Cynthia Curl, PhD, MS
Environmental Health
Email: cynthiacurl@boisestate.edu
Keywords: agricultural health, pesticide exposure, organic food
Research Profile:
The primary goal of Dr. Curl’s lab is to improve the health and safety of agricultural workers and their communities, and to aid consumers in making informed decisions about what they eat and what they feed their families. Her research focuses on developing evidence-based public health messages about how various agricultural production systems affect the health of workers and consumers.
Current Research and Research Goals:
Dr. Curl’s most recent research focused on understanding the effect of an organic diet on pesticide exposure in pregnant women. She and her colleagues found that women who supplemented their existing diets with organic, rather than conventional, produce had sustained reductions in pesticide exposure throughout their pregnancies. Her upcoming research focuses on understanding how pregnant women may be exposed to the common herbicide, glyphosate (commonly known as Round Up). She and her team will explore both agricultural and dietary sources of potential glyphosate exposure among pregnant women in the Treasure Valley and the Magic Valley.
Current Funding:
Dr. Curl’s current work is funded by a K01 Career Development award from the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS), one of the National Institutes of Health.
Honors and Achievements:
Dr. Curl was named one of the 20 Pioneers under 40 in Environmental Public Health and was award a Rising Star award from the Institute for Translational Health Sciences at the University of Washington. Her recent work was featured as a NIEHS paper of the month, and her work has been awarded Best Paper of the Year in Environmental Epidemiology by the International Society of Environmental Epidemiology.