Dalla Lana School of Public Health

Faculty Member

Jeffrey R. Brook Ph.D., M.Sc.

Research Interests

• environmental health
• exposure assessment
• urban air quality
• health effects studies

Education & Training History

Ph.D. 1991 Air Pollution Meteorology The University of Michigan

M.S. 1988 Atmospheric Science The University of Michigan

Diploma 1983 Meteorology McGill University

B.S. 1982 Physical Sciences Michigan State University

Other Affiliations

Dept. of Civil and Mineral Engineering., University of Toronto

Senior Scientist, Research Institute, SickKids Hospital

Honorary Adjunct Professor (Research) Canadian University Dubai

Primary Teaching Responsibilities

CHL7002H-S1

Professional Summary & Appointments

Ontario Public Health Emergencies Science Advisory Committee

Co-Director, HealthyPlan.City

Scientific Director, Canadian Urban Environmental Health Research Consortium (CANUE)

Southern Ontario Centre for Atmospheric Aerosol Research (SOCAAR), University of Toronto

Study executive committee, Canadian Healthy Infant Longitudinal Development (CHILD) birth cohort study.

Senior Research Scientist, Environment and Climate Change Canada (Retired Sept. 2018)

Honours & Awards

Google Geo for Good 2023 Impact Award for HealthyPlan.City

Distinguished Scientist of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Dec. 2016.

Honourable Mention Award from the Atmospheric Science Librarians International Association for publication of “Air Quality Management:  Canadian Perspectives on a Global Issue”, Jan. 2015.

Citation of Excellence in the Teamwork, Partnering and Collaboration category, Environment Canada, May 2012

Citation of Excellence, Environment Canada, May 8, 2003.

Current Research Projects

Immune dysanapsis: Updating the paradigm of inflammation and lung health trajectories in diverse populations to achieve lifelong health for all, Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR)

shAIRe, Harnessing Data to Improve Lung Health in Canada, Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR)

CANUE and CHASE webinar series, workshops and blogs, Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM)

A Framework for Community Involvement in Assessing Health Status and Approaches to Improve Health in Fort McKay, AB, including an Assessment of Evidence Air Pollution’s Potential Role”, Alberta Health

The Canadian Urban Environmental Health Research Consortium (CANUE), P.I. J. R. Brook, Funding from: Canadian Institutes for Health Research (CIHR)

The Canadian Alliance for Health Hearts and Minds, P.I. of Fort McKay First Nation Indigenous Cohort: J.R. Brook, Funding from: CIHR

Canadian Healthy Infant Longitudinal Development Study (CHILD), P.I. PJ Subbarao, Funding from: AllerGen, Genome Canada, CIHR, others

Representative Publications

1. Binter, A.C., Doiron, D., Shareck, M., Pitt, T., McDonald, S.W., Subbarao, P., Fraser, W.D., Tough, S.C., Brook, J. and Guxens, M., 2025. Urban environment during pregnancy, cognitive abilities, motor function, and externalizing and internalizing symptoms at 2–5 years old in 3 Canadian birth cohorts. Environment International, 195, p.109222.
2. Zhang, L., Dai, R., Lou, W., Mandhane, P., Moraes, T.J., Simons, E., Thorne, P.S., To, T., Turvey, S.E., Subbarao, P. and Brook, J.R., 2025. Pets and related allergens modify the association between early life DEHP exposure and respiratory outcomes in children. Environmental research, 267, p.120664.
3. Masselot, Pierre; Kan, Haidong; Kharol, Shailesh K.; Bell, Michelle L.; Sera, Francesco; Lavigne, Erich,; Breitner, Susanne; das Neves Pereira da Silva, Susana; Burnett, Richard T.; Gasparrini, Antonio; Brook, Jeffrey R.; on behalf of the MCC Collaborative Research Network. Air pollution mixture complexity and its effect on PM2.5-related mortality: A multicountry time-series study in 264 cities. Environmental Epidemiology 8(6):p e342, December 2024. | DOI: 10.1097/EE9.0000000000000342
4. Doiron D, Setton EM, Syer J, Redivo A, McKee A, Noaeen M, Patel P, Booth GL, Brauer M, Fuller D, Kestens Y, Rosella LC, Stieb D, Villeneuve PJ, Brook JR. HealthyPlan.City: A Web Tool to Support Urban Environmental Equity and Public Health in Canadian Communities. J Urban Health. 2024 Jun;101(3):497-507. doi: 10.1007/s11524-024-00855-x. Epub 2024 Apr 8. PMID: 38587782; PMCID: PMC11190122.
5. Lee S., Sbihi H., MacIsaac J.L., Subbarao P., Mandhane P.J., Moraes T.J., Turvey S.E. Duan Q., Brauer M., Brook J.R., Kobor M. S., Jones M.J. Persistent DNA Methylation Changes Associated with Prenatal NO₂ Exposure in a Canadian Prospective Birth Study. Environmental Health Perspectives 132:4 CID: 047004 https://doi.org/10.1289/EHP13034.
6. Foster, Stephanie A., Molly L. Kile, Perry Hystad, Miriam L. Diamond, Liisa M. Jantunen, Piush J. Mandhane, Theo J. Moraes, et al. 2024. “Organophosphate Ester Flame Retardants and Plasticizers in House Dust and Mental Health Outcomes among Canadian Mothers: A Nested Prospective Cohort Study in CHILD.” Environmental Research 240 (January): 117451. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envres.2023.117451.
7. Boogard H., Atkinson R.W., Brook J.R., Chang H.H., Hoek G., Hoffmann B., Sagiv S.K., Samoli E., Smargiassi A., Szpiro A.A., Vienneau D., Weuve J., Lurmann F.W., Forastiere F., Evidence Synthesis of Observational Studies in Environmental Health: Lessons Learned from a Systematic Review on Traffic-Related Air Pollution, 2023 Environmental Health Perspectives, 131, https://doi.org/10.1289/EHP11532.
8. Zhao, Zixiang, Yichen Lu, Yu Zhan, Yuan Cheng, Fumo Yang, Jeffrey R. Brook, and Kebin He. 2023. “Long-Term Spatiotemporal Variations in Surface NO2 for Beijing Reconstructed from Surface Data and Satellite Retrievals.” Science of The Total Environment 904 (December): 166693. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.166693.
9. Boogaard, H., E. Samoli, A.P. Patton, R.W. Atkinson, J.R. Brook, H.H. Chang, B. Hoffmann, et al. 2023. “Long-Term Exposure to Traffic-Related Air Pollution and Non-Accidental Mortality: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.” Environment International 176 (June): 107916. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envint.2023.107916.
10. Zhang L., He Z., Wu Z., Macdonald A.M., Brook J.R., and Kharol S.. 2023. A Database of Modeled Gridded Dry Deposition Velocities for 45 Gaseous Species and Three Particle Size Ranges across North America. Journal of Environmental Sciences 127 (May): 264–72. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jes.2022.05.030.
11. Zhang, Luyao, Garthika Navaranjan, Tim K. Takaro, Sarah Bernstein, Liisa Jantunen, Wendy Lou, Piush J. Mandhane, et al. 2023. “Di-(2-Ethylhexyl) Phthalate (DEHP) in House Dust in Canadian Homes: Behaviors and Associations with Housing Characteristics and Consumer Products.” Edited by Rahil Changotra. Indoor Air 2023 (July): 4655289. https://doi.org/10.1155/2023/4655289.
12. Dales, Robert, Kimberly Mitchell, Anna Lukina, Jeffrey Brook, Subramanian Karthikeyan, and Sabit Cakmak. 2023. “Does Ambient Air Pollution Influence Biochemical Markers of Liver Injury? Findings of a Cross-Sectional Population-Based Survey.” Chemosphere 340 (November): 139859. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chemosphere.2023.139859.
13. Bédard MA, Reyna ME, Moraes TJ, Simons E, Turvey SE, Mandhane P, Brook JR, Subbarao P. Association between gas stove use and childhood asthma in the Canadian CHILD Cohort Study. Can J Public Health. 2023 Aug;114(4):705-708. doi: 10.17269/s41997-023-00779-0. Epub 2023 Jun 9. PMID: 37296368; PMCID: PMC10351250.
14. Calvert, Clara, Meredith (Merilee) Brockway, Helga Zoega, Jessica E. Miller, Jasper V. Been, Adeladza Kofi Amegah, Amy Racine-Poon, et al. 2023. “Changes in Preterm Birth and Stillbirth during COVID-19 Lockdowns in 26 Countries.” Nature Human Behaviour 7 (4): 529–44. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41562-023-01522-y.
15. Parks, J., McLean, K.E., McCandless, L., Souza R. J., Brook J. R., Scott J., Turvey S. E, Mandhane P. J., Becker A. B, Azad M. B., Moraes T. J., Lefebvre D. L., Sears M. R., Subbarao P., Takaro, T. K. Assessing secondhand and thirdhand tobacco smoke exposure in Canadian infants using questionnaires, biomarkers, and machine learning. J Expo Sci Environ Epidemiol (2021). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41370-021-00350-4.
16. Navaranjan G., Jantunen L.M., Diamond M.L., Harris S.A., Bernstein S., Scott J.A., Takaro T.K., Dai R., Lefebvre D.L., Mandhane P.J., Moraes T.J., Simons E., Turvey S.E., Sears M.R., Subbarao P., Brook J.R. Early Life Exposure to Tris(2-butoxyethyl) Phosphate (TBOEP) Is Related to the Development of Childhood Asthma. Environ. Sci. Technol. Lett. (2021), 8, 531-537.
17. Stieb D. M, Evans G. J, To T. M., Lakey P., Shiraiwa M., Hatzopoulou M., Minet L., Brook J. R., Burnett R. T., Weichenthal S. A. Within-city Variation in Reactive Oxygen Species from Fine Particle Air Pollution and COVID-19.  American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine. (2021)
18. Navaranjan G., Diamond M. L., Harris S. A., Jantunen L. M., Bernstein S., Scott J. A., Takaro T. K., Dai R., Lefebvre D.L, Azad M.B., Becker A.B., Mandhane P.J., Moraes T.J., Simons E., Turvey S. E., Sears M. R., Subbarao P., Brook J. R. Early life exposure to phthalates and the development of childhood asthma among Canadian children. Environmental Research. (2021) 197 (110981)
19. Brook J.R., Setton E.M., Seed E., Shooshtari M., Doiron D. (2018) The Canadian Urban Environmental Health Research Consortium – a protocol for building a national environmental exposure data platform for integrated analyses of urban form and health. BMC Public Health 18 (1), 114.
20. Chen H., Kwong J.C., Copes R. Hystad P., van Donkelaar A., Tu K, Brook J.R., Goldberg M.S., Martin R.V., Murray B.J., Wilton A.S., Koop A., Burnett R.T., (2017) Exposure to ambient air pollution and the incidence of dementia: A population-based cohort study. Environ Int, 108, 271-277.