the liaison between UC Berkeley and outside entities such as suppliers, subcontract institutions, and funding agencies.
	Celina Trujillo, MPH Field Office Coordinator (831) 759-6548 Ms. Trujillo is the CHAMACOS Field Coordinator in our Salinas. She oversees field office operations including data collection, protocol development, and training of staff members. Ms. Trujillo acts as the liaison between UC Berkeley, CHAMACOS, and the Salinas Valley community and is also involved in outreach efforts such educating services providers about CHAMACOS findings and current activities.
	Kristin Tyler Data Analyst (510) 643-1337 Ms. Tyler assists with data management and analysis. Ms. Tyler interests are in advanced epidemiological methods and applying the best available techniques to public health research.
	Miranda Walker Graduate Student Researcher (510) 642- 9079Ms. Walker is a Graduate Student Researcher and an MPH student in the Maternal and Child Health program. Her interests include preconception health and policy change to promote breastfeeding.
	Amelia Wesselink, MPH Research Data Analyst (510) 642- 9079 Ms. Wesselink works as a research data analyst on the Seveso Women’s Health Study. She is interested in epidemiologic methods and reproductive health.