Jessica Monterrosa Mena

Degrees

Ph.D., Environmental Health Sciences: Environmental Toxicology, UCI, 2021 expected

BA, Chemistry, Williams College, 2014

Biography

Jessica is a graduate student in the Environmental Health Sciences Program with UCI’s School of Medicine. Her work consists of using culture models to understand how the lung response to inhaled air pollutants. She is studying the health effects of smoke from solid fuels used in developing countries such as dung, wood, and coal. Specifically, she is studying the chemical composition of biofuel emissions from traditional Indian cookstoves and assessing how air pollutants affect biological processes in the alveolar macrophage cells of the lung.

Why is science communication important to you?

Science communications can serve as a powerful tool to begin addressing environmental justice issues. As a scientist, I believe that sharing ideas and learning with others is a critical element of developing modern technologies and finding answers to complicated problems. Whether aimed at the future generation of scientists or a critical audience, the best of science communications can start dialogue, spark imagination, and encourage others to take part in creative thinking processes.

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