Advancing the understanding of how environmental factors influence human health across the lifespan.

As genetic research continues to fall short in fully explaining disease complexity, emerging insights from environmental health science are revealing how stressors—from air, water, and soil pollution to hazardous chemicals, radiation, microorganisms, noise, extreme weather, and social determinants—impact physiological balance and can shape individual’s vulnerability and resilience toward disease.

These insights drive SCEHM’s mission to integrate environmental determinants into every stage of health research—advancing diagnostics, treatment strategies, and patient outcomes through a comprehensive, systems-based approach. This approach is grounded in cutting-edge mechanistic toxicology and accelerated by computational New Approach Methodologies (NAMs), providing a clear roadmap of the effects of environmental exposures on human health. Embracing a holistic view of disease, SCEHM is committed to applying this knowledge to enhance risk assessment, prevention strategies, and treatments —advancing the path toward precision medicine.

Email: Felaezza@utmb.edu

Fernanda Laezza, M.D., Ph.D.

Director, Sealy Center for Environmental Health and Medicine

Jones Distinguished Chair in Environmental Toxicology Professor

Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology

Research Experts

Building on a long-standing tradition of excellence in environmental health science in the Galveston area, the Sealy Center for Environmental Health and Medicine (SCEHM)’s goal is to lead the science that incorporates environmental factors in defining human health from mechanistic biology and toxicology to define new approaches to define health risks and therapies. We achieve this by conducting cutting-edge basic and mechanistic toxicology, translational, and clinical research grounded in real-world challenges. We are committed to sharing our findings with communities, educators, and key stakeholders to ensure that knowledge leads to action.

Through interdisciplinary team science, cutting-edge technologies, and strong collaborations at the local, national, and international levels, SCEHM is driving a new course in health research—placing environmental determinants at the center of every stage, from uncovering toxicological disease mechanisms to advancing diagnostics, treatments, and outcomes. This holistic, systems-based approach is key to accelerating drug discovery, developing more effective therapies, and advancing precision medicine.