Kristen Malecki, MPH, PhD
Professor, Division Director
Co-Lead, Cancer Prevention and Control, University of Illinois Cancer Center
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
Office Hours are Wednesdays from 2:30-3:30 PM SPHPI Room 1071; or by appointment- kmalecki@uic.edu
About
Dr. Malecki serves as Division Director and Professor within the Division of Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences at the UIC School of Public Health. She also serves as co-lead of the University of Illinois Chicago Cancer Center, Cancer Prevention and Control program. She holds a doctor of philosophy PhD in Health Policy and Environmental Epidemiology and Master of Public Health degree in Environmental Risk Assessment from Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health.
Dr. Malecki brings extensive experience in leading and managing multidisciplinary teams of researchers, practitioners, and policymakers in the development of new systems thinking approaches and in developing practical solutions to address today’s complex environmental and occupational health challenges.
Her research employs a molecular biology approach to examine the combined effects of chemical (air pollution), physical, and social stressors on adult chronic disease disparities, including cancer, and aging. As a former member of the Molecular Environmental Toxicology Center at the University of Wisconsin, Madison her transdisciplinary work utilizes multi-omic tools, including epigenetics, transcriptomics, and the microbiome, to identify interim biomarkers of exposure and response, thereby enhancing the understanding of the biological mechanisms linking environmental stressors across the life course to persistent health disparities.
Several National Institutes of Health grants fund her work, and she leads the translational research core for the NIEHS-funded Chicago Area Center for Health and the Environment.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.
Dr. Malecki continues to support advances in translational research and environmental health policy. In 2021, she was appointed to the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine standing committee on the “Use of Emerging Science for Environmental Health Decisions.” In 2024, she led the planning committee for the NASEM Workshop for "Public Health Research and Surveillance Priorities from the East Palestine, Ohio Train Derailment." In 2025, she served as a member of the consensus report committee for NASEM's "State of the Science and Future of Cumulative Impact Assessment" report.
Prior to coming to UIC, she served as the Director and 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 have facilitated a breadth of applied public health initiatives. Before becoming an academic, she served as the lead epidemiologist for the Wisconsin Department of Health Services' Environmental Public Health Tracking Program. In these roles, she gained extensive experience in leading and managing multidisciplinary teams of researchers, practitioners, and policymakers in the development of new approaches to addressing environmental and occupational health challenges.
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
Workshop 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