Kelvin Fong

About

I am an assistant professor and the Elizabeth May Chair in Sustainability and Environmental Health in the Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences at Dalhousie University. I completed my postdoctoral training in Michelle Bell's Group at Yale University after my doctorate in environmental health and epidemiology at Harvard University with Joel Schwartz.

Our surroundings and environmental exposures have major impacts on our health. I research their health effects and investigate strategies to minimize detriments, especially among marginalized communities. Lately, I focused on environmental health disparities, asking if certain population groups are disproportionately exposed to or affected by air pollution, heat, and low access to green spaces. To do this, I develop methods to ascertain environmental exposure levels and estimate their consequent health effects. I apply causal inference to predict health effects and disparities had levels of environmental exposures been different.

I became interested in environmental epidemiology after research experiences in atmospheric chemistry and lung physiology during my undergraduate studies at University of Toronto. Prior to my doctorate, I completed an MSc in environmental sciences at ETH Zurich and then worked at Verenum and the World Health Organization.

I lead the Laboratory for Environmental Assessment and Population Health (LEAPH). Our work is generously supported by Dalhousie University's Office of the Vice President Research & Innovation as well as Research Nova Scotia's New Health Investigator Grant.

Publications

2023

• Burrows K, Fong KC, Lowe S, Fussell E, Bell ML. The Impact of Residential Greenness on Psychological Distress among Hurricane Katrina Survivors. PLOS One 2023, 18(5): e0285510.
• Lee W, Heo S, Stewart R, Wu X, Fong KC, Son JY, Sabath MB, Braun D, Park JY, Kim YC, Lee JP, Schwartz JD, Kim H, Dominici F, Bell ML. Associations between greenness and kidney disease in Massachusetts: The US Medicare longitudinal cohort study. Environmental International 2023, 173: 107844.
• Lee WH, Wu X, Heo S, Kim JM, Fong KC, Son JY, Sabath MB, Trisovic A, Braun D, Park JY, Kim YC, Lee JP, Schwartz JD, Kim H, Dominici F, Al-Aly Z, Bell ML. Air Pollution and Acute Kidney Injury in the US Medicare Population: A Longitudinal Cohort Study. Environmental Health Perspectives 2023 (4): 047008.
• Swetschinski L, Fong KC, Morello-Frosch R, Marshall JD, Bell ML. Exposures to Ambient Particulate Matter are Associated with Reduced Adult Earnings Potential. Environmental Research 2023: 116391.
• Wang CC, DeMeo, DL, Kim ES, Cardenas A, Fong KC, Lee LO, Spiro AI, Whitsel EA, Horvath S, Hou L, Baccarelli AA, Li Y, Stewart JD, Manson JE, Grodstein F, Kubzansky LD, Schwartz JD. Epigenome-wide Analysis of DNA Methylation and Optimism in Women and Men. Psychosomatic Medicine 2023, 85(1): 89-97.

2022

• Dong S, Abu-Awad Y, Kosheleva A, Fong KC, Koutrakis P, Schwartz JD. Maternal Exposure to Black Carbon and Nitrogen Dioxide during Pregnancy and Birth Weight: Using Machine-Learning Methods to Achieve Balance in Inverse-Probability Weights. Environmental Research 2022, 211: 112978.
• Fong KC, Heo S, Lim CC, Kim H, Chan AY, Lee W, Stewart R, Choi HM, Son JY, Bell ML. The Intersection of Immigrant and Environmental Health: A Scoping Review of Observational Population Exposure and Epidemiologic Studies. Environmental Health Perspectives 2022, 130(9): 096001.
• Heo S, Son JY, Lim CC, Fong KC, Son JY, Choi HM, Hernandez-Ramirez R, Nyhan K, Dhillon P, Kapoor K, Prabhakaran D, Spiegelman D, Bell ML. Effect Modification by Sex for Associations of Fine Particulate Matter (PM2.5) with Cardiovascular Mortality, Hospitalization, and Emergency Room Visits: Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. Environmental Research Letters 2022, 17: 053006.
• Kim H, Lee J-T, Peng RD, Fong KC, Bell ML. Implications of Mortality Displacement for Effect Modification and Selection Bias. arXiv preprint arXiv:220313982.
• Lee WH, Wu X, Heo S, Fong KC, Son JY, Sabath MB, Braun D, Park JY, Kim YC, Lee JP, Schwartz JD, Kim H, Dominici F, Bell ML. Associations between Long Term Air Pollution Exposure and First Hospital Admission for Kidney and Total Urinary System Diseases in the US Medicare Population: Nationwide Longitudinal Cohort Study. BMJ Medicine 2022, 1(1): e000009.

2021

• Bell ML, Fong KC. Gender Differences in First/Corresponding Authorship in Public Health Research Submissions during the COVID-19 Pandemic. American Journal of Public Health 2021, 111(1): 159-163.
• Fong KC, Bell ML. Do Fine Particulate Air Pollution (PM2.5) Exposure and its Attributable Premature Mortality Differ for Immigrants Compared to those Born in the United States? Environmental Research 2021, 196: 110387.
• Hood RB, James P, Fong KC, Minguez-Alaron L, Coull BA, Schwartz JD, Kloog I, Laden F, Gaskins AJ. The influence of fine particulate matter on the association between residential greenness and ovarian reserve. Environmental Research 2021, 197: 111162.
• Kim H, Lee JT, Fong KC, Bell ML. Alternative adjustment for seasonality and long-term time-trend in time-series analysis for long-term environmental exposures and disease counts. BMC Medical Research Methodology 2021, 21: 2.
• Lee W, Kim H, Choi HM, Heo S, Fong KC, Yang J, Park C, Kim H, Bell ML. Urban Environments and COVID-19 in three Eastern States of the United States. Science of the Total Environment 2021, 779: 146334.
• Son JY, Choi HM, Fong KC, Heo S, Lim CC, Bell ML. The Roles of Residential Greenness in the Association between Air Pollution and Health: a Systematic Review. Environmental Research Letters 2021, 16(9): 093001.

2020

• Fong KC, Mehta NK, Bell ML. Disparities in Exposure to Surrounding Greenness Related to Proportion of the Population that were Immigrants to the United States. International Journal of Hygiene and Environmental Health 2020, 224: 113434.
• Fong KC, Yitshak-Sade M, Lane KJ, Fabian MP, Kloog I, Schwartz JD, Coull BA, Koutrakis P, Hart JE, Laden F, Zanobetti A. Racial Disparities in Associations between Neighborhood Demographic Polarization and Birth Weight. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2020, 17(9): 3076.
• Nori-Sarma A, Thimmulappa RK, Venkataramana GV, Fauzie AK, Dey SK, Venkareddy LK, Berman JD, Lane KJ, Fong KC, Warren JL, Bell ML. Low-Cost NO2 Monitoring and Predictions of Urban Exposure Using Universal Kriging and Land-Use Regression Modelling in Mysore, India. Atmospheric Environment 2020, 226: 117395.
• Qiu X, Fong KC, Shi L, Papatheodorou S, Di Q, Just A, Kosheleva A, Messerlian C, Schwartz JD. Prenatal Exposure to Particulate Air Pollution and Gestational Age at Delivery in Massachusetts Neonates 2001-2015 – a Perspective of Causal Modeling and Health Disparities. Environmental Epidemiology 2020, 4(5): e113.
• Son JY, Fong KC, Heo S, Kim H, Lim CC, Bell ML. Reductions in Mortality Resulting from Reduced Air Pollution Levels due to COVID-19 Mitigation Measures. Science of the Total Environment 2020, 744: 141012.
• Yitshak-Sade M, Lane KJ, Fabian MP, Kloog I, Hart JE, Davis B, Fong KC, Schwartz JD, Laden F, Zanobetti A. Race or Racial Segregation? Modification of the PM2.5 and Cardiovascular Mortality Association. PLOS One 2020, 15(7): e0236479.
• Yitshak-Sade M, Fabian MP, Lane KJ, Hart JE, Schwartz JD, Laden F, James P, Fong KC, Kloog I, Zanobetti A. Estimating the Combined Effects of Natural and Built Environmental Exposures on Birthweight Among Urban Residents in Massachusetts. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2020, 17: 8805.

2019

• Fong KC, Kosheleva A, Kloog I, Coull BA, Koutrakis P, Laden F, Schwartz JD. Fine Particulate Air Pollution and Birthweight: Differences in Associations along the Birthweight Distribution. Epidemiology 2019, 30(5): 617-623.
• Fong KC, Di Q, Kosheleva A, Coull BA, Koutrakis P, Laden F, Schwartz JD. Relative Toxicities of Major Particulate Matter Constituents on Birthweight in Massachusetts. Environmental Epidemiology 2019, 3(3): e047.
• Gaskins AJ, Minguez-Alarcon L, Fong KC, Abu Awad Y, Di Q, Chavarro JE, Ford JB, Coull BA, Schwartz JD, Kloog I, Attaman J, Hauser R, Laden F. Exposure to Fine Particulate Matter and Ovarian Reserve among Women from a Fertility Clinic. Epidemiology 2019, 30(4): 486-491.
• Gaskins AJ, Minguez-Alarcon L, Fong KC, Abu Awad Y, Di Q, Chavarro JE, Ford JB, Coull BA, Schwartz JD, Kloog I, Attaman J, Hauser R, Laden F. Supplemental Folate Intake Modifies the Relation Between Traffic-Related Air Pollution and Live Birth Among Women Undergoing Assisted Reproduction. American Journal of Epidemiology 2019, 188(9): 1595-1604.
• Gaskins AJ, Fong KC, Abu Awad Y, Di Q, Minguez-Alarcon L, Chavarro JE, Ford JB, Coull BA, Schwartz JD, Kloog I, Souter I, Hauser R, Laden F. Time-varying Exposure to Air Pollution and Outcomes of In Vitro Fertilization Among Couples from a Fertility Clinic. Environmental Health Perspectives 2019, 127(7).
• Heo S, Fong KC, Bell ML. Risk of particulate matter on birth outcomes in relation to maternal socio-economic factors: a systematic review. Environmental Research Letters 2019, 14: 123004.
• Kim ES, Fong KC, Lee L, Spiro A, Schwartz JD, Whitsel E, Horvath S, Wang CC, Hou L, Baccarelli AA, Li Y, Stewart J, Manson JE, Grodstein F, DeMeo DL, Kubzansky LD. Optimism is Not Associated with Two Indicators of DNA Methylation Aging. Aging 2019, 11(14): 4970-4989.
• Yitshak-Sade M, James P, Kloog I, Hart JE, Schwartz JD, Laden F, Lane KJ, Fabian MP, Fong KC, Zanobetti A. Neighborhood Greenness Attenuates the Adverse Effect of PM2.5 on Cardiovascular Mortality in Neighborhoods of Lower Socioeconomic Status. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2019, 16(5): 814.

2018

• Fong KC, Kloog I, Coull BA, Koutrakis P, Laden F, Schwartz JD, James P. Residential Greenness and Birthweight in the State of Massachusetts, USA. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health, 2018, 15(6): 1248.
• Fong KC, Hart JE, James P. A Review of Epidemiologic Studies on Greenness and Health: Updated Literature Through 2017. Curr Environ Health Rep, 2018, 5(1): 77-87.
• Schwartz JD, Fong KC, Zanobetti A. A National Multi-City Analysis of the Causal Effect of Local Pollution, NO2, and PM2.5 on Mortality. Environmental Health Perspectives 2018, 126(8).

Service

• I am the current Secretary of the Capacity-Building and Education Committee of the International Society for Environmental Epidemiology (ISEE). I am also dedicated to communicating the implications of research to policymakers through avenues such as public commenting.
• I have served as a grant reviewer for the NASA Applied Sciences Program. I completed peer reviews of submissions to many scientific journals, including the American Journal of Epidemiology, Environmental Health Perspectives, Environmental Research Letters, Epidemiology, and Environmental Science & Technology.
• Music is a major interest of mine; I play with the Nova Sinfonia and previously with the Yale Medical Symphony Orchestra, Hart House Orchestra, Akademisches Orchester Zurich, Harvard GSAS Orchestra, and DuBois Orchestra.

Teaching