Research Summary

My research focuses on environmental factors that contribute to low birth weight and adverse perinatal outcomes, such as neonatal morbidity and mortality. My current research interests are to expand the evidence of an association between low birth weight and decreased anthropometric growth (primarily stunting and wasting) among children who are heavily exposed to particulate matter and carbon monoxide from solid-fuel cook stoves in lesser-developed countries.

My long-term goal is to examine other social, economic and institutional forces that drive environmental health disparities, both globally, and among Latino immigrant populations residing in urban California.

Research Funding

  • August 18, 2021 - May 31, 2026 - Combustion of plastic waste and human health effects in Guatemala , Principal Investigator . Sponsor: NIH, Sponsor Award ID: R01ES032009
  • August 15, 2015 - July 31, 2017 - Prenatal household air pollution exposure: gas stove and behavioral interventions , Principal Investigator . Sponsor: NIH, Sponsor Award ID: R21ES025032

Education

Tulane University, BA, 06/84, Latin American Studies
San Francisco State University, BS/MS, 06/91, Nursing
San Francisco State University, FNP, 06/96, Family Nurse Practitioner
University of California, Berkeley, MS, 06/04, Environmental Health Sciences
University of California, Berkeley, PhD, 06/08, Environmental Health Sciences

Honors & Awards

  • 2008
    Henrik L. Blum Award for Distinguished Social Action, School of Public Health, University of California, Berkeley
  • 2009
    Burke Family Global Health Faculty Award, UCSF Global Health Sciences
  • 2009
    Faculty Development Award, UCSF Academic Senate
  • 2009
    NIH Health Disparities Loan Repayment Program Award, National Institutes of Health
  • 2010
    Service Award, San Lorenzo Ministry of Health, San Marcos, Guatemala
  • 2011
    CTSI KL2 Career Development Award in Multidisciplinary Clinical Research, UCSF Clinical and Translational Science Institute
  • 2012
    Service Award, San Lorenzo Ministry of Health, San Marcos, Guatemala
  • 2014
    Volunteer Award, Street Level Health Project, Oakland, California

Selected Publications

  1. Williams KN, Quinn A, North H, Wang J, Pillarisetti A, Thompson LM, Díaz-Artiga A, Balakrishnan K, Thangavel G, Rosa G, Ndagijimana F, Underhill LJ, Kirby MA, Puzzolo E, Hossen S, Waller LA, Peel JL, Rosenthal JP, Clasen TF, Harvey SA, Checkley W, HAPIN Investigators. Fidelity and adherence to a liquefied petroleum gas stove and fuel intervention: The multi-country Household Air Pollution Intervention Network (HAPIN) trial. Environ Int. 2023 09; 179:108160.  View on PubMed
  2. Younger A, Alkon A, Harknett K, Kirby MA, Elon L, Lovvorn AE, Wang J, Ye W, Diaz-Artiga A, McCracken JP, Castañaza Gonzalez A, Monroy Alarcon L, Mukeshimana A, Rosa G, Chiang M, Balakrishnan K, Garg SS, Pillarisetti A, Piedrahita R, Johnson M, Craik R, Papageorghiou AT, Toenjes A, Quinn A, Williams KN, Underhill L, Chang HH, Naeher LP, Rosenthal J, Checkley W, Peel JL, Clasen TF, Thompson LM, HAPIN investigators. Effects of a LPG stove and fuel intervention on adverse maternal outcomes: A multi-country randomized controlled trial conducted by the Household Air Pollution Intervention Network (HAPIN). Environ Int. 2023 08; 178:108059.  View on PubMed
  3. T.F. Clasen, H.H. Chang, L.M. Thompson, M.A. Kirby, K. Balakrishnan, J.P. Rosenthal, W. Checkley, J.L. Peel, HAPIN Investigators. Liquefied Petroleum Gas or Biomass for Cooking and Effects on Birth Weight. Obstetric Anesthesia Digest. 2023 May 23; 43(2):91-92.  View on PubMed
  4. Balakrishnan K, Steenland K, Clasen T, Chang H, Johnson M, Pillarisetti A, Ye W, Naeher LP, Diaz-Artiga A, McCracken JP, Thompson LM, Rosa G, Kirby MA, Thangavel G, Sambandam S, Mukhopadhyay K, Puttaswamy N, Aravindalochanan V, Garg S, Ndagijimana F, Hartinger S, Underhill LJ, Kearns KA, Campbell D, Kremer J, Waller L, Jabbarzadeh S, Wang J, Chen Y, Rosenthal J, Quinn A, Papageorghiou AT, Ramakrishnan U, Howards PP, Checkley W, Peel JL, HAPIN Investigators. Exposure-response relationships for personal exposure to fine particulate matter (PM2·5), carbon monoxide, and black carbon and birthweight: an observational analysis of the multicountry Household Air Pollution Intervention Network (HAPIN) trial. Lancet Planet Health. 2023 05; 7(5):e387-e396.  View on PubMed
  5. Simkovich SM, Hossen S, McCollum ED, Toenjes AK, McCracken JP, Thompson LM, Castañaza A, Diaz A, Rosa G, Kirby MA, Mukeshimana A, Myers R, Lenzen PM, Craik R, Jabbarzadeh S, Elon L, Garg SS, Balakrishnan K, Thangavel G, Peel JL, Clasen TF, Dávila-Román VG, Papageorghiou AT, de Las Fuentes L, Checkley W, HAPIN Investigators. Lung Ultrasound Protocol and Quality Control of Image Interpretation Using an Adjudication Panel in the Household Air Pollution Intervention Network (HAPIN) Trial. Ultrasound Med Biol. 2023 05; 49(5):1194-1201.  View on PubMed
  6. Ye W, Pillarisetti A, de León O, Steenland K, Peel JL, Clark ML, Checkley W, Underhill LJ, Quinn A, Balakrishnan K, Garg SS, McCracken JP, Thompson LM, Díaz-Artiga A, Rosa G, Davila-Roman VG, de Las Fuentes L, Papageorghiou AT, Chen Y, Wang J, Thomas FC, Household Air Pollution Intervention Network (HAPIN) trial Investigators. Baseline associations between household air pollution exposure and blood pressure among pregnant women in the Household Air Pollution Intervention Network (HAPIN) multi-country randomized controlled trial. medRxiv. 2023 Jan 26.  View on PubMed
  7. Carlos F. Gould, Ajay Pillarisetti, Lisa M. Thompson, Sonakshi Saluja, Vagisha Nandan, Johannes Urpelainen. Using high-frequency household surveys to describe energy use in rural North India during the COVID-19 pandemic. Nature Energy. 2023 Jan 23; 8(2):169-178.  View on PubMed
  8. Bardales Cruz M, Saikawa E, Hengstermann M, Ramirez A, McCracken JP, Thompson LM. Plastic waste generation and emissions from the domestic open burning of plastic waste in Guatemala. Environ Sci Atmos. 2023 Jan 19; 3(1):156-167.  View on PubMed
  9. Clasen TF, Chang HH, Thompson LM, Kirby MA, Balakrishnan K, Díaz-Artiga A, McCracken JP, Rosa G, Steenland K, Younger A, Aravindalochanan V, Barr DB, Castañaza A, Chen Y, Chiang M, Clark ML, Garg S, Hartinger S, Jabbarzadeh S, Johnson MA, Kim DY, Lovvorn AE, McCollum ED, Monroy L, Moulton LH, Mukeshimana A, Mukhopadhyay K, Naeher LP, Ndagijimana F, Papageorghiou A, Piedrahita R, Pillarisetti A, Puttaswamy N, Quinn A, Ramakrishnan U, Sambandam S, Sinharoy SS, Thangavel G, Underhill LJ, Waller LA, Wang J, Williams KN, Rosenthal JP, Checkley W, Peel JL, HAPIN Investigators. Liquefied Petroleum Gas or Biomass for Cooking and Effects on Birth Weight. N Engl J Med. 2022 Nov 10; 387(19):1735-1746.  View on PubMed
  10. Ashlnn Quinn, Mayari Hengstermann, Ajay Pillarisetti, Maggie Clark, Roberto Otzoy Sucuc, Laura Ruiz, Florien Ndagijimana, John P. McCracken, Anaite Diaz-Artiga, Ghislaine Rosa, Jennifer L Peel, Tom F. Clasen, Lisa M. Thompson. Development of report-back materials of air pollution exposure results to participants in the HAPIN trial in Guatemala and Rwanda. ISEE Conference Abstracts. 2022 Sep 18; 2022(1).  View on PubMed
  11. Hina Raheel, Ashley Younger, Sheela Sinharoy, Jiantong Wang, Shirin Jabbarzadeh, Marilu Chiang, Adly Castañaza, Anaite Diaz-Artiga, Sarada Garg, Florien Ndagijimana, Gloriose Bankundiye, Miles A. Kirby, Kalpana Balakrishnan, John P. McCracken, Ghislaine Rosa, Aris Papageorghiou, Thomas F. Clasen, Jennifer Peel, William Checkley, Lisa M. Thompson. Effects of a Liquefied Petroleum Gas Stove and Continuous Fuel Distribution Intervention on Anthropometric Outcomes at Birth. ISEE Conference Abstracts. 2022 Sep 18; 2022(1).  View on PubMed
  12. Ashley Younger, Abbey Alkon, Kristen Harknett, Miles A Kirby, Amy E. Lovvorn, Jiantong Wang, Anaité Diaz-Artiga, John P. McCracken, Ghislaine Rosa, Kalpana Balakrishnan, Adly Castañaza-Gonzalez, Libny Monroy-Alarcon, Alexie Mukeshimana, Sarada S. Garg, Lindsay Underhill, Howard H. Chang, Joshua Rosenthal, Aris Papageorghiou, William Checkley, Jennifer L. Peel, Thomas F. Clasen, Lisa Thompson. Effects of a liquefied petroleum gas cookstove and fuel intervention on fetal and neonatal outcomes: a multi-country randomized controlled trial conducted by the Household Air Pollution Intervention Network (HAPIN) trial. ISEE Conference Abstracts. 2022 Sep 18; 2022(1).  View on PubMed
  13. Abby Mutic, Kasthuri Sivalogan, Sami Nadeem Teeny, Anaite Diaz-Artiga, ViLinh Tran, John P. McCracken, Erick Mollinedo, Alex Ramirez, Yesenia Ramirez, Lindsay Saber, Jiantong Wang, Sheela Sinharoy, Lisa Thompson. Untargeted metabolomics analysis of human milk samples from Guatemalan mothers in the Household Air Pollution Intervention Network (HAPIN) Trial. ISEE Conference Abstracts. 2022 Sep 18; 2022(1).  View on PubMed
  14. Ye W, Steenland K, Quinn A, Liao J, Balakrishnan K, Rosa G, Ndagijimana F, Ntivuguruzwa JD, Thompson LM, McCracken JP, Díaz-Artiga A, Rosenthal JP, Papageorghiou A, Davila-Roman VG, Pillarisetti A, Johnson M, Wang J, Nicolaou L, Checkley W, Peel JL, Clasen TF, Household Air Pollution Intervention Network (HAPIN) trial Investigators. Effects of a Liquefied Petroleum Gas Stove Intervention on Gestational Blood Pressure: Intention-to-Treat and Exposure-Response Findings From the HAPIN Trial. Hypertension. 2022 08; 79(8):1887-1898.  View on PubMed
  15. Thompson LM. Invited Perspective: Household Air Pollution-Can Randomized Controlled Trials Provide the Answers to Complex Intervention Questions? Environ Health Perspect. 2022 04; 130(4):41301.  View on PubMed
  16. Checkley W, Hossen S, Rosa G, Thompson LM, McCracken JP, Diaz-Artiga A, Balakrishnan K, Simkovich SM, Underhill LJ, Nicolaou L, Hartinger SM, Davila-Roman VG, Kirby MA, Clasen TF, Rosenthal J, Peel JL. Facing the Realities of Pragmatic Design Choices in Environmental Health Studies: Experiences from the Household Air Pollution Intervention Network Trial. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2022 03 23; 19(7).  View on PubMed
  17. Liao J, Liu Y, Steenland K, Pillarisetti A, Thompson LM, Dey S, Balakrishnan K, Clasen T. Child Survival and Early Lifetime Exposures to Ambient Fine Particulate Matter in India: A Retrospective Cohort Study. Environ Health Perspect. 2022 01; 130(1):17009.  View on PubMed
  18. Simkovich SM, Underhill LJ, Kirby MA, Crocker ME, Goodman D, McCracken JP, Thompson LM, Diaz-Artiga A, Castañaza-Gonzalez A, Garg SS, Balakrishnan K, Thangavel G, Rosa G, Peel JL, Clasen TF, McCollum ED, Checkley W, HAPIN Investigators. Resources and Geographic Access to Care for Severe Pediatric Pneumonia in Four Resource-limited Settings. Am J Respir Crit Care Med. 2022 01 15; 205(2):183-197.  View on PubMed
  19. Deol RM, Thompson LM, Chun KM, Chesla C. Managing Type 2 Diabetes: Beliefs and Daily Practices in First Generation Asian Indians in the United States. SAGE Open Nurs. 2022 Jan-Dec; 8:23779608211054814.  View on PubMed
  20. Quinn AK, Williams KN, Thompson LM, Harvey SA, Piedrahita R, Wang J, Quinn C, Pillarisetti A, McCracken JP, Rosenthal JP, Kirby MA, Diaz Artiga A, Thangavel G, Rosa G, Miranda JJ, Checkley W, Peel JL, Clasen TF. Fidelity and Adherence to a Liquefied Petroleum Gas Stove and Fuel Intervention during Gestation: The Multi-Country Household Air Pollution Intervention Network (HAPIN) Randomized Controlled Trial. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2021 11 29; 18(23).  View on PubMed

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