Dr. Evelyn Alvarez, MPH

Rongxiang Xu College of Health and Human Services

Public Health

Office ST301

Phone

(323) 343-4748

[email protected]

Follow my nature photography: @nature_on_the_esplanade

Bio:

Dr. Evelyn Alvarez, PhD, MPH (she/her/hers) is an environmental health professor, environmental health/geospatial scientist, and her research agenda largely focuses on web-based/smartphone environmental community science applications to address environmental justice issues. She recently graduated from UCLA with a PhD in environmental health science where she focused on the hospital environment and copper antimicrobial surfaces, hospital-acquired infections, and pediatric isolation. She earned her MPH in environmental health sciences, molecular toxicology track from Columbia University. Her research interests also include examining underrepresented narratives in the climate change dialogue and demystifying and making sustainability more accessible to lower socio-economic populations. Her mentees were awarded the 2020 APHA Student Champions for Climate Justice award to pursue an environmental justice project on campus (a 'neighborhood' mini-library that provides a space for students to learn more about environmental justice, to obtain donated used textbooks and to obtain free feminine care in order to address sustainability and period justice on campus). She has played in orchestras since elementary school, and currently plays string bass in the Cal State LA Symphony Orchestra and in the Inner City Youth Orchestra of Los Angeles (ICYOLA), a primarily minority-member orchestra and the largest majority Black symphony in the nation. Dr. Alvarez is a first generation college graduate. She also enjoys hiking, running, photographing wildlife, and considers herself a professional dolphin watcher.

Manuscripts in Progress:

Alvarez, E.N., Bhattacharya, P., Hernandez, A., Sanchez-Ramos, E., Seno, S. (2022) Comparing Environmental Waste by Location in Los Angeles County Using Community Science Applications. Marine Pollution Bulletin.

Alvarez, E.N., (2022) Using Geographic Information Systems (GIS) to Assess Redlining Impacts on Tree Canopy Cover in Los Angeles County. Environmental Development.

Alvarez, E.N., Garcia, A., Huerta, M. (2022) The Availability and Utilization of Cooling Centers in Los Angeles County as a Function of Climate Change Resiliency. Environmental Development.

Alvarez, E.N., Gregorio, C. (2022) The ‘Disinformation Dozen’ and their Utilization of Environmental Health Narratives via Social Media to Impact COVID-19 Vaccine Uptake. Vaccine.

Submitted Manuscripts:

Alvarez, E.N. (2023) Infectious diseases and healthy ageing: Making the case for a 15-minute city. In N. Asiamah & H.T.A Khan (Eds.), Sustainable neighbourhoods for ageing in place: an interdisciplinary voice against global crises. Springer.

Alvarez E.N., Garcia A., Le P. (2023). Supplementary Data for Review of Nature Deficit Disorder (NDD) and Its Disproportionate Impacts on Latinx Populations. Data in Brief.

Alvarez E.N., Garcia A., Le P. (2023). Methods on Reviewing Nature Deficit Disorder (NDD) and Its Disproportionate Impacts on Latinx Populations. Methods X.

Alvarez, E.N. (2023) Cost-Effectiveness of Implementing Copper Alloy Surfaces in an Urban Hospital Setting. Coatings.

Publications:

Alvarez, E.N. (2023). Infectious Diseases and Healthy Ageing: Making the Case for a 15-Minute City. In: Asiamah, N., et al. Sustainable Neighbourhoods for Ageing in Place. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-41594-4_10

Asiamah N, Awuviry-Newton K, Nesser W, Alvarez EN. Carbon Footprints of Active and Non-Active Transport Modes: Hierarchy and Intergenerational Narrative Analyses. Sustainability. 2023; 15(17):12795. https://doi.org/10.3390/su151712795

Asiamah, N., Awuviry-Newton, K., Nesser, W., & Alvarez, E.N.(2023, November 10). Carbon Footprints of Active and Non-Active Transport Modes. In Encyclopedia. https://encyclopedia.pub/entry/51412

Alvarez, EN., Bhattacharya, P., Hernandez, AE., Sanchez-Ramos, E., Seno, S. (2022). Waste Tracking as a Form of Environmental Justice. Girl + Environment: Empowering Black and Brown Girls + Non-binary Folk to Stand up for Environmental Justice. https://www.girlplusenvironment.org/post/waste-tracking-as-a-form-of-environmental-justice

Alvarez, EN., Garcia, A., & Le P. (2022) A Review of Nature Deficit Disorder (NDD) and its disproportionate impacts on Latinx populations. Environmental Development, 43, 1-7. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envdev.2022.100732

Alvarez E.N., Amado Vu, Y, London, W. (2020). The Precautionary Principle. Oxford Bibliographies in Public Health. DOI: 10.1093/OBO/9780199756797-0046

Alvarez, E.N. (2020). Pandemic PPE Waste: An Environmental Health Educational Opportunity. The Medical Care Blog. (https://www.themedicalcareblog.com/pandemic-ppe-waste/)

Zelman, W., Foong, A., Alvarez, E.N. (2020). The Public Health Career Advisement Project (PH-CAP). The California Endowment, 1-28.

Alvarez E.N., Pike M.C., and Godwin H. (2020). Children’s and parents’ Views on Hospital Contact isolation: A qualitative study to highlight children’s perspectives. Clinical Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 25(2), 401-418. https://doi.org/10.1177/1359104519838016

Alvarez E.N., Uslan D.Z., Malloy T, Sinsheimer P, Godwin H. (2017). Response to Perspectives from the field in response to ‘it is time to revise our approach to registering antimicrobial agents [by the environmental protection Agency] for health care settings. American Journal of Infection Control. 45(1), 100–102. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ajic.2016.10.004

Alvarez E.N., Uslan D.Z., Malloy T, Sinsheimer P, Godwin H. (2016). It is time to revise our approach to registering antimicrobial agents for health care settings. American Journal of Infection Control. 44(2), 228–232. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ajic.2015.09.015

Invited Lectures:

Alvarez, E.N., Girl + Environment – An Instagram Live Chat on Environmental Science with Green Table Talk

Alvarez, E.N., How to Stay Eco-Friendly While at Home (During Stay-at-Home Orders). Guest talk for Cal State LA Public Health Student Association (2020)

Alvarez, E.N., Visiting Guest Lecture for Idaho State University on Diversity, Equity and Inclusion in Academia (2020, postponed due to COVID-19)

Alvarez, E.N., Intro to Environmental Health Sciences and Toxicology. Guest lecture for course, Environment 12. University of California, Los Angeles (July 2016)

Alvarez, E.N., Intro to Environmental Health Sciences and Toxicology. Guest lecture for course, Environment 12. University of California, Los Angeles (July 2015)

Alvarez, E.N., Projected Impacts of Climate Change on Allergies and Asthma in Los Angeles. Climate and Health Workshop Series. Los Angeles County Department of Public Health (December 2013)

Accepted Poster Abstracts/Presentations:

Alvarez, E.N., Keynote Panelist for Data Days Cleveland, Session Title: Becoming Data Driven for Public Impact: Tools, Analysis, Decision, Policy-Making and Storytelling (2022)

Alvarez, E.N. Using an Environmental Citizen Science Smartphone Application for an Impactful Classroom Learning Experience (A Workshop on the Streets of Signapore), The Southeast Asian Conference on Education in Singapore (2023)

Alvarez, E.N. Leveraging the Co-Benefits of Environmental Citizen Science Smartphone Applications for Environmental Research and Pedagogy, The IAFOR International Conference on Education in Hawaii (2023)

Alvarez, E.N. Examining the Relationship Between Historical Redlining and Tree Canopy Cover in Latinx Communities in Los Angeles County. American Public Health Association Meeting, Denver, Colorado (2021)

Quiroz, K, Alvarez, E.N. Using Caution Sidewalk Signs in COVID-19 High-Risk Neighborhoods in Los Angeles County. American Public Health Association Meeting, Denver, Colorado (2021)

Alvarez E.N., Godwin, H. Evaluation of the Regulatory Paradigm for Testing Antimicrobials for Use in Clinical Settings. American Public Health Association Meeting, New Orleans, Louisiana (2014)

Alvarez E.N.^†, Maldanado M.^†, Hindler J, Humphries R, Sinsheimer P, Gupta V, Huynh D, Brookmeyer R, Abraham N, Uslan D.Z. Efficacy of Commercially Available Antimicrobial Copper Surfaces Against Common Nosocomial Pathogens. Infectious Disease Week, Atlanta, Georgia (2013)

^†Denotes co-presenters

Orchestra Membership/Performances

ICOLA (Inner City Youth Orchestra of Los Angeles)

Live Performances (2022):

Member (contrabassist), Inner City Youth Orchestra of Los Angeles, (ICYOLA) – a primarily people of color orchestra and the largest majority Black symphony in the nation.
Walt Disney Hall Season Finale Concert 2022

Zoom Performances (2021):

Cal State LA Symphony Orchestra: Camille-Saint Saenz, “Bacchanale”, 2021
Cal State LA Symphony Orchestra: Angelica Negron, “Marejada”, 2021
C al State LA Symphony Orchestra: Astor Piazzolla, "Milonga del Angel", 2021

Member (contrabassist), Cal State LA Symphony Orchestra