Rosana Hernandez Weldon

rhweldon@hawaii.edu

(808) 956-5775

Biomed D-104U

Rosana Hernandez Weldon, PhD, MPH

Associate Specialist

Academic Degrees

  • PhD (Environmental Health Sciences), University of California, Berkeley
  • MPH (Environmental Health Sciences), University of California, Berkeley
  • BA (Human Biodynamics), University of California, Berkeley

Research Interests

My research interests and expertise are in exposure assessment and environmental epidemiology of women, children, and reproduction. During my career in Public Health I have worked on various large-scale, federally-funded studies including: a longitudinal birth cohort study of primarily Mexican-American women and children exposed to pesticides in the Salinas Valley (Center for the Health Assessment of Mothers and Children of Salinas (CHAMACOS)); a Superfund study of the associations of nutrients in semen and genetic endpoints measured in the sperm of healthy men (Age and Genetic Effects in Sperm (AGES)); an occupational health study of the genetic effects of benzene measured in both sperm and blood of Chinese men (China Benzene and Sperm Study (C-BASS)); and a study of gene-environment interactions in patients with Lupus or Multiple Sclerosis. My dissertation research on the measurement of non-persistent pesticides as well as persistent pesticides and PCB’s contributed to federal policy change – the 2015 ban of chlorpyrifos under President Barack Obama. I have also worked on non-federally-funded studies of women and children, including a study of the leaching potential of phthalates and other materials from plastics to mothers’ milk (Mothers’ Information on Lactation and Collection (MILC) and a study of health effects in women and children who resided in the Mid-Ohio Valley and were exposed to perfluoroalkyl acids (PFAAs) in drinking water as a result of emissions from a local chemical plant (C8 Panel Studies). 

My recent work at the University of Hawai‘i has included a project with the Hawai‘i Department of Health to examine state-wide health inequities as well as a needs assessment project with the Hawai‘i Department of Education to equitably address student health needs in Hawai‘i public schools so that students have the best chance at success. I have also been working with the Hawai‘i Alliance for Progressive Action (HAPA) to determine potential health effects of pesticides in agricultural communities across Hawai‘i.

Selected Publications

Phillips MM, Weldon RH, Maniar A, Patil U, Kostareva U, Agner J, Finn J, Sentell T. Social Networks, Health Information Sharing, and Pandemic Perceptions among Young Adults in Hawai'i during the COVID-19 Pandemic. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2022 Dec 15;19(24):16833. doi: 10.3390/ijerph192416833. PMID: 36554713; PMCID: PMC9779529.

Mondal, D, Weldon RH, Armstrong B, Gibson L, Lopez-Espinosa MJ, Shin HM, Fletcher T. Breast-feeding: a potential excretion route for mothers and implications for infant exposure to Perfluoroalkyl acids. Environmental Health Perspectives February 2014. 122(2):187-92. doi: 10.1289/ehp.1306613. Epub 2013 Nov 26. PMID: 24280536 

Schmid, TE, Grant PG, Marchetti F, Weldon RH, Eskenazi B, and Wyrobek AJ. Elemental composition of human semen is associated with semen quality and genomic sperm defects among older men. Human Reproduction. January 2013. 28(1). doi:10.1093/humrep/des321. 

Schmid , TE, Eskenazi B, Marchetti F, Young S, Weldon RH, Baumgartner A, Anderson D, Wyrobek AJ. Micronutrients intake is associated with improved sperm DNA quality in older men. Fertility & Sterility. November 2012. 98(5):1130-1137. doi:10.1016/j.fertnstert.2012.07.1126. 

Ji, Z, Weldon RH, Marchetti F, Chen H, Li G, Xing C, Kurtovich E, Young S, Schmid TE, Waidyanatha S, Rappaport SM, Zhang L, Eskenazi B. Comparison of aneuploidies of chromosomes 21, X, and Y in the blood lymphocytes and sperm cells of workers exposed to benzene. Environmental and Molecular Mutagenesis, Apr 2012. 53(3):218-26. doi: 10.1002/em.21683. 

Marchetti, F, Eskenazi B, Weldon RH, Li G, Zhang L, Rappaport SM, Schmid TE, Xing C, Kurtovich E, and Wyrobek AJ. Occupational exposure to benzene and chromosomal structural aberrations in the sperm of Chinese men. Environmental Health Perspectives, Feb 2012. 120(2). http://dx.doi.org/10.1289/ehp.1103921. 

Weldon, RH, Barr DB, Trujillo C, Bradman A, Holland N, and Eskenazi B. Pesticides and PCBs detected in the milk of women residing in urban and agricultural communities of California. Journal of Environmental Monitoring. Oct 2011. 13: p. 3136. doi 10.1039/C1EM10469A. 

Weldon, RH, Webster M, Harley KG, Bradman A, Fenster L, Davis MD, Hubbard A, Barr DB, Holland N, and Eskenazi B. Serum persistent organic pollutants and duration of lactation among Mexican-American women, Journal of Environmental and Public Health, Volume 2010, Article ID 861757, 11 pages. 

Xing, C, Marchetti F, Li G, Weldon RH, Kurtovich E, Young S, Schmid TE, Zhang L, Rappaport S, Waidyanatha S, Wyrobek AJ, Eskenazi B. Benzene exposure near the US permissible limit is associated with sperm aneuploidy. Environmental Health Perspectives, Jun 2010. 118(6): p. 833–839.