Department Overview

The Gangarosa Department of Environmental Health (GDEH) examines the interface between human health and the environment across a molecular to planetary scales. The GDEH offers three MPH programs: MPH in Environmental Health, MPH in Global Environmental Health and MPH in Environmental Health and Epidemiology. Students will learn to examine health effects associated with chemical, physical, and microbial exposures across multiple environmental media. Many disciplines contribute to recognizing, assessing, and controlling environmental risks, ranging from epidemiology to toxicology, from microbiology to engineering, from exposure science to medicine, from biostatistics to machine learning, and from policy analysis to economics.  

At Rollins, environmental health education reaches beyond the classroom. Students engage with faculty and community members to actively learn from locally run non-profits, governmental agencies, and multi-national research projects. Our faculty’s diverse expertise is reflected in their teaching and research in: air pollution, climate change, infectious disease ecology, ecological and land use changes, pesticides and other chemicals, endocrine disruption, gene-environment interactions/epigenetics/environmental “–omics”, children’s environmental health, health interventions, policy, and water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH).  

Through required coursework, real world work experiences for the Applied Practice Experience (APE), and a final Integrated Learning Experience (ILE) project, the MPH programs equip students with the skills to tackle the environmental health challenges of the future. In addition, Atlanta offers an unparalleled selection of opportunities in environmental health.  

The Rollins School of Public Health is thrilled to announce that as of Feburary 2020, the Department of Environmental Health will now be named the Gangarosa Department of Environmental Health, honoring the leadership and philanthropy of Eugene J. Gangarosa, MD, MS, FACP, and his wife Rose. To read more about the Gangarosas and their tremendous impact on the world of environmental health and beyond, visit the Rollins News Center. 

Courses

As a graduate student in environmental health, you’ll take courses that examine health issues, the scientific understanding of causes, and possible future strategies to control major environmental health problems in both industrialized and developing countries. Topics addressed in our courses range from the molecular to the global, and tackle such issues as pesticide, air pollution, water pollution, heavy metals, solvents, persistent organic pollutants, urban sprawl, global climate change, and more.

Faculty

Our department benefits from a multidisciplinary graduate faculty and large adjunct faculty. Our core faculty have backgrounds in diverse areas such as medicine, toxicology, law, epidemiology, and chemistry.

Our adjunct faculty includes scientists at the CDC's Center for Environmental Health, the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry, as well as various other public health experts from nearby universities and the private sector.

Research