Lesliam Quiros-Alcala
Johns Hopkins University, MD·Public Health & Epidemiology
More than 700,000 people in the U.S. work as hairstylists, mostly low-income women of reproductive age.
- Fields
Public Health & Epidemiology
Medicine & Clinical Research
- Topics
occupational exposure
hairdressers
hairstylists
- Grants
- 2 known grants, through Apr 2031
What they work on
- Determine whether hairstylists' exposures to endocrine-disrupting chemicals, including phthalates, their replacements and VOCs, are associated with menstrual cycle length, in salons primarily serving women of color.
- Test whether exposure to these endocrine-disrupting chemicals is associated with diminished ovarian reserve, a smaller remaining supply of eggs, among reproductive-aged hairstylists.
- Assess whether reporting personal exposure results back to stylists improves their knowledge, attitudes and behaviors about reducing chemical exposures in salons.
- Measure hairdressers' exposures to phthalates and VOCs, individually and as mixtures, and identify personal and workplace behaviors that drive exposure, in the MELENA cohort.
- Determine whether phthalate and VOC exposures are linked to oxidative stress and inflammation markers, poorer lung function and respiratory symptoms in hairdressers.
More about the research
Salon products expose them to chemicals such as phthalates (plastic-softening compounds) and volatile organic compounds (VOCs, chemicals that evaporate into the air). Some of these chemicals may harm reproductive and lung health. The lab's pilot work with salon partners found that stylists, especially Black and Latina stylists serving women of color, have higher exposures than other groups. They also report more reproductive problems and twice the national asthma rate. Both projects, built with community partners, aim to find workplace exposures that can be reduced.
Why it matters
Hairstylists, many of them women of color with low incomes, may face hidden chemical risks to fertility and lung health on the job. Identifying which exposures matter and what drives them could guide salon interventions, federal workplace policies and stylists' own product choices. These steps could lower risks of reproductive disorders and chronic lung disease in this highly exposed workforce.
Known grants
From NIH and NSF research grants. Labs often have other funding we can't see.
Closest labs
Anna Pollack
George Mason University, VA·Public Health & Epidemiology
Test whether higher levels of PFASs, POPs and their mixtures in healthy uterine (eutopic endometrial) tissue are associated with new endometriosis diagnoses among 495 women in the ENDO Study operative cohort.
Mohammad Alfrad Nobel Bhuiyan
Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center-Shreveport, LA·Public Health & Epidemiology
Calculate oxidative balance scores for 101,316 National Center for Health Statistics participants and relate them to plasma volatile organic compound levels in people with and without substance use disorder and cardiovascular disease.
Whitney Cowell
New York University, NY·Public Health & Epidemiology·Early-career
Adapt microplastic measurement methods from environmental and marine samples to human placentas from NYU CHES pregnancies. Identify exposure sources, including changeable lifestyle factors and contamination in the delivery room and lab.
The school
Johns Hopkins University: 100 labs on PI Pages, $4.1B a year on research, 622 research doctorates a year.
Reach out
A start for your email. Fill in the brackets.