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Meet the MiPEHS Team

Meet the MiPEHS Team

The MiPEHS study team is part of the Environmental Health Bureau in the Michigan Department of Health & Human Services. The team includes toxicologists, epidemiologists, health educators, community engagement specialists and other critical staff. For this study, we are working with the study-office experts at RTI International (RTI), and also with a group of local community members who have been supporting us along the way!

portrait of kory groetsch

Kory Groetsch, MS

Principal Investigator

Kory Groetsch is the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS) Environmental Health Bureau director overseeing response efforts for lead, vapor intrusion, drinking water, PFAS and other sites of contamination. Prior to his current position, Kory served as a toxicologist and health educator within the Toxicology and Response Section, managing the State's Cooperative Agreement with the CDC's Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry and conducting public health exposure assessments, biomonitoring activities and health education activities across the state for over 20 years.

Portrate of David Savitz

David Savitz, Ph.D.

Epidemiologist and Scientific Consultant to MiPEHS

Dr. Savitz is a Professor and Chair of the Department of Epidemiology in the Brown University School of Public Health. He also serves as Interim Dean of the School of Public Health and holds joint appointments in Obstetrics and Gynecology and Pediatrics in the Alpert Medical School. Dr. Savitz has extensive experience in the study of health effects of PFAS, beginning with his work as a member of the C8 Science Panel. In that role, he led and collaborated in a number of research projects that culminated in a judgment regarding probable links between PFOA exposure and a series of health outcomes. He has also led projects focused on drinking water disinfection by-products, pesticides, a wide range of occupational exposures and air pollution. Dr. Savitz contributes to the research team in the development and refinement of hypotheses, guidance of data analysis and interpretation and development of manuscripts for publication.

portrait of laura abington

Laura Abington, M.Ed., MPH

Lead Epidemiologist

Laura Abington is an epidemiologist with 8 years of experience in PFAS exposure assessments and health study data analysis. Her primary interests are in environmental epidemiology and understanding associations between chemical exposures and health outcomes.  

portrait of sarah allison

Sarah Allison, MPH

Health Educator

Sarah Allison has over a decade of public health service, including environmental health education, drug use prevention and childhood lead poisoning prevention. She has worked in local health care, as well as county and state government.

portrait of jordan bailey

Jordan Bailey, Ph.D.

Study Director and Co-Lead Toxicologist

Dr. Bailey is a toxicologist with more than 17 years of experience conducting environmental health research in university and government settings. Her primary interest is in understanding the impact of environmental chemicals on health.

portrait of joost vant erve

Joost van't Erve, Ph.D.

Co-Lead Toxicologist

Dr. van 't Erve is a toxicologist with many years of experience in conducting research on the effect of environmental chemical exposures on human health. Along with his work on MiPEHS, he is responsible for evaluating environmental data, identifying public health hazards and answering questions about toxicology from Michigan residents.

Portrait of Melissa Jaiman-Cruz

Melissa Jaiman-Cruz, B.Scs.

Project Manager

Melissa Jaiman-Cruz is a project manager with more than 5 years of experience as a research program coordinator and administrator in university, including neuroscience and environmental health. Her goal is to support the MiPEHS study and the Michigan residents and communities.

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