Please join the Environmental Health Science Department and the Institute of Gerontology for Assistant/Associate professor candidate Dr. Yunjia Lai’s seminar, “Functional Exposomics Meets Gerontology: A One Health Approach to Brain Aging and Neurodegeneration” on Friday, February 27, from 12:00 – 12:55 PM at Rhodes Hall, Room 031 on the Health Sciences Campus.

Dr. Yunjia Lai’s Bio:
Dr. Yunjia Lai is an analytical chemist and toxicologist who seeks to bridge environmental health science and gerontology through a functional exposomics framework—the systematic investigation of how real-world exposures shape biological function across the lifespan. Using high-resolution mass spectrometry and integrative omics, she studies environmental and microbiome-related determinants of brain aging and neurodegeneration across human populations, tractable models (Drosophila, C. elegans, rodents), and new approach methodologies. She is currently a Postdoctoral Research Scientist with Dr. Gary W. Miller at Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health, where she studies environmental contributors to Parkinson’s disease and Alzheimer’s disease. She has authored over 40 peer-reviewed publications with first-author work in Science Signaling, Nature Communications, Environmental Science & Technology, Movement Disorders, Neurology, and Environmental Health Perspectives, earning multiple awards including the Blavatnik Regional Award for Young Scientists (Finalist in Chemistry, 2025), 2024 ES&T Best Paper Award, Postdoctoral Scholar Research Award in Molecular and Systems Biology (SOT/MSBSS, 2025), ACS Editors’ Choice (2024), and the NIH/NIEHS Extramural Paper of the Month (2021). Dr. Lai earned her Ph.D. in Environmental Sciences & Engineering (Toxicology, under the direction of Dr. Kun Lu) from the UNC Gillings School of Public Health and holds additional degrees in agricultural science, environmental engineering, and bioanalytical chemistry.