Environment & Health Research Unit Unit Director: Prof. Angela
Mathee The mandate of the MRC Environment & Health Research Unit
(E&HRU) is “to conduct population-based research on
environmental risks to health, with special emphasis on those
living in poverty.” The E&HRU comprises a team with expertise in
environmental epidemiology, public health, chemistry, medicine,
environmental science and nutrition. "If you want to learn about
the health of a population, look at the air they breathe, the
water they drink, and the places where they live." –
Hippocrates, the Father of Medicine, in the Fifth Century BC.
The main areas of research currently underway in the E&HRU are:
- Urbanization and urban health; - Lead poisoning prevention; -
Lead exposure in fishing communities; - The relationship between
bone lead levels and violent/aggressive behaviour; - Trends in
lead exposure following the phase-out of leaded petrol; -
Exposure to environmental pollution - metals in the environment
(for example lead, mercury, cadmi