Pamola Beamer

Paloma I. Beamer, Ph.D., is an associate professor in the College of Public Health at the University of Arizona. She holds joint appointments as an associate professor of Chemical & Environmental Engineering and as a research scientist in the Asthma and Airway Disease Research Center. She is an environmental engineer by training and earned her BS from the University of California Berkeley and her MS and PhD from Stanford University. Her research focuses on understanding how individuals are exposed to environmental contaminants and the health risks of these exposures with a special focus on vulnerable populations, including children, low-wage immigrant workers, Native Americans and those in the US-Mexico Border Region. The ultimate goal of her work is to develop more effective interventions and policies for prevention of avoidable cases of certain diseases such as asthma.

Dr. Beamer has received a Mentored Quantitative Research Award from NIH, a Scientific Technological Achievement Award (Level I) from the US EPA, and Young Investigator Award from Yuma Friends of Arizona Health Sciences. She was selected as one of Tucson’s “40 under 40” and as an Emerging Investigator for an international journal, Environmental Science: Processes & Impact. She currently serves on the US EPA Board of Scientific Counselors Subcommittee for Chemical Sustainability.

Dr. Beamer is currently the President-Elect for the International Society of Exposure Science and will begin her term as President in 2019. She is a lifetime member of the Society for Hispanic Professional Engineers (SHPE) and the Society for the Advancement of Chicanos and Native Americans in Science (SACNAS).

Research Synopsis

Dr. Beamer uses field sampling, GIS, computer modeling and laboratory techniques in her research. She has led multiple studies to collect of multi-media exposure samples for metals, pesticides and VOCs with minority and rural populations. She has also developed an exposure and dose simulation model for children’s exposures to pesticides, a model that quantifies the transport of outdoor contaminants to the home environment, and a model focused on transfer of viruses via hand contacts.

Dr. Beamer is also an expert in the collection and quantification of key exposure factors aimed at improving risk assessment. Currently, she is working on a project to assess children’s micro-activities while playing soccer on artificial turf. Dr. Beamer has received funding from NIH and the Haury Foundation to assess exposures and risk perceptions of the Diné (Navajo) following the Gold King Mine Spill. Most recently, she has received was funded by NIH for a new project, “El Trabajo no te Debe Dañar” to conduct a clinical trial to assess the effectiveness of a promotoras intervention at reducing exposures in small businesses like auto repair shops or beauty salons.

Degrees

• 2007, Ph.D., Civil and Environmental Engineering, Stanford University
• 2002, M.S., Civil and Environmental Engineering, Stanford University
• 2000, B.S., Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of California, Berkeley