Mendola named Fellow of the International Society for Environmental Epidemiology

SUNY Distinguished Professor Pauline Mendola, chair of the Department of Epidemiology and Environmental Health in the School of Public Health and Health Professions, has been named a Fellow of the International Society for Environmental Epidemiology (ISEE), one of the highest honors bestowed by the organization.

The ISEE Fellow designation recognizes long-term members who have demonstrated professional excellence and made significant contributions to advancing environmental epidemiology through research, education, community engagement, policy and service to the society.

Fellows are selected by the ISEE Executive Council and are recognized by their peers for their sustained impact on the field and commitment to the organization's mission of addressing evolving public and environmental health challenges around the world.

"I am honored to be recognized by colleagues whose work has shaped environmental epidemiology around the world," Mendola says. "ISEE has been an important professional home throughout my career, fostering scientific collaboration and advancing research that ultimately improves population health. I'm grateful for the opportunity to continue contributing to its mission."

A pioneer in environmental and perinatal epidemiology, Mendola has transformed scientists' understanding of how environmental exposures influence pregnancy outcomes and child health. Her research has identified environmental risk factors associated with pregnancy complications, adverse birth outcomes and pediatric health disparities, helping to establish the scientific evidence that informs clinical recommendations and public health policies designed to protect mothers and children.

Over a career spanning more than four decades, Mendola has built a distinguished record across academia and federal public health agencies. She began her career at UB as a tenure-track assistant professor before joining the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, where she rose to branch chief. She later served as branch chief of the Infant, Child, and Women's Health Statistics Branch at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's National Center for Health Statistics.

Mendola also served as a senior investigator in the National Institutes of Health Intramural Research Program at the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, where she led nationally recognized research examining environmental influences on reproductive and child health.

She returned to UB in 2020 to lead the Department of Epidemiology and Environmental Health, bringing decades of scientific leadership and expertise to the school's research and educational mission.