Meredith Spivak has joined the Center for Excellence in Environmental Health and Safety as a research coordinator and epidemiologist. This center strives to promote and enhance environmental health and occupational safety in Idaho through a combination of research and service.
After completing her bachelor’s degree in public health at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Spivak went on to receive her master’s degree in epidemiology at the University at Albany. Her previous research focused on environmental exposures during pregnancy. She completed her master’s thesis investigating the independent and joint effects of prenatal mercury and depression exposures on infant birth size.
In her role with the center, Spivak aims to support epidemiological research for center-affiliated faculty across the university. She will assist Boise State researchers with Institutional Review Board approvals, renewals and modifications; study recruitment and informed consent; conduct biological sample and other data collection; execute data analysis; and help prepare manuscripts.
Since joining the center last May, Spivak has worked on several projects for Cynthia Curl, center director and assistant professor in the College of Health Sciences, and Luke Montrose, assistant professor for Community and Environmental Health. Additionally, she has assisted other faculty in research including Lisa Meierotto, an assistant professor in the School of Public Service, and Rebecca Som Castellano, an associate professor in the College of Arts and Sciences.
In addition to her involvement in research operations for multiple studies, she has assisted with presentations for the Mountain West Clinical Translational Research Infrastructure Network meeting in Las Vegas and for the International Society for Environmental Epidemiology. She also has co-authored a literature review on the risks of exposure to synthetic pesticides in agricultural workers.
“Meredith has been a tremendous addition to my research team,” said Curl. “She has contributed significantly to several of my ongoing studies, and her skills have allowed me to greatly increase my research productivity.”