About

Elizabeth is a 3rd year PhD student in the Occupational and Environmental Health Nursing Program at UCLA.

What are your OSH interests/research focus? 

My dissertation examines the experiences of women with lupus during the 2025 Los Angeles wildfires. I’m exploring whether they experienced flares they associate with the fires; if, why, and how they engaged in health-related protective behaviors; and whether they were able to access the healthcare and community resources they needed during that period. More broadly, my interests include environmental health (especially women’s health in the context of environmental justice and climate change), occupational health as a social determinant of health, and health equity.

What is your motivation for being in the field of Public Health/Occupational Health?

As a nurse, I’ve seen firsthand how patients’ health is shaped by social and environmental forces (air pollution, substandard housing, precarious employment, poverty, etc.) and how disease burdens fall unevenly across communities. These experiences led me to study how environmental and occupational exposures contribute to health inequities, particularly among groups historically marginalized in healthcare and research. I’m motivated by the conviction that improving health requires understanding and addressing the conditions in which people live and work, and by a commitment to producing research that supports prevention, strengthens protections, and builds more equitable and resilient systems of care.

Fun fact or something interesting you'd like to share about yourself: 

Before I became a nurse, I worked professionally as a pastry cook.