Justin Colacino

About

Justin Colacino is an Associate Professor of Environmental Health Sciences and Nutritional Sciences at the University of Michigan, affiliated with the School of Public Health and the College of Literature, Science, and the Arts, as well as the School for Environment and Sustainability. His educational background includes a PhD in Environmental Health Sciences from the University of Michigan School of Public Health, an MA in Statistics from the University of Michigan, an MPH from the University of Texas School of Public Health, and a BS in Biochemistry from the University of Texas at Austin. His research focuses on environmental health, particularly the effects of environmental exposures such as pesticides, lead, and cadmium on human health and development. His work involves analyzing the biological impacts of these exposures, including their influence on stem cells, cancer development, and epigenetic modifications. Colacino has contributed to understanding racial disparities in chemical biomarker concentrations and the molecular mechanisms underlying environmental toxicants' effects on human tissues. His publications reflect a strong emphasis on the intersection of environmental exposures, molecular biology, and health outcomes.

Research topics

• Genetics
• Biology
• Immunology
• Medicine
• Internal medicine
• Environmental health
• Demography
• Biochemistry
• Gerontology
• Cell biology

Selected publications

• A comprehensive analysis of racial disparities in chemical biomarker concentrations in United States women, 1999–2014

  Environment International · 2020 · 141 citations

  Senior authorCorresponding

  BACKGROUND: Stark racial disparities in disease incidence among American women remain a persistent public health challenge. These disparities likely result from complex interactions between genetic, social, lifestyle, and environmental risk factors. The influence of environmental risk factors, such as chemical exposure, however, may be substantial and is poorly understood. OBJECTIVES: We quantitatively evaluated chemical-exposure disparities by race/ethnicity, life stage, and time in United Stat…

  DOI

• Saliva cell type DNA methylation reference panel for epidemiological studies in children

  Epigenetics · 2021 · 83 citations

  ), a key process for hard palette formation. Saliva immune and epithelial cells have distinct DNA methylation profiles which can drive whole-saliva DNA methylation measures. A primary saliva DNA methylation reference panel, easily implemented with an R package, will allow estimates of cell proportions from whole saliva samples and improve epigenetic epidemiology studies by accounting for measurement heterogeneity by cell-type proportions.

  DOI

• Cell Types in Environmental Epigenetic Studies: Biological and Epidemiological Frameworks

  Current Environmental Health Reports · 2020 · 55 citations

  DOI

• Fibroblast lipid metabolism through ACSL4 regulates epithelial sensitivity to ferroptosis in IBD

  Nature Metabolism · 2025-06-26 · 27 citations

  articleOpen access
  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Exposome-wide association study of cognition among older adults in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey

  Exposome · 2025-01-01 · 10 citations

  articleOpen access

  Abstract Cognitive impairment among older adults is a growing public health challenge and environmental chemicals may be modifiable risk factors. A wide array of chemicals has not yet been tested for association with cognition in an environment-wide association framework. In the US National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) 1999-2000 and 2011-2014 cross-sectional cycles, cognition was assessed using the Digit Symbol Substitution Test (DSST, scores 0-117) among participants aged 60…

  PublisherDOI

Recent grants

• Developmental Exposures, Stem Cell Reprogramming, and Breast Cancer Disparities

  NIH · $4.8M · 2018–2027

• Risk of Alzheimer's Disease and Related Dementias from Perinatal Lead Exposure: Brain Region and Cell Type Effects

  NIH · $3.7M · 2022–2026

Frequent coauthors

• Maureen A. Sartor

  University of Michigan–Ann Arbor

  50 shared

• Laura S. Rozek

  Georgetown University

  46 shared

• Dana C. Dolinoy

  42 shared

• Olivier Jolliet

  Technical University of Denmark

  34 shared

• Vy Nguyen

  32 shared

• Jin Niu

  Providence College

  30 shared

• Ya’acov Ritov

  30 shared

• Charlotte Brown

  30 shared

Similar researchers at University of Michigan

• Rose Coryh-59
• Christopher Dickh-49
• William Currieh-45