Christine Parks
Cell Biology
Institut Pasteur de Bangui
Mauritius
Biography
Christine Parks, Ph.D. is a staff scientist in the Epidemiology Branch at NIEHS and is a Co-PI for the Agricultural Health Study. The study focuses on the potential health effects of pesticides and other farming exposures in licensed pesticide applicators and their spouses. Dr. Parks specializes in the environmental causes of autoimmune diseases, including rheumatoid arthritis and systemic lupus erythematosus. Her work in the Agricultural Health Study and other cohorts has addressed the role of pesticides and other occupational exposures to silica, metals, and non-ionizing UV radiation exposures in the development autoimmune disease. Her research also examines factors that may contribute to the development of autoantibodies, to help understand the natural history of autoimmunity and how it contributes to health and disease. Dr. Parks received her B.A. in biology from Reed College, and her M.S.P.H. and Ph.D. in epidemiology from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Research Interest
The Agricultural Health Study The Agricultural Health Study was developed to learn about possible health effects of pesticides in a cohort of licensed pesticide applicators and spouses.
Publications
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Parks C, Cooper G, Dooley M, Park M, Treadwell E, Gilkeson G. Childhood agricultural and adult occupational exposures to organic dusts in a population-based case-control study of systemic lupus erythematosus. Lupus 17:711-9, 2008.
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Parks CG, Cooper GS, Nylander-French L, Sanderson WR, Dement JM, Cohen PL, Dooley MA, Treadwell EL, St. Clair EW, Gilkeson GS, Hoppin JA, Savitz DA. Occupation exposure to crystalline silica and risk of systemic lupus erythematosus: a population-based, case-control study in the southeastern United States. Arthritis Rheum 46:1840-1850, 2002.
