Madeleine K. Scammell, DSc
Associate Professor
Boston University School of Public Health
Environmental Health

BA, University of Vermont
DSc, Boston University School of Public Health



Dr. Scammell is an Associate Professor of Environmental Health at Boston University School of Public Health and a JPB Environmental Health Fellow at Harvard School of Public Health. Her expertise is in the area of community-driven and community-based participatory research and includes the use of qualitative methods in the area of environmental health and epidemiologic studies. In 2017 Dr. Scammell was awarded an NIEHS/NIH Outstanding New Environmental Scientist award, establishing the Mesoamerican Nephropathy Occupational Study (MANOS), longitudinal study of agricultural workers in El Salvador and Nicaragua. These efforts are focused on identifying and preventing exposures that may contribute to the epidemic of chronic kidney disease in Central America known as Mesoamerican Nephropathy (MeN), specifically extreme heat and physical exertion, exposure to the herbicide glyphosate, and heavy metals. In 2021 Dr. Scammell was awarded a U01 to establish a Field Epidemiology Site as part of the NIDDK/NIEHS/Fogarty Institute CURE Consortium studying chronic kidney disease of uncertain etiology in agricultural communities. Both studies are part of the Boston University Research Group for the study of Chronic Kidney Disease in Central America and include long term research relationships with investigators in both El Salvador and Nicaragua.

In Massachusetts, Dr. Scammell leads the Local Public Health Institute out of BUSPH, with funding from the Massachusetts Department of Public Health. In her own neighborhoods, Dr. Scammell co-leads the Chelsea & East Boston Heat Study, C-HEAT, examining exposure to heat and poor air quality, where we live, work and play. This is in partnership with GreenRoots, Chelsea, a grassroots environmental justice organization. Dr. Scammell led the Community Engagement Cores of two research centers: The Boston University Superfund Research Center (funded by NIEHS/NIH), and the Center for Research on Social and Environmental Stressors in Housing across the Lifecourse (joint center between Boston University and Harvard-Chan School of Public Health funded by NIMHD/NIH and EPA). She continues to develop and support mechanisms to initiate and sustain long-and short-term research relationships between community groups and scientists, and respond to community requests for scientific assistance. Dr. Scammell partners with Alternatives for Community & Environment, Boston Housing Authority, the Boston Public Health Commission. Dr. Scammell served of the Board of Health in the City of Chelsea for 10 years, and currently serves as Chair of the board of directors of the Science & Environmental Health Network. She teaches an upper level course, PH 801, Community-Engaged Research: Theory, application and methods, and previously taught Environmental Health Science, Law and Policy (EH 805) and Foundations of Environmental Health (EH 717). In 2014 Dr. Scammell co-edited with Charles Levenstein, The Toxic Schoolhouse, published by Baywood Press (now Routledge).


CKDu in Salvadoran and Nicaraguan Agricultural Communities
08/25/2021 - 06/30/2026 (PI)
NIH/National Diabetes & Digestive & Kidney Diseases
5U01DK130057-02

Building response capacity to extreme heat exposure in Chelsea and East Boston
09/16/2022 - 09/16/2025 (Multi-PI)
PI: Madeleine K. Scammell, DSc
Barr Foundation, Inc.


Longitudinal Study of Risk Factors for Mesoamerican Nephropathy among Agricultural Workers in El Salvador, Central America
03/01/2017 - 02/29/2024 (PI)
NIH/National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences
5R01ES027584-05

Local Public Health Institute of MA
07/01/2018 - 06/30/2023 (Subcontract PI)
Comm. of Mass./Department of Public Health HHS CDC


Community-Driven Assessment of Environmental Health Risks in Vieques, Puerto Rico
05/01/2020 - 04/30/2023 (Subcontract PI)
University of Massachusetts, Boston Env Protection Agy


Occupational Heat Exposure and Gene-Environment Interactions in Mesoamerican Nephropathy
09/01/2019 - 12/31/2021 (Key Person / Mentor)
NIH/National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences
5F31ES030974-03

The Environmental Health Fellows Program for Urban Health
10/01/2014 - 12/31/2019 (Subcontract PI)
President and Fellows of Harvard College JPB Foundation


Second international research workshop on mesoamerican nephropathy (MeN 2015)
09/01/2015 - 08/31/2016 (PI)
NIH/National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences
1R13ES026050-01

Receptor-based Developmental and Reproductive Toxicity of Superfund Chemicals
09/20/2012 - 03/31/2016 (Co-Investigator)
PI: David H. Sherr, PhD
NIH/National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences
5P42ES007381-19

Breathe Easy at Home (BEAH) Study
09/15/2013 - 09/14/2015 (Subcontract PI)
Boston Public Health Commission Robert Wood Johnson


Showing 10 of 11 results. Show All Results


Title


Yr Title Project-Sub Proj Pubs
2022 CKDu in Salvadoran and Nicaraguan Agricultural Communities 5U01DK130057-02
2021 CKDu in Salvadoran and Nicaraguan Agricultural Communities 1U01DK130057-01
2021 Longitudinal Study of Risk Factors for Mesoamerican Nephropathy among Agricultural Workers in El Salvador, Central America 5R01ES027584-05 1
2020 Longitudinal Study of Risk Factors for Mesoamerican Nephropathy among Agricultural Workers in El Salvador, Central America 5R01ES027584-04 1
2019 Administrative Supplement to Longitudinal Study of Risk Factors for Mesoamerican Nephropathy among Agricultural Workers in El Salvador, Central America 3R01ES027584-02S1 1
2019 Longitudinal Study of Risk Factors for Mesoamerican Nephropathy among Agricultural Workers in El Salvador, Central America 5R01ES027584-03 1
2019 Community Engagement Core 5P50MD010428-05-6686 24
2018 Longitudinal Study of Risk Factors for Mesoamerican Nephropathy among Agricultural Workers in El Salvador, Central America 5R01ES027584-02 1
2018 Community Engagement Core 5P50MD010428-04-6686 24
2017 Longitudinal Study of Risk Factors for Mesoamerican Nephropathy among Agricultural Workers in El Salvador, Central America 1R01ES027584-01 1
Showing 10 of 29 results. Show All Results

Publications listed below are automatically derived from MEDLINE/PubMed and other sources, which might result in incorrect or missing publications. Faculty can login to make corrections and additions.

iCite Analysis       Copy PMIDs To Clipboard

  1. Milando CW, Black-Ingersoll F, Heidari L, López-Hernández I, de Lange J, Negassa A, McIntyre AM, Martinez MPB, Bongiovanni R, Levy JI, Kinney PL, Scammell MK, Fabian MP. Mixed methods assessment of personal heat exposure, sleep, physical activity, and heat adaptation strategies among urban residents in the Boston area, MA. BMC Public Health. 2022 Dec 10; 22(1):2314.View Related Profiles. PMID: 36496371; PMCID: PMC9739346; DOI: 10.1186/s12889-022-14692-7;
     
  2. Leibler JH, Keogh SA, Jarquín E, Garcia-Trabanino R, Velázquez JJA, Pilarte DL, Beltran M, Delgado IS, Petropoulos ZE, Friedman DJ, Brooks DR, Scammell MK. COVID-19 and CKD: Employment, Food Security and Healthcare in El Salvador. Ann Glob Health. 2022; 88(1):101.View Related Profiles. PMID: 36415326; PMCID: PMC9650984; DOI: 10.5334/aogh.3820;
     
  3. Black-Ingersoll F, de Lange J, Heidari L, Negassa A, Botana P, Fabian MP, Scammell MK. . A Literature Review of Cooling Center, Misting Station, Cool Pavement and Cool Roof Intervention Evaluations. Atmosphere. 2022; 13(7):1103.
  4. Tomsho KS, Polka E, Chacker S, Queeley D, Alvarez M, Scammell MK, Emmons KM, Rudd RE, Adamkiewicz G. A process for creating data report-back tools to improve equity in environmental health. Environ Health. 2022 Jul 12; 21(1):67. PMID: 35821055; PMCID: PMC9277935; DOI: 10.1186/s12940-022-00880-w;
     
  5. McIntyre A, Scammell MK, Botana Martinez P, Heidari L, Negassa A, Bongiovanni R, Fabian MP. . Facilitators and Barriers for Keeping Cool in an Urban Heat Island: Perspectives from Residents of an Environmental Justice Community. Environmental Justice. 2022. View Publication
  6. Keogh SA, Leibler JH, Sennett Decker CM, Amador Velázquez JJ, Jarquin ER, Lopez-Pilarte D, Garcia-Trabanino R, Delgado IS, Petropoulos ZE, Friedman DJ, Amador Sánchez MR, Guevara R, McClean MD, Brooks DR, Scammell MK. High prevalence of chronic kidney disease of unknown etiology among workers in the Mesoamerican Nephropathy Occupational Study. BMC Nephrol. 2022 07 07; 23(1):238.View Related Profiles. PMID: 35794550; PMCID: PMC9261054; DOI: 10.1186/s12882-022-02861-0;
     
  7. Tomsho KS, Polka E, Chacker S, Queeley D, Alvarez M, Scammell MK, Emmons KM, Rudd RE, Adamkiewicz G. Characterizing the Environmental Health Literacy and Sensemaking of Indoor Air Quality of Research Participants. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2022 02 16; 19(4). PMID: 35206415; PMCID: PMC8871841; DOI: 10.3390/ijerph19042227;
     
  8. Polka E, Childs E, Friedman A, Tomsho KS, Claus Henn B, Scammell MK, Milando CW. MCR: Open-Source Software to Automate Compilation of Health Study Report-Back. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2021 06 05; 18(11).View Related Profiles. PMID: 34198866; PMCID: PMC8201126; DOI: 10.3390/ijerph18116104;
     
  9. Walker ED, Lee NF, Scammell MK, Feuer AP, Power MB, Lane KJ, Adamkiewicz G, Levy JI. Descriptive characterization of sound levels in an environmental justice city before and during a global pandemic. Environ Res. 2021 08; 199:111353.View Related Profiles. PMID: 34048746
     
  10. Petropoulos ZE, Ramirez-Rubio O, Scammell MK, Laws RL, Lopez-Pilarte D, Amador JJ, Ballester J, O'Callaghan-Gordo C, Brooks DR. Climate Trends at a Hotspot of Chronic Kidney Disease of Unknown Causes in Nicaragua, 1973-2014. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2021 05 19; 18(10).View Related Profiles. PMID: 34069421; PMCID: PMC8159092; DOI: 10.3390/ijerph18105418;
     
Showing 10 of 94 results. Show More

This graph shows the total number of publications by year, by first, middle/unknown, or last author.

Bar chart showing 94 publications over 21 distinct years, with a maximum of 11 publications in 2016

YearPublications
19961
19972
19983
19996
20041
20052
20082
20091
20106
20115
20123
20134
20143
20157
201611
20175
20186
20198
20206
20215
20227

Breath of Fresh Air

Amid Climate Change, BU Researchers Study Chelsea’s “Heat Island”

BU Today 7/8/2022

A block in Massachusetts is the test site for ways to cool cities in the summer

NPR 5/24/2022

In Chelsea, cooling an urban heat island one block at a time

WBUR 5/12/2022

Communities of color get more gas leaks, slower repairs, says study

WBUR 2/4/2022

This Squad of Researchers Is a Real-Life Justice League

BU Today 10/27/2021

Trees: Our Mental, Physical, Climate Change Antidote

WBUR 9/2/2021

With extreme heat increasingly in the forecast, how can we adapt?

The Boston Globe 6/29/2021

Study: Northeastern U.S. Has Widest Tree Cover Disparities In The Country

WBUR 4/28/2021

Dead And Dying Trees Have More Methane In Their Soil, Study Finds

WBUR 6/5/2020

BU Public Health Researchers Aid Chelsea, Epicenter of State’s COVID-19 Outbreak

BU Today 4/28/2020

Excessive idling by Encore Boston Harbor shuttles sparks lawsuit threat

The Boston Globe 11/13/2019

Conservationists Sue To Curb Boston School Bus Idling

WBUR 7/10/2019

Promotions to Associate Professor Go to 16 on Medical Campus

BU Today 7/6/2018

2014 BU SPH: Excellence in Teaching
2012 BU SPH: Excellence in Teaching
2010 BU SPH: Excellence in Teaching
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