Health and the Environment

Just as humans affect the environment, the environment affects humans. Penn State researchers are collaborating on ways that human health is being impacted, from pollution and toxins to infectious disease and climate change.

Systems In Sync

Dynamics of disease, environmental change, and gene-environment interactions have been affecting human, animal, and plant health for decades. From indoor pollution to infectious disease to climate change, health is being impacted.

Researchers are addressing these important factors in order to disrupt infectious disease vectors, enable precautionary design of chemicals and materials, and develop medical treatments to minimize negative impacts.

Scientists are also identifying an increasing number of beneficial human/environment interactions, including the microbiomes in our digestive systems and on our skin.

Penn State continues to grow in this area with the College of Health and Human Development's focus on Environmental Health Sciences.

A team of Penn State researchers is collaborating on a potential new method to treat cancer by delivering a unique nanoparticle to a localized cancerous area in mice and activating the treatment through light exposure — Adam Glick and a team of Penn State researchers are collaborating on a potential new method to treat cancer by delivering a unique nanoparticle to a localized cancerous area in mice and activating the treatment through light exposure.

Health and the Environment Research

Featured IEE Researchers

Margaret Busse

Assistant Professor, Mechanical Engineering

James Freihaut

Professor, Architectural Engineering

Institutes, Centers, & Programs

Health and the Environment News

Featured Stories

U.S. Geological Survey grant to fund ag study of PFAS in small watersheds

May 18, 2026 | psu.edu

Researchers in Penn State’s College of Agricultural Sciences have received a grant of nearly $309,000 from the U.S. Geological Survey, part of the U.S. Department of the Interior, to study the movement and impacts of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS, in small agricultural watersheds across the Chesapeake Bay Watershed.

Mentions: Heather Preisendanz, Tyler Groh, Faith Kibuye, Odette Mina, Jon Sweetman, Onur Apul

Turquoise river winding through a dry, mountainous valley with steep, rocky slopes and sparse vegetation

Column

Why a key India–Pakistan water treaty is under strain — and why it matters globally

March 27, 2026 | by Tejal Shirsat, Kausik Ghosh, Christopher Scott

The Indus Water Treaty governs a river system that supports nearly 300 million people, but climate change, rising demand, and political tensions are putting the agreement under pressure.

Mentions: Lara Fowler