University of Washington's Interdisciplinary Center for Exposures, Diseases, Genomics & Environment (EDGE) has an administrative infrastructure and technical support to foster multidisciplinary collaborations between researchers. The Center provides members with valuable technical support through its three facility cores and a pilot projects program. Descriptions of these cores and the services they provide can be found on the Core Services page. The Center's members are organized into five Collaborative Translational Research Teams (CTRTs).
Dr. Joel Kaufman serves as the Principal Investigator and Director of the Center. The EDGE Center is supported by the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences and is part of the Institute’s Environmental Health Sciences Core Center program, Grant #P30ES007033.
Joel Kaufman
Director
As director, Joel oversees the day-to-day operations of the Administrative Core, administers the Pilot Projects Program, and chairs the Internal Steering Committee of the Center. He works very closely with the Deputy Director and with other members of the EDGE Center leadership to guide and inspire members of the Center in their translational science research.
Edmund Seto
Deputy Director
Edmund works with the director to provide guidance in the direction of the EDGE Center. Edmund is well connected with investigators and provides guidance to Facility Core Directors. He provides expertise in distributed environmental sensing.
Elena Austin
Exposure Sciences Unit Co-director
Elena has primary responsibility for mobile monitoring, management of exposure network data and databases, and visualization of exposure data. She provides expertise in low-cost sensor deployment, mobile monitoring methods and management and validation of complex exposure assessment data sets.
Theo Bammler
Omics Unit Manager
Theo manages and oversees the daily activities of the three components that comprise the GBBM-Core: the Genomics, the Bioinformatics & Biostatistics, and the Microphysiological Systems Components. By overseeing the activities of all three components, Theo ensures seamless integration of the services provided by each.
Joan Casey
Career Enhancement Director
Joan oversees the career enhancement and mentoring of the EDGE Center, where she assumes principal responsibility for fostering the career enhancement of future research leaders in environmental health sciences.
Jamie Donatuto
Community Engagement Core (CEC) Co-director
As CEC co-director, Jamie works with the director to coordinate community engagement activities. She brings deep expertise related to engaging directly with rural and tribal communities. Prior to joining the EDGE team, Jamie served as a CEC Community Advisory Board member while working in community.
Nicole Errett
Community Engagement Core (CEC) Director
Nicole directs the CEC, providing EDGE researchers with guidance, resources, and training to design and implement reciprocal and rigorous community engaged research projects with community partners. Under her leadership, the CEC launched the Community Engaged Research Hub and developed innovative tools, trainings, and products, many of which have been utilized across Environmental Health Sciences Core Center network. Nicole also leads the IEHSFC's disaster research response studies area.
Nancy Judd
Scientist Administrator
Alongside the director, Nancy is responsible for direct financial oversight of the Center and serves as the primary contact for communication with NIEHS. She directs all administrative activities such as preparation and submission of grant renewal documents and annual reports, planning Center events, and coordinating all aspects of Center communication. Nancy is instrumental in managing the daily functions of the Center, maintaining open lines of communication between members, and energizing the Center’s strategic planning process.
Catherine Karr
Translational Research Support Core (TRSC) Director
Catherine oversees all core activities and Steering Committee meetings that review core use and activities. She utilizes her network and expertise as an academic pediatric environmental health researcher and clinician and Director of the NW Pediatric Environmental Health Specialty Unit to assist with publicizing the core’s resources among the university’s clinical and translational research community. Catherine identifies opportunities that serve to translate the Center’s activities to communities in the Pacific Northwest and the broader clinical and public health professional community and policy makers.
Ed Kelly
Omics Unit Co-director
Ed serves as the primary contact for investigators who want to a) employ existing microphysiological systems (MPS) organ devices for investigating toxicants, b) develop MPS organ platforms beyond the existing core of liver, kidney or intestine or c) integrate multi-organ and/or integrated cell types (e.g. vascularization) for a given organ.
Karen Levy
Associate Director, Director of Collaborative Science
Karen serves as Associate Director for the center and guides the Collaborative Transactional Research Teams. She has expertise in environmental microbiology and the microbiome. Her research group uses microbiology, genomics, and epidemiology to study linkages between the environment and enteric (food and waterborne) disease transmission, with a focus on water quality, food safety, animal exposure, and extreme weather.
Christine Loftus
Clinical and Epidemiological Unit Co-director
Christine provides advanced epidemiological study consultation including study design and advanced methods. She brings over 15 years’ experience in environmental epidemiology and advanced training in chemistry.
Dan Raftery
Omics Unit Director
Dan is a Medical Education and Research Endowed Professor at the UW School of Medicine and founding Director of the Northwest Metabolomics Research Center. His research program is focused on the development of new analytical methods in metabolomics and their application to a range of clinical and basic science studies related to metabolic alterations.
Cora Sack
Translational Research Support Core (TRSC) Associate Director, Clinical and Epidemiological Unit Co-director
Coras’s clinical and research collaborations facilitate Core connections across UW, particularly focused on environmental health translational research among adults. Her research experiences span experimental investigations (including controlled human exposures and animal studies) to clinical and population-based epidemiological designs.
Sheela Sathyanarayana
Pilot Projects Director
As Pilot Projects director, Sheela works with the EDGE director and deputy director to shape and facilitate the success of the Center's pilot grants. She conducts research focused on endocrine disrupting chemicals in plastics, including phthalates and bisphenol A in pregnancy and childhood health outcomes.
Ali Shojaie
Data Sciences Core Director
As the Director of the Data Sciences Core of the UW EDGE Center, Ali coordinates data science support across the Center and provides expertise in (bio)statistics for high-dimensional data and machine learning and artificial intelligence (ML/AI) as well as extensive experience in data science training for biomedical researchers.
Chris Simpson
Exposure Sciences Unit Director
Chris has primary responsibility for analytical chemistry and development of biomarker quantitative biomarker assays. He is trained as an environmental and analytical chemist, and his research interests involve the application of analytical chemistry to the development of techniques for assessment of exposure to toxic chemicals, and the subsequent application of those techniques to investigate occupational and environmental exposures.