Biography
Dr. Vieira is a chair and professor in the Department of Environmental and Occupational Health. Vieira is an environmental epidemiologist whose research involves epidemiologic analyses of health data for examining the contributions of known risk factors and environmental exposures to the underlying pattern of disease risk with a particular emphasis on the importance of location. She works extensively with geographic methods to model environmental exposures and identify communities where health risks are elevated.
Research Interests
Dr. Vieira's research interests include spatial epidemiology, environmental epidemiology, environmental disparities and exposure modeling. Vieira has an extensive knowledge of GIS, groundwater modeling, cluster detection methods, and on persistent environmental contaminants including tetrachloroethylene (PCE, a dry-cleaning solvent), perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA, a perfluorinated compound (PFC) involved in the manufacturing of Teflon), and polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs, a common class of flame retardants). Components of her work include improving methods for geocoding rural addresses using GIS and examining the relationship between PFOA exposures and health outcomes. Vieira’s research also includes method development for spatial epidemiology such as disease mapping, cluster detection, and space-time interactions.
Current Projects/Studies
- “Health Impacts of Filtration ImproVements in Elementary Schools California Air Resources Board”. 2021-2025. Role: Principal Investigator. Total Cost: $840,000
- “Exposure to per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) and risk of cancer in children”. National Institute of Health. 2021-2024. Role: Principal Investigator. Total Cost: $1,917,515
- “UCI PFAS Health Study.” Center for Disease Control. 2019-2024. Role: Co-Investigator. Total: $5,200,000.
Education
- DSc in environmental health from the Boston University School of Public Health (2003)
- MS in environmental engineering from Stanford University (2000)
- BS in environmental engineering from Massachusetts Institute of Technology (1998)
Honors and Awards
- 2021 – UCI Black Thriving Initiative Faculty Cluster Hire Proposal in Environmental Health Disparities Research, Lead Proposer on successful proposal.
- 2017 – International Society for Environmental Epidemiology (ISEE) Tony McMichael Mid-Term Career Award. Presented at the 2017 ISEE Annual Meeting.
- 2016 – UCI’s Dean Honoree for Teaching Excellence Award in Health Sciences
