People

Sara Adar, ScD, Principal Investigator

Sara is the Associate Chair of the Department of Epidemiology and an Associate Professor at the University of Michigan School of Public Health. She started her career as an environmental engineer with a bachelors degree from MIT. After becoming fascinated by environmental health, she earned a masters degree from the Johns Hopkins School of Public Health and then worked in environmental consulting as a risk assessor for 3 years. Afterwards, she returned to school, earning a doctorate degree in Exposure, Epidemiology, and Risk from the Harvard School of Public Health. Her primary area of research is on the health effects of air pollution and noise in communities.

At work, she is often happiest when mentoring students, engaging in scientific discussions and debates, and thinking about epidemiological methods. Outside of work, she enjoys spending time with her two kids and husband, being in nature, and traveling.  When not at SPH, you can often find her in local coffee shops typing away on her laptop.

Meredith Pedde, PhD, Assistant Research Scientist

Meredith is conducting research on air pollution with the aim of informing environmental policy. Since completing her PhD in 2021, Meredith has focused her work on the investigation of the attendance and educational benefits of replacing diesel-powered school buses with cleaner alternatives. She has also been the lead research scientist on a project to understand the long-term consequences of air pollution on ALS progression. Before her PhD, Meredith was trained in public policy at the Ford School and was a full-time staffer at the EPA. 

Meredith enjoys the outdoors and, when not at work, she spends time with her husband and daughter.

Adam Taggartt, PhD, Data Manager

Adam received a PhD in Kinesiology from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. His research previously focused on the cognitive effects of martial arts compared to resistance exercises. Before moving to the USA, he was a kickboxing/MMA and fitness instructor in West London where he also studied for his Master's degree. 

In his spare time, Adam loves practicing martial arts, carpentry, and archery. 

Katherine Francois, Project Coordinator

Katherine received master's degrees in chemistry from the Georgia Institute of Technology and environmental justice from the University of Michigan.  Prior to moving to Ann Arbor, she was a chemistry instructor at a technical college outside of Atlanta, GA for five years. 

Katherine's hobbies include going on long walks/hikes with her husband and their dog, singing show tunes at the top of her lungs, and curling up in a cozy chair with a good book.

Jennifer D'Souza, PhD, Part-Time Research Analyst 

Jen has been working with the Adar research group since 2012 as our data manager and research analyst. She grew up in the Northeast and came to Ann Arbor for college, where she's remained ever since - earning a BA, MPH and PhD all from the University of Michigan. She started out interested in medicine, but realized that her true calling was public health. Following graduate school, she worked in aging research before moving to her current position with the Adar group, where she feels lucky to be able to do data analysis to address important public health issues.

Outside of "work", she enjoys spending time with her husband and their 3 sons, staying active, and checking out the downtown Ann Arbor scene! 

Ekta Chaudhary

Ekta received a PhD in Atmospheric Sciences from the Centre of Atmospheric Sciences, IIT Delhi, India. Her research previously focused on estimating the impact of air pollution exposure, particularly PM2.5 species, on maternal and child health in India. She has gained knowledge in assessing the health benefits of achieving clean air targets in India. She also has expertise in handling air quality monitors. 

Outside of work, Ekta finds joy in traveling and exploring new destinations.

Jiaqi Gao

After completing her MPH with Dr. Adar at U.M., Jiaqi decided to sign on for her PhD. Her research interests include air pollution epidemiology. She is currently investigating the relationship between long-term exposures to air pollution and disability in late life. 

Tingfan Jin

Tingfan has joined our team after completing his masters degree at the TH Chan Harvard School of Public Health. Tingfan is planning to study the impacts of climate on health.

Chris Crowe

Chris completed his MPH through the University of Michigan’s Population and Health Sciences program and is currently working towards a PhD with interests in the intersection of wealth, aging, and health outcomes. 

Nia Clements

Nia will be joining us in the Fall of 2024 for her Ph.D after completing her M.P.H. through Cornell's Population Medicine and Epidemiology program. She is interested in health disparities from environmental exposures.

Tsai-Chin Cho

TC is a doctoral candidate in the Center for Social Epidemiology and Population Health at the University of Michigan who is studying the interplay of wealth shocks and cognition in older adults. Dr. Adar serves on her dissertation committee along with Drs. Lindsay Kobayashi, Ken Langa, and Hwajung Choi. 

Jessica Hsu

Jessica is a public health major with a minor in statsitsics and the environment. She has been working with our team on gathering spatial datasets for the Gateway to Global Aging project.