Pediatric Environmental Health Center

The Region 1 Pediatric Environmental Health Specialty Unit (PEHSU) of New England, located at Boston Children’s Hospital, provides an opportunity for learners of all stages, levels, and backgrounds to participate in a flexible educational and experiential program with a focus on environmental justice and climate change. Student enrollees — including but not limited to high school students, graduate and undergrad students, medical and nursing students, residents, etc. — will be learning from and collaborating with health professionals from Boston Children’s.

In addition to their chosen topic and project work, students will learn how to take an environmental history and field clinical questions regarding childhood/prenatal environmental exposures, such as lead, pesticides, and air pollution.

Students will build their own experience with opportunities to:

• Choose a topic of interest to study (see topics below)
• Shadow physicians in a clinical setting, either in person or via a telehealth visit
• Attend educational seminars and lectures 
• Attend meetings with representatives from public health agencies
• Assist in ongoing research, education, and/or advocacy projects
• Assist in health education and outreach efforts
• Participate in activities such as field trips and Foto Fridays

• Introduction to pediatric environmental health
• Indoor air quality
• Childhood lead poisoning
• Climate change
• Environmental justice and health disparities
• Fertility, pregnancy, lactation, and the environment
• PFAS/water contamination

Educational objectives will depend on a number of factors. This EJCC educational objectives factsheet provides more details.

Student trainees will have the opportunity to shadow at the following locations, as available:

• Boston Children’s Hospital

The length of training in EJCC is necessarily variable, since trainees at every level may have constraints imposed by their own high school, college or university, medical or nursing or public health school, medical residency or fellowship, or other educational institutions.

“Mini-electives” may be as short as two to four weeks, for which the learning objectives will be abbreviated. Longer electives, externships, non-course-credit volunteer experiences, rotators, and observers may span one or more months in duration, with the opportunity for more in-depth study and more structured activities.

The EJCC Scholar Program is an unpaid internship. Participating students may earn course credit or receive a small stipend, as allowed by their academic institution. Stipends may only be available for a limited time.

Summer 2026 program: TBD

We are in process of determining if we will be able to host a Summer 2026 EJCC program. More information forthcoming in January 2026.

In the meantime, if you are interested in learning more about the program, please email Kimberly.Manning2@childrens.harvard.edu and include your resume or CV.

Application requirements:

• Associated Personnel Data Form
• Region 1 PEHSU EJCC Student Application
• EJCC Supplemental Questionnaire
• Resume or CV
• Letter(s) of Recommendation

Clinical elective directors

• Boston Children’s Hospital: Alan Woolf, MD, MPH; Marissa Hauptman, MD, MPH; Shalini Shah, DO

Faculty

• Alan Woolf, MD, MPH
• Marissa Hauptman, MD, MPH
• Shalini Shah, DO
• Rose Goldman, MD, MPH
• Blair Wylie, MD

Elective coordinator

• Kim Manning

Administrative credentialing

• Alba Savinon
• Le Pham

Email Region1pehsu@childrens.harvard.edu or call 617-355-8177.

This EJCC Scholar Program is supported by cooperative agreement FAIN: NU61TS000356 from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention/Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (CDC/ATSDR). The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) provided support through Inter-Agency Agreement 24TSS2400078 with CDC/ATSDR. The Public Health Institute supports the Pediatric Environmental Health Specialty Units as the National Program Office. The findings and conclusions presented have not been formally disseminated by CDC/ATSDR or EPA and should not be construed to represent any agency determination or policy. Use of trade names that may be mentioned is for identification only and does not imply endorsement by the CDC/ATSDR or EPA.

• 2022-23