About

Julie Herbstman, MSc, PhD, is a Professor of Environmental Health Sciences at Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health. Her research focuses on the impact of prenatal exposures to environmental pollutants, including polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), on child growth and development. She has also been involved in research exploring the long-term environmental health impact of exposure to pollutants from the collapse of the World Trade Center on 9/11. As the director of the Columbia Center for Children's Environmental Health, she oversees longitudinal birth cohort studies in New York City and integrates epigenetic biomarkers to explore the mechanistic pathways between prenatal exposures and disease risk. Her work aims to better understand how environmental pollutants influence health outcomes, particularly in vulnerable populations such as children.

Research topics

• Computer Science
• Medicine
• Environmental health
• Architectural engineering
• Chemistry
• Biology
• Demography
• Internal medicine
• Engineering
• Pediatrics

Selected publications

• Host factors are associated with vaginal microbiome structure in pregnancy in the ECHO Cohort Consortium

  Scientific Reports · 2024 · 8 citations

  • Biology
  • Demography
  • Medicine

  Using pooled vaginal microbiota data from pregnancy cohorts (N = 683 participants) in the Environmental influences on Child Health Outcomes (ECHO) Program, we analyzed 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequences to identify clinical and demographic host factors that associate with vaginal microbiota structure in pregnancy both within and across diverse cohorts. Using PERMANOVA models, we assessed factors associated with vaginal community structure in pregnancy, examined whether host factors were conserved across populations, and tested the independent and combined effects of host factors on vaginal community state types (CSTs) using multinomial logistic regression models. Demographic and social factors explained a larger amount of variation in the vaginal microbiome in pregnancy than clinical factors. After adjustment, lower education, rather than self-identified race, remained a robust predictor of L. iners dominant (CST III) and diverse (CST IV) (OR = 8.44, 95% CI = 4.06-17.6 and OR = 4.18, 95% CI = 1.88-9.26, respectively). In random forest models, we identified specific taxonomic features of host factors, particularly urogenital pathogens associated with pregnancy complications (Aerococcus christensenii and Gardnerella spp.) among other facultative anaerobes and key markers of community instability (L. iners). Sociodemographic factors were robustly associated with vaginal microbiota structure in pregnancy and should be considered as sources of variation in human microbiome studies.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Incidence rates of childhood asthma with recurrent exacerbations in the US Environmental influences on Child Health Outcomes (ECHO) program

  Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology · 2023 · 20 citations

  • Computer Science
  • Medicine
  • Environmental health
  DOI

• A Systematic Review of the Placental Translocation of Micro- and Nanoplastics

  Current Environmental Health Reports · 2023 · 73 citations

  • Biology
  • Physiology
  • Toxicology

  PURPOSE OF REVIEW: Despite increasing awareness of the ubiquity of microplastics (MPs) in our environments, little is known about their risk of developmental toxicity. Even less is known about the environmental distribution and associated toxicity of nanoplastics (NPs). Here, we review the current literature on the capacity for MPs and NPs to be transported across the placental barrier and the potential to exert toxicity on the developing fetus. RECENT FINDINGS: This review includes 11 research articles covering in vitro, in vivo, and ex vivo models, and observational studies. The current literature confirms the placental translocation of MPs and NPs, depending on physicochemical properties such as size, charge, and chemical modification as well as protein corona formation. Specific transport mechanisms for translocation remain unclear. There is emerging evidence of placental and fetal toxicity due to plastic particles based on animal and in vitro studies. Nine out of eleven studies examined in this review found that plastic particles were capable of placental translocation. In the future, more studies are needed to confirm and quantify the existence of MPs and NPs in human placentas. Additionally, translocation of different plastic particle types and heterogenous mixtures across the placenta, exposure at different periods of gestation, and associations with adverse birth and other developmental outcomes should also be investigated.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• The Environmental Influences on Child Health Outcomes (ECHO)-Wide Cohort

  American Journal of Epidemiology · 2023 · 177 citations

  • Medicine
  • Environmental health
  • Gerontology

  The Environmental Influences on Child Health Outcomes (ECHO)-Wide Cohort Study (EWC), a collaborative research design comprising 69 cohorts in 31 consortia, was funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in 2016 to improve children's health in the United States. The EWC harmonizes extant data and collects new data using a standardized protocol, the ECHO-Wide Cohort Data Collection Protocol (EWCP). EWCP visits occur at least once per life stage, but the frequency and timing of the visits vary across cohorts. As of March 4, 2022, the EWC cohorts contributed data from 60,553 children and consented 29,622 children for new EWCP data and biospecimen collection. The median (interquartile range) age of EWCP-enrolled children was 7.5 years (3.7-11.1). Surveys, interviews, standardized examinations, laboratory analyses, and medical record abstraction are used to obtain information in 5 main outcome areas: pre-, peri-, and postnatal outcomes; neurodevelopment; obesity; airways; and positive health. Exposures include factors at the level of place (e.g., air pollution, neighborhood socioeconomic status), family (e.g., parental mental health), and individuals (e.g., diet, genomics).

  DOI

• Differences in Features of Built Environments at School vs. Home: A Pilot Study

  2023

  • Computer Science
  • Computer Science
  • Architectural engineering
  DOI

• Associations Between Prenatal Urinary Biomarkers of Phthalate Exposure and Preterm Birth

  JAMA Pediatrics · 2022 · 85 citations

  • Medicine
  • Obstetrics
  • Physiology

  Importance: Phthalate exposure is widespread among pregnant women and may be a risk factor for preterm birth. Objective: To investigate the prospective association between urinary biomarkers of phthalates in pregnancy and preterm birth among individuals living in the US. Design, Setting, and Participants: Individual-level data were pooled from 16 preconception and pregnancy studies conducted in the US. Pregnant individuals who delivered between 1983 and 2018 and provided 1 or more urine samples during pregnancy were included. Exposures: Urinary phthalate metabolites were quantified as biomarkers of phthalate exposure. Concentrations of 11 phthalate metabolites were standardized for urine dilution and mean repeated measurements across pregnancy were calculated. Main Outcomes and Measures: Logistic regression models were used to examine the association between each phthalate metabolite with the odds of preterm birth, defined as less than 37 weeks of gestation at delivery (n = 539). Models pooled data using fixed effects and adjusted for maternal age, race and ethnicity, education, and prepregnancy body mass index. The association between the overall mixture of phthalate metabolites and preterm birth was also examined with logistic regression. G-computation, which requires certain assumptions to be considered causal, was used to estimate the association with hypothetical interventions to reduce the mixture concentrations on preterm birth. Results: The final analytic sample included 6045 participants (mean [SD] age, 29.1 [6.1] years). Overall, 802 individuals (13.3%) were Black, 2323 (38.4%) were Hispanic/Latina, 2576 (42.6%) were White, and 328 (5.4%) had other race and ethnicity (including American Indian/Alaskan Native, Native Hawaiian, >1 racial identity, or reported as other). Most phthalate metabolites were detected in more than 96% of participants. Higher odds of preterm birth, ranging from 12% to 16%, were observed in association with an interquartile range increase in urinary concentrations of mono-n-butyl phthalate (odds ratio [OR], 1.12 [95% CI, 0.98-1.27]), mono-isobutyl phthalate (OR, 1.16 [95% CI, 1.00-1.34]), mono(2-ethyl-5-carboxypentyl) phthalate (OR, 1.16 [95% CI, 1.00-1.34]), and mono(3-carboxypropyl) phthalate (OR, 1.14 [95% CI, 1.01-1.29]). Among approximately 90 preterm births per 1000 live births in this study population, hypothetical interventions to reduce the mixture of phthalate metabolite levels by 10%, 30%, and 50% were estimated to prevent 1.8 (95% CI, 0.5-3.1), 5.9 (95% CI, 1.7-9.9), and 11.1 (95% CI, 3.6-18.3) preterm births, respectively. Conclusions and Relevance: Results from this large US study population suggest that phthalate exposure during pregnancy may be a preventable risk factor for preterm delivery.

  DOI

• Increased Heart Rate Variability Response Among Infants with Reported Rhinorrhea and Watery Eyes: A Pilot Study

  Journal of Asthma and Allergy · 2021 · 3 citations

  • Medicine
  • Pediatrics
  • Internal medicine

  INTRODUCTION: Previously, we found that reported infant rhinorrhea and watery eyes without a cold (RWWC) predicted school age exercise-induced wheeze, emergency department visits, and hospitalizations. These findings were independent of allergic sensitization, and we theorized that increased parasympathetic tone underlay the association. We also reported that increased heart-rate variability (HRV) in infants predicted wheeze in 2-3 year-olds. In a convenience sample of children participating in a birth cohort study, we tested the hypothesis that infants with RWWC would have elevated HRV, indicating increased parasympathetic tone. METHODS: RWWC symptoms since birth were queried for 3-month-old children. At 4-months, HRV was assessed (root mean square of successive differences [RMSSD]) during a standardized infant-mother still-face paradigm, which included 2 minutes of mother/child play immediately followed by 2 minutes of the mother maintaining a still-face. RESULTS: Among participants (n=38), RWWC was common for girls (32%) and boys (21%). The children with the greatest decrease in RMSSD between play and still-face challenge (lowest tertile) had a higher prevalence of RWWC as compared with children in the higher tertiles (50% vs 16%, P=0.045). In a logistic regression model controlling for sex, age and time between HRV and RWWC assessment, children with greater decrease in HRV between play and still-face (lowest tertile) had greater odds of having RWWC (odds ratio=6.0, P=0.029). CONCLUSION: In this relatively small study, we demonstrated greater decreases in HRV in response to a stressor among children with reported RWWC, suggesting that these children might have increased parasympathetic tone and/or overall greater vagal reactivity.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• The Role of Chemical Mixtures and Stress in World Trade Center-Related Birth Outcomes

  ISEE Conference Abstracts · 2020

  • Environmental health
  • Demography
  • Medicine

  Background: Fetal growth has been shown to be influenced by both maternal stress and exposure to environmental contaminants, including persistent organic pollutants. The terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center (WTC) on September 11, 2001 were a catastrophic disaster and resulted in the release of thousands of tons of chemicals as well as long-lasting psychological stress amongst both responders and New York City residents. Methods: Prenatal demoralization and exposure to persistent organic pollutants (including polybrominated diphenyl ethers, polychlorinated biphenyls, dioxins and perfluoroalkyl substances) were measured in 110 participants from a Columbia University birth cohort designed to study the effects of WTC exposures on pregnancy outcomes and development. Principal component analyses were conducted to characterize the mixture of exposure to the four groups of chemicals. Demoralization was measured using the PERI-D scale, a non-specific measure of psychological stress. We evaluated the associations between proximity to the WTC disaster with chemical exposure principal components and demoralization. We then evaluated the effect these variables had on previously reported associations between proximity to the WTC disaster and birth outcomes in this study population to understand their individual roles in the observed associations. We also evaluated the interactive effects of the chemical principal components and demoralization with birth outcomes. Results: The principal component reflecting higher dioxin exposure (PC4) was associated with proximity to the WTC disaster but there was no association for demoralization. Previously reported significant reductions in birth weight and birth length associated with living <2 miles from the WTC disaster were attenuated and no longer significant after adjusting for PC4. There were no significant interactions between principal components and demoralization with birth outcomes. Conclusions: Our findings suggest chemical exposures, specifically dioxins, explain some but not all of the previously observed associations between proximity to the WTC disaster and adverse birth outcomes.

  DOI

• Infant rhinorrhea and watery eyes in the absence of a cold associated with increased heart rate variability among girls

  Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology · 2020 · 1 citations

  • Medicine
  • Pediatrics
  • Demography
  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Expression quantitative trait locus fine mapping of the 17q12–21 asthma locus in African American children: a genetic association and gene expression study

  The Lancet Respiratory Medicine · 2020 · 71 citations

  • Medicine
  • Genetics
  • Immunology
  PublisherOA PDFDOI

Frequent coauthors

• Frederica P. Perera

  9 shared

• Deliang Tang

  Columbia University

  7 shared

• Shuang Wang

  Columbia University

  6 shared

• Rachel L. Miller

  Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai

  5 shared

• Frederica Perera

  Center for Children

  5 shared

• Jia Guo

  Nanfang Hospital

  4 shared

• Shuk‐Mei Ho

  University of Cincinnati

  4 shared

• Yaning Miao

  Chuzhou University

  4 shared

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