Research

Research Statement

My academic scholarship is rooted in community engagement with the Multicultural Alliance for a Safe Environment (MASE), a regional NGO that coordinates the efforts of five local grassroots groups from the former Grants uranium mining district in northwestern New Mexico: Eastern Navajo Diné Against Uranium Mining (ENDAUM), Laguna-Acoma Coalition for a Safe Environment (LACSE), Red Water Pond Road Community Association (RWPRCA), Bluewater Valley Downstream Alliance (BVDA), and Post-71 Uranium Workers Committee (Post-71).  Based on over two years of multi-locale ethnographic research on the relationship between local communities, government employees, and transnational mining corporations, my past research examined different stakeholder perspectives, the diverse forms of expertise, and the dense entanglements of science, technology, and politics invested in “reclaiming” abandoned mine lands, “remediating” contaminated sites, and “restoring” the natural and cultural resources of northwestern New Mexico.  In my current role in the UNM METALS Community Engagement Core, I aim to advance understanding of how local Indigenous knowledge, history, experiences, and methods can transform population-based health studies aimed at reducing risks from abandoned uranium mines (AUMs) on community land uses, air, water, and health.  Through interdisciplinary collaboration with the environmental and biomedical research projects, and with community partners in Laguna Pueblo (K’awaíka) and the Navajo Nation (Diné Bikéyah), we are in the process of co-designing “interventions” to monitor and attenuate environmental exposures.                                            

Academic Research Positions

Jan. 2024- present / University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM / Research Assistant Professor, Gerald May Department of Civil, Construction & Environmental Engineering

Jan. 2024- present / University of New Mexico Health Sciences Center, Albuquerque, NM / National Institutes of Health (NIH)/National Institute of Nursing Research (NINR) P20 Climate and Health Allied Network for Geospatial and Environmental Science (CHANGES) housed in the Accelerating Resilience Innovations in Drylands (ARID) Institute (1P20NR021824). Research Professor. PI: José Cerrato

Oct. 2023- present / University of New Mexico Health Sciences Center, Albuquerque, NM / Co-PI, P50 Pilot Project: Native American Environmental Health Equity Research Center. National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities (NIH/NIMHD P50MD015706). Research Professor. PI: Deb MacKenzie

Sep. 2020- present / University of New Mexico Health Sciences Center, Albuquerque, NM / Metal Exposure and Toxicity Assessment on Tribal Lands in the Southwest (METALS) Superfund Research Program (SRP) Center (NIH/NIEHS P42ES025589). Co-Lead of the Research Translation Core, and Key Personnel in the Community Engagement Core. Research Professor. PI: José Cerrato

Aug. 2024-  Aug. 2025 / Southwestern Indian Polytechnic Institute, Albuquerque, NM / Office of Environmental Justice, Bureau of Indian Affairs Environmental Stewardship Grant. PI: Thomas De Pree

Sep. 2020- Aug. 2023 / University of New Mexico Health Sciences Center, Albuquerque, NM / Advanced Science Education Research Training/Institutional Research and Academic Career Development Awards (ASERT/IRACDA) (NIGMS K12 GM088021). Postdoctoral Fellow. PI: Angela Wandinger-Ness

Jan. 2020-  Aug. 2020 / Bucknell University, Lewisburg, PA / Developing Human Social Networks to Identify and Develop Data-Driven Metrics and Methods for Expanding Learning Opportunities Across the Lifetime (NSF DUE-1745922). Faculty Associate. PI: Alan Cheville

Aug. 2017- Aug. 2019 / Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, NY / Dissertation: The Life of the By-Product in the ‘Grants Uranium District’ of Northwestern New Mexico. 2017-2019 HASS Fellow

May 2018- Aug. 2018 / Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, NY / Collaborative Research: Reform and Governance in Engineering Education (NSF SES-1656125). Graduate Research Assistant. PIs: Atsushi Akera, Alan Cheville, Donna Riley, Jennifer Karlin

May 2017- Aug. 2017 / Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute,Troy, NY  / Environmental Health Governance in Six Cities: How Scientific Cultures, Practices and Infrastructures Shape Governance Styles (NSF, SES-153588). Graduate Research Assistant. PI: Kim Fortun

Jan. 2015- May 2015 / Teachers College, Columbia University, New York, NY / Environmental Education and Sustainable Development Working Group. Research Assistant. PI: Oren Pizmony-Levy