Kristen Malecki, MPH, PhD
Professor, Division Director
Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences
Pronouns: She/her/hers
Contact
Building & Room:
SPHPI Room 1071
Address:
1603 W Taylor St
Office Phone:
Email:
CV Download:
OFFICE HOURS Heading link
Office Hours are Wednesdays from 2:30-3:30 PM SPHPI Room 1071; or by appointment- kmalecki@uic.edu
About
Kristen Malecki, PhD, MPH is Professor of Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences (EOHS) at the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC), School of Public Health, where she also serves as the EOHS Division Director. She has a PhD in Environmental Epidemiology and Health Policy and Masters of Public Health from Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health. She was recently appointed to the National Academies of Sciences standing committee on the “Use of Emerging Science for Environmental Health Decisions.” She uses a multi-omic approach to examine combined chemical (air pollution, water pollution), physical and social stressors, and their influence on adult chronic disease, aging and health disparities.) As a former member of the Molecular Environmental Toxicology Center at the University of Wisconsin, Madison and her transdisciplinary work uses epigenetics, transcriptomics in both human and animals studies of the gut microbiome and to identify interim biomarkers of exposure and response to improve understanding of the biological mechanisms underlying persistent health disparities. Prior to coming to UIC, she served as the PI for the Survey of the Health of Wisconsin Cohort study in Wisconsin, a novel infrastructure for ongoing population health science research. She also maintains longstanding partnerships with state and national public health partners which has facilitated a breadth of applied public health initiatives. Before becoming an academic, she served as the lead epidemiologist for the State of Wisconsin Environmental Public Health Tracking Program. In these roles she gained extensive experience in leading and managing multi-disciplinary teams of researchers, practitioners, and policy makers in development of new approaches to addressing environmental and occupational health challenges. She currently serves as PI for the National Coordinate Center for New Cohorts for Environmental Exposures and Cancer Research (CEECR) funded by the National Cancer Institute and the National Institute for Environmental Health Sciences as well as the Researching Epigenetics, Weathering, Aging and Residential Disadvantage (REWARD) funded by the National Institutes of Aging and is a member and Director for the Translational Research Core of the Chicago Center for Health and the Environment a collaborative NIEHS funded environmental health center including partnerships between UIC and the University of Chicago. She is also PI of the NIH funded Center for Climate Health Equity a pilot center supporting innovative climate and health research and nature based solutions for advancing climate and health research.
Selected Grants
National Institute for Minority Health and Health Disparities/National Institute for Environmental Health Sciences, Center for Climate Health Equity (CECHE), PI
National Institutes of Health/NCI, Coordinating Center for New Cohorts for Environmental Exposures and Cancer Research (CEECR), MPI- Malecki, Trentham-Dietz
National Institute for Environmental Health Sciences, Chicago Center for Health and the Environment, Co-I, Translaitonal Research Core Lead
National Institutes of Health/NIA, Researching Epigenetics, Weathering, Aging and Residential Disadvantage (REWARD), MPI- Malecki, Engelman
Selected Publications
Scharder L, Ronnekleiv-Kelly S, Hogenesch J, Bradfield CA, Malecki KCM. Circadian disruption, clock genes, and metabolic health. The Journal of Clinical Investigation, 2024-7, 134, 14.org/10/1172/JCI170998.
Teffera M, Veith AC, Ronnekleiv-Kelly S, Bradfield CA, Nikodemova M, Tussing-Humphreys L, Malecki K. Diverse mechanisms by which chemical pollutant exposure alters gut microbiota metabolism and inflammation, Environment International, 2024,108805,0160-4120, doi.org/10.1016/j.envint.2024.108805.
Xu W, Agnew M, Kamis C, Schultz A, Salas S, Malecki K, Engelman M. Constructing Residential Histories in a General Population-Based Representative Sample. Am J Epidemiol. kwad188,https://doi.org/10.1093/aje/kwad188
Zuniga-Chaves I, Eggers S, Kates AE, Safdar N, Suen G, Malecki KMC. Neighborhood socioeconomic status is associated with low diversity gut microbiomes and multi-drug resistant microorganism colonization. NPJ Biofilms Microbiomes. 2023;9(1):61. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41522-023-00430-3
Schultz AA, Stanton N, Shelton B, Pomazal R, Lange MA, Irving R, Meiman J,Malecki KC. Biomonitoring of perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances(PFAS) from the Survey of the Health of Wisconsin (SHOW) 2014-2016 andcomparison with the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES). J Expo Sci Environ Epidemiol. 2023 Aug 14. doi: 10.1038/s41370-023-00593-3. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 37580384.
Nwanaji-Enwerem JC, Jackson CL, Ottinger MA, Cardenas A, James KA, Malecki KMC, et al. Adopting a “Compound” Exposome Approach in Environmental Aging Biomarker Research: A Call to Action for Advancing Racial Health Equity. Environ Health Perspect. 2021;129(4):45001.
Bixby M, Gennings C, Malecki KMC, Sethi AK, Safdar N, Peppard PE, Eggers S. Individual Nutrition Is Associated with Altered Gut Microbiome Composition for Adults with Food Insecurity. Nutrients. 2022 Aug 19;14(16):3407. doi:10.3390/nu14163407. PMID: 36014913; PMCID: PMC9416073.
Malecki KMC, Andersen J, Geller AM, Harry JG, Jackson CL, James KA, Miller G, Ottinger MA. Integrating Environment and Aging Research: Opportunities for Synergy and Acceleration. Frontiers in Aging Neuroscience, section Cellular and Molecular Mechanisms of Brain-aging. 2022;14:824921. Epub 2022/03/11. doi: 10.3389/fnagi.2022.824921. PubMed PMID: 35264945; PMCID: PMC8901047.
Malecki KMC, Keating JA, Safdar N. Crisis Communication and Public Perception of COVID-19 Risk in the Era of Social Media. Clin Infect Dis. 2021;72(4):697-702.
Professional Leadership
Member, Committee on State-of-the-Science and the Future of Cumulative Impact Assessment, National Academy of Science, Engineering, and Medicine
Workhop Planning Commmittee Chair, East Palestine Train Derailment, National Academies of Science, Engineering, and Medicine
Notable Honors
2021-2022, H.I. Romnes Faculty Associate Professor, University of Wisconsin, Madison
Education
2000 - 2005 Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) - (Environmental Epidemiology and Health Policy), Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health Baltimore, MD
1999 - 2000 Master of Public Health (MPH)
Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. Baltimore, MD
1992 - 1997 Bachelor of Arts (BA) - (Metropolitan Studies/Pre-Med)
New York University. New York, NY