Public Health Professor Has Two Studies Published on Environmental Health

Alhelí Calderón Villarreal, an assistant professor in Cal State San Marcos’ public health department, is the author or co-author of two recent studies that have been published in research journals.

The two studies are:

• "Health Risks and Cross-Border Environmental Exposure: A Binational Study of the San Diego-Tijuana-Rosarito Pacific Ocean Coastline," published in Environmental Challenges. This study examines health risks along the coastline shared by the United States and Mexico, and was a collaborative effort with community-based organizations on both sides of the border (One Coastal Community) and the Socio-Environmental Tijuana River Project that Calderón Villarreal directs. The research focuses on the unique environmental health challenges along this shared coastline and the associated health risks. The study is particularly relevant due to the current environmental crisis surrounding the binational Tijuana River, which impacts communities on both sides of the U.S.-Mexico border.
• "Considering Water, Sanitation and Hygiene as a Valuable Component of Harm Reduction," published in the Harm Reduction Journal. This paper advocates for integrating water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) services into harm reduction frameworks to support marginalized populations. It’s the summary of Calderón Villarreal’s contribution in the intersection between environmental health and substance use, based on her research conducted among U.S.-Mexico border communities.

Calderón Villarreal is a medical doctor whose work focuses on the intersection of environmental health and social equity in the binational region that includes San Diego. After earning her undergraduate and master’s degrees from institutions in Mexico, she finished her Ph.D. at the UC San Diego-San Diego State University Joint Doctoral Program in Public Health.

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