Positions

Overview

  • Ruzmyn Vilcassim (PhD, MS) is an Assistant Professor at the Department of Environmental Health Sciences. He is also a JPB Environmental Health Fellow at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. He earned his Ph.D. and M.S. degrees from New York University in Environmental Health Sciences (Exposure Assessment and Health Effects) and his current research focuses on the health impacts associated with exposure to air pollution and tobacco products, particularly on the harms of using electronic cigarettes. He has previous work experience in environmental pollution prevention, climate change impacts on vulnerable populations, and sustainable agriculture at environmental non-profit organizations, both in Sri Lanka and internationally.

    • Selected Publications

    Academic Article

    Year Title Altmetric
    2023 Electronic Cigarette Use during Pregnancy: Is It Harmful?.  Toxics.  11:278. 2023
    2023 Sex Differences in Electronic Cigarette Device Use Among College Students.  Journal of Community Health.  2023
    2022 Feasibility of low-cost particle sensor types in long-term indoor air pollution health studies after repeated calibration, 2019–2021.  Scientific Reports.  12. 2022
    2022 The Influence of Mental Health and Respiratory Symptoms on the Association Between Chronic Lung Disease and E-Cigarette Use in Adults in the United States 2022
    2022 The Impact of COVID-19 Related Changes on Air Quality in Birmingham, Alabama, United States.  International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health.  19. 2022
    2021 Effects of electronic cigarettes and hookah (waterpipe) use on home air quality.  Tobacco Control.  32:36-41. 2021
    2021 Travelling to polluted cities: A systematic review on the harm of air pollution on international travellers' health.  Journal of Travel Medicine.  28. 2021
    2021 Pm2:5 concentration and composition in subway systems in the Northeastern United States.  Environmental Health Perspectives.  129. 2021
    2020 Secondhand smoke exposure in public and private high-rise multiunit housing serving low-income residents in New York City prior to federal smoking ban in public housing, 2018.  Science of the Total Environment.  704. 2020
    2019 Ambient Air Pollution and Mortality in 652 Cities.  New England Journal of Medicine.  381:2073-2074. 2019
    2019 Mapping urban air quality using mobile sampling with low-cost sensors and machine learning in Seoul, South Korea.  Environment International.  131. 2019
    2019 Exposure to air pollution is associated with adverse cardiopulmonary health effects in international travellers.  Journal of Travel Medicine.  26. 2019
    2019 Exposure to greater air pollution when traveling abroad is associated with decreased lung function.  American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine.  199:1570-1572. 2019
    2019 Effects of exposure to direct and secondhand hookah and e-cigarette aerosols on ambient air quality and cardiopulmonary health in adults and children: Protocol for a panel study.  BMJ Open.  9. 2019
    2019 A protocol for measuring the impact of a smoke-free housing policy on indoor tobacco smoke exposure.  BMC Public Health.  19. 2019
    2018 Does air pollution contribute to travelers' illness and deaths?-Evidence from a case report and need for further studies.  Journal of Travel Medicine.  25. 2018
    2017 Effects of hookah smoking on indoor air quality in homes.  Tobacco Control.  26:586-591. 2017
    2017 Secondhand hookah smoke: an occupational hazard for hookah bar employees..  Tobacco Control.  26:40-45. 2017
    2015 Air quality in New York City hookah bars..  Tobacco Control.  24:e193-e198. 2015
    2014 Black carbon and particulate matter (PM2.5) concentrations in New York city's subway stations 2014

    Research Overview

  • Dr. Vilcassim's primary area of interest for research is the health effects associated with or caused by exposure to environmental pollutants, with a special focus on particulate matter air pollution in urban environments.

    Specific research interests include, Low-cost sensor methods to measure exposures and cardiopulmonary health, and study dose-response relationships; Sources and composition of urban air pollution and their impacts on residents; Air quality in underground subway systems; Adverse health impacts of traveling to/visiting polluted cities abroad (Eg. Travelers from the US to New Delhi, India; Beijing, China); and Health and air quality impacts of using alternative tobacco products.

    • Principal Investigator On

    Education And Training

  • Doctor of Philosophy in Environmental Health, New York University 2018
  • Master of Science in Environmental Health, New York University 2014

    • Full Name

  • Mohamed J. Ruzmyn Vilcassim