Haotian (Howie) Wu, PhD
- Assistant Professor of Environmental Health Sciences
On the web
Overview
I am an environmental epidemiologist with a focus on understanding the molecular targets that connect environmental hazards with adverse health effects across the lifespan. On the laboratory and benchwork side, I work actively to develop, adopt, and optimize protocols for small RNA sequencing, DNA methylation arrays, targeted extracellular vesicle purification, and nontargeted exposomics/metabolomics for large-scale human studies.
On computational side, my research applies statistical and machine learning approaches to the analysis of untargeted “omic” approaches to environmental exposures (exposomics) and molecular targets (epigenetics, epitranscriptomics, and metabolomics) in human clinical and population-based studies.
My work has been applied to reproductive, pulmonary, and neuropsychological health research, where the long-term goals is to gather evidence for policy level changes and identify potential diagnostics markers and intervention targets to support individual level clinical decisions.
https://www.publichealth.columbia.edu/research-labs/wu-lab
Office Location: 630 West 168th Street, VP&S Room 16-421G
Academic Appointments
- Assistant Professor of Environmental Health Sciences
Credentials & Experience
Education & Training
- BS with Honours, 2011 Biomedical Sciences, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Ontario
- MS, 2013 Epidemiology, University of Massachusetts Amherst, Amherst, MA
- PhD, 2018 Environmental Health Sciences, University of Massachusetts Amherst, Amherst, MA
Research
Selected Publications
Wu H, Kalia V, Manz KE, Chillrud L, Dishon NH, Jackson GL, Dye CK, Orvieto R, Aizer A, Levine H, Kioumourtzoglou MA, Pennell KD, Baccarelli AA, Machtinger R. Exposome Profiling of Environmental Pollutants in Seminal Plasma and Novel Associations with Semen Parameters. Environ Sci Technol. 2024 Aug 6;58(31):13594-13604. doi: 10.1021/acs.est.3c10314.
Wu H, Eckhardt CM, Baccarelli AA. Molecular mechanisms of environmental exposures and human disease. Nat Rev Genet. 2023 May;24(5):332-344. doi: 10.1038/s41576-022-00569-3.
Wu H, Kalia V, Niedzwiecki MM, Kioumourtzoglou MA, Pierce B, Ilievski V, Goldsmith J, Jones DP, Navas-Acien A, Walker DI, Gamble MV. Metabolomic changes associated with chronic arsenic exposure in a Bangladeshi population. Chemosphere. 2023 Apr;320:137998. doi: 10.1016/j.chemosphere.2023.137998.
Eckhardt CM, Gambazza S, Bloomquist TR, De Hoff P, Vuppala A, Vokonas PS, Litonjua AA, Sparrow D, Parvez F, Laurent LC, Schwartz J, Baccarelli AA, Wu H. Extracellular Vesicle-Encapsulated microRNAs as Novel Biomarkers of Lung Health. Am J Respir Crit Care Med. 2023 Jan 1;207(1):50-59. doi: 10.1164/rccm.202109-2208OC.
Eckhardt CM, Baccarelli AA, Wu H. Environmental Exposures and Extracellular Vesicles: Indicators of Systemic Effects and Human Disease. Curr Environ Health Rep. 2022 Sep;9(3):465-476. doi: 10.1007/s40572-022-00357-5.