Hoh Environmental Health Laboratory

Dr. Eunha Hoh's Laboratory is part of SDSU's School of Public Health. Our group addresses public health research questions through molecular-level analyses of chemical contaminants and biomarkers.

A description of our research can be found in the following SDSU NewsCenter articles and videos:

• Applying What You Learn - Student Research Opportunities in Public Health
• Marine Contaminants
• Toxins in our Midst
• Finding The Toxic 'Needle In a Haystack'

Example projects

Investigation of deep ocean DDT disposal and its impacts on wildlife and humans, and understanding the spatial extent of DDT in marine sediment. As reported in the Los Angeles Times, research by several groups has found some of the most abundant environmental contaminants in southern California marine mammals are related to the historical disposal of DDT waste in the ocean and are associated with elevated cancer rates in sea lions. A set of our projects measure contaminants in California marine mammals to determine their suitability as sentinel species for biomagnifying compounds and have investigated DDT in particular. In April 2021, Dr. Hoh participated in a congressional briefing on southern California DDT waste dump sites (PDF).

Our 2024 publication, "Identification of DDT+ in Deep Ocean Sediment and Biota in the Southern California Bight" was covered in the LA Times and LAist AirTalk.

These projects are interdisciplinary collaborations with Dr. Karilyn Sant, SDSU School of Public Health, Dr. David Valentine, University of California Santa Barbara, and researchers/staff from The Marine Mammal Center, Pacific Marine Mammal Center, San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance, University of California Santa Cruz, University of California Davis, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, NOAA, International Bird Rescue, California Department of Fish and Wildlife, Gabrielino-Shoshone Tribal Council of Southern California, and Coastal Defenders.

Other example projects are:

• Understanding the contaminants that leach from tire tread particles. This project is a collaboration with Dr. Natalie Mladenov, SDSU College of Engineering; Dr. Karilyn Sant, SDSU School of Public Health; and Dr. Chelsea Rochman, University of Toronto.
• Assessment of thirdhand cigarette smoke pollution. This project is a collaboration with Dr. Georg Matt, SDSU Department of Psychology and Dr. Penelope Quintana, SDSU School of Public Health.
• Identification of contaminants potentially affecting the conservation of California condors. This project is a collaboration with Drs. Christopher Tubbs and Ignacio Vilchis of the San Diego Zoo.
• Studying the degration of oil released by the Refugio spill. This project is a collaboration with Dr. Natalie Mladenov, SDSU College of Engineering.

Dr. Hoh is a member of the Ocean Research Advisory Panel (ORAP), a Federal advisory committee to advise the Ocean Policy Committee on certain science and research policies, procedures, and priorities.

Dr. Hoh is a member of the California Ocean Protection Council's Science Advisory Team, an expert interdisciplinary group formed to address issues impacting the state's coastal and marine ecosystems.

• An OPC Microplastics Working Group co-chaired by Dr. Hoh released their recommendations and risk assessment framework in May 2021, suggesting California be precautionary in managing microplastic pollution until the science can better quantify the effects. Report (PDF).

Dr. Hoh served on the California Environmental Contaminant Biomonitoring Program Scientific Guidance Panel (2018-2023).

Our recent journal article Cannabis and the Environment: What Science Tells Us and What We Still Need to Know was selected as an ACS Editors' Choice article (2021).

Our journal article Assessing Toxicity and in Vitro Bioactivity of Smoked Cigarette Leachate Using Cell-Based Assays and Chemical Analysis was selected as an ACS Editors' Choice article (2019).

The Hoh Laboratory is a member of the SDSU Blue Gold Area of Excellence.

Research projects are funded by NIH, NSF, NOAA, California SeaGrant, and the California TRDRP.

Group Member News

September 2024 Tina Tran begins her M.S. at UC Santa Barbara Bren School of Environmental Science and Management.

August 2024 Ryan Duffy begins his M.S. in Environmental Health at SDSU under the supervision of Dr. Hoh.

July 2024 Samantha Shinder received the SDSU College of Health and Human Sciences Student Research Award.

July 2024 Morales was selected for a 2025 California Sea Grant State Fellowship.

June 2024 Research Specialist Kaylen Wilson started a new job at SANDAG.

May 2024 Chelsea Contreras-Valencia received a National Hispanic Medical Association's Hispanic Leadership Development Fellowship supported by the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), Office of Minority Health (OMH).

May 2024 Maggie Stack was featured on LAist AirTalk: New Research Provides Greater Insight On DDT Dumping’s Impact On SoCal Marine Life.

April 2024 Research Assistant Ahira Medalla started a new job at J.S. Held.

April 2024 Tina Tran received the Best Undergraduate Student Presentation Award from the Southern California Chapter of the Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry.

October 2023 The article by Bill Richardot and collaborators "Leached Compounds from Smoked Cigarettes and Their Potential for Bioaccumulation in Rainbow Trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss)" was published in the Chemical Research in Toxicology special issue Mass Spectrometry Advances for Environmental Health.

Fall 2023 Maggie Stack was elected as the 2023-2024 President of the Southern California Chapter of the Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry.

August 2023 Eunha Hoh received an SDSU Alumni Distinguished Faculty Award at the 2023 SDSU All-University Convocation.

August 2023 Alex Lee and Ashley Chang received SDSU Research Scholarships.

July 2023 Maggie Stack was featured in KPBS news: Toxic microplastics found where the rubber meets the road.

April 2023 Nathan Dodder received the 2023 SDSU Non-Tenure Track Faculty Outstanding Scholar Award.

January 2023 Josh Espinoza received a California Sea Grant State Fellowship from the California Department of Transportation (CalTrans).

October 2022 Tina Tran received a 2022 SoCal SETAC Student Research Grant Award.

August 2022 Tina Tran received a CSU COAST Undergraduate Research Award.

February 2022 Thomas Morales received a National Water Research Institute Fellowship.

August 2021 Melissa Pennington received the Cornelius Hopper Diversity Award Student Fellowship from the California Tobacco-Related Disease Research Program.

August 2021 Christine Stewart received a Student Support Research Fellowship from the California Tobacco-Related Disease Research Program.

February 2021 Jordan Alejo received California Sea Grant State Fellowship (State Water Resources Control Board - Division of Water Quality, Sustainable Water Plans and Policies).

July 2021 Thomas Morales received a Switzer Fellowship.

August 2020 Katie Nynas received a Student Support Research Fellowship from the California Tobacco-Related Disease Research Program.

August 2020 Jordan Alejo received the Cornelius Hopper Diversity Award Student Fellowship from the California Tobacco-Related Disease Research Program.

August 2020 Laila Hamzai started her Ph.D. in Global Health at SDSU/UCSD under the supervision of Drs. Quintana and Hoh.

August 2020 Nalima Joshi received the Cornelius Hopper Diversity Award Student Fellowship from the California Tobacco-Related Disease Research Program.

June 2020 Jordan Alejo, Pam Olguin, and Jade Johnson received SDSU Research Scholarships.

June 2020 Jade Johnson received a Switzer Fellowship.

February 2020 Research Assistant Daniel Chang started a new job at Eurofins.

November 2019 Laila Hamzai received a Student Support Research Fellowship from the California Tobacco-Related Disease Research Program.

November 2019 Pamela Olguin received the Cornelius Hopper Diversity Award Student Fellowship from the California Tobacco-Related Disease Research Program.

October 2019 Jade Johnson was selected as the recipient of a graduate student research grant from the Southern California Chapter of the Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry.

September 2019 Elisa Dufloux, visiting graduate student from Sigma-Clermont (France), successfully completed her three month research internship.

June 2019 Carolina Molina and Professor Carlos Manzano from Universidad de Chile completed a two month stay in our laboratory for a collaborative project.

May 2019 Margaret Stack received the Best Graduate Student Presentation Award from the Southern California Chapter of the Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry.

May 2019 Jade Johnson received the Betty Joe Crawford Memorial Award in recognition of her commitment to mentoring, outreach, and outstanding contributions to further the advancement of others in STEM fields.

April 2019 Margaret Stack took 1st place at the CSU Student Research Competition in the Interdisciplinary Category.

April 2019 Margaret Stack received a CSU Council on Ocean Affairs, Science, and Technology (COAST) Student Travel Award.

March 2019 Margaret Stack received the President's Award at SDSU's Student Research Symposium.

August 2017 Jennifer Cossaboon started the DVM/Ph.D. Dual Degree program at the School of Veterinary Medicine, University of California Davis.

May 2017 Jennifer Cossaboon received the Hanlon Award for Outstanding Graduate Student in the SDSU Graduate School of Public Health.

April 2017 Chelsea Basirico started a position at the U.S. Naval Hospital.

September 2016 Cuong Tran started the M.D. program at the University of Washington Medical School.

August 2016 Raisa Luna started a position at the Department of Environmental Health, County of San Diego.

July 2016 Jenn Cossaboon was elected to the board of the Southern California SETAC Chapter.

May 2016 Jenn Cossaboon was awarded the 2016 Southern California SETAC Chapter's Graduate Research Grant.