About Our Research

The REACH Lab is based at the Tulane School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine in New Orleans, Louisiana. We study how air pollution, climate change, and other environmental stressors shape health across the life course, with a focus on Gulf South communities.

Lab Overview

Our team integrates environmental epidemiology, exposure science, spatial analysis, and data-driven methods to quantify risk and identify who is most affected. We work closely with community partners to ensure that our research both advances science and supports local advocacy, resilience, and policy change.

Broader Impacts

REACH Lab projects are designed to produce evidence that communities, agencies, and policymakers can use. By working with communities and neighborhood organizations, we help translate complex environmental and climate data into tools for regulatory accountability, public health investments, and long-term resilience planning.

NASA Earth Observatory. (2018, October 11). Florida Slammed by Hurricane Michael [Satellite image]. NASA Earth Observatory. Image by Joshua Stevens, using GOES-16 data from NOAA.

Geiger, G. (2021, September 1). USACE surveys Hurricane Ida damage. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Headquarters, Defense Visual Information Distribution Service. Photo ID: 6819735. VIRIN: 210901-A-JU815-279.

2026
  • Lichtiger L, Yeung E, Lin TC, Putnick DL, Rahman MM, Thurston GD, Wang Y, Ghassabi A, “Air pollution exposure and child social communication: sensitive periods and joint effects of exposure to sources and constituents of fine particulate matter” (In-press, Environmental Pollution)
  • Kang N, Yang Z, Petrick LM, Rahman MM, Pavlovic N, Lurmann FW, Martinez MP, Yu X, Chow T, Eckel SP, Schwartz J, Chen JC, McConnell R, Xiang AH, Chen Z. Newborn metabolomics linking prenatal air pollution exposure and autism spectrum disorder risk in children. J Expo Sci Environ Epidemiol. 2026 Apr 27. doi: 10.1038/s41370-026-00897-0. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 42045584
  • Luglio DG, Yu X, Lin JC, Chow T, Martinez MP, Chen Z, Eckel SP, Schwartz J, Lurmann FW, Pavlovic NR, McConnell R, Xiang AH, Rahman MM. Prenatal Exposure to Wildfire and Autism in Children. Environ Sci Technol. 2026 Feb 3;60(4):2907-2916. doi: 10.1021/acs.est.5c08256. Epub 2026 Jan 20. PMID: 41557972; PMCID: PMC12874521.
  • Luglio DG, Yu X, Lin JC, Chow T, Martinez MP, Chen Z, Eckel SP, Schwartz J, Lurmann FW, Pavlovic N, McConnell R, Xiang AH, Rahman MM. Prenatal exposure to extreme heat and autism in children. Sci Total Environ. 2026 Feb 20;1017:181373. doi: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2026.181373. Epub 2026 Feb 12. PMID: 41688236
2025
  •  Rahman MM, McKeon K, Luglio D, Hossain CA, Rabito F, Alam N, Morrow N, Gonzales M, Thurston G. Compounding effects of heat and high humidity on cardiovascular morbidity in Dhaka, Bangladesh: An implication of climate crisis. Sci Total Environ. 2025 Sep 15;995:180220. doi: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2025.180220. Epub 2025 Aug 13. PMID: 40813191.
  • Xiang AH, Lin JC, Chow T, Yu X, Martinez MP, Chen Z, Eckel SP, Schwartz J, Lurmann FW, Kleeman MJ, McConnell R, Rahman MM. Discordant sibling analysis of autism risk associated with prenatal exposure to tailpipe and non-tailpipe particulate matter pollution. Environ Res. 2025 Jun 15;275:121449. doi: 10.1016/j.envres.2025.121449. Epub 2025 Mar 20. PMID: 40120739.
  • Rud D●, Rahman MM, Xiang AH, McConnell R, Lurmann F, Kleeman MJ, Schwartz J, Chen Z, Eckel S, Pablo Lewinger J. Frequentist Grouped Weighted Quantile Sum Regression for Correlated Chemical Mixtures. Stat Med. 2025 Mar 30;44(7):e70078. doi: 10.1002/sim.70078. PMID: 40213957; PMCID: PMC11987061.
  • Yu X●, Rahman MM, Lin JC, Chow T, Lurmann FW, Chen JC, Martinez MP, Schwartz J, Eckel SP, Chen Z, McConnell R, Hackman DA, Xiang AH, Garcia E. The potential effects of hypothetical PM2.5 interventions on childhood autism in different neighborhood socioeconomic contexts. Am J Epidemiol. 2025 Feb 11:kwae462. doi: 10.1093/aje/kwae462. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 39930955.

2024

Luglio DG●, Kleeman MJ, Yu X, Lin JC, Chow T, Martinez MP, Chen Z, Chen JC, Eckel SP, Schwartz J, Lurmann F, McConnell R, Xiang AH, Rahman MM†. Prenatal Exposure to SourceSpecific Fine Particulate Matter and Autism Spectrum Disorder. Environ Sci Technol. 2024 Oct 22;58(42):18566-18577. doi: 10.1021/acs.est.4c05563. Epub 2024 Oct 11. PMID: 39392704; PMCID: PMC11500427.

Yu X●, Kleeman MJ, Lin JC, Chow T, Martinez MP, Chen Z, Chen JC, Eckel SP, Schwartz J, Lurmann FW, McConnell R, Xiang AH, Rahman MM. Decomposing the variance: The unique and shared associations of fine and ultrafine particulate matter exposed during pregnancy with child autism spectrum disorder. Sci Total Environ. 2024 Oct 2;954:176609. doi: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2024.176609. PubMed PMID: 39362545.

Azzouz M●, Hasan Z●, Rahman MM, Gauderman WJ, Lorenzo M, Lurmann FW, Eckel SP, Palinkas L, Johnston J, Hurlburt M, Silva SJ, Schlaerth H, Ko J, Ban-Weiss G, McConnell R, Stockfelt L, Garcia E. Does socioeconomic and environmental burden affect vulnerability to extreme air pollution and heat? A case-crossover study of mortality in California. J Expo Sci Environ Epidemiol. 2024 May 7;. doi: 10.1038/s41370-024-00676-9

2023
  • Yu X●, Rahman MM, Carter SA, Lin JC, Chow T, Lurmann FW, Chen JC, Martinez MP, Schwartz J, Eckel SP, Chen Z, McConnell R, Xiang AH, Hackman DA. Neighborhood Disadvantage and Autism Spectrum Disorder in a Population With Health Insurance. JAMA Psychiatry. 2023 Nov 15:e234347. doi: 10.1001/jamapsychiatry.2023.4347.
  • Rahman MM, Franklin M, Jabin N, Sharna TI, Nower N, Alderete TL, Ahmed A, Quaiyum MA, Salam MT, Islam T. Assessing household fine particulate matter (PM(2.5)) through measurement and modeling in the Bangladesh cook stove pregnancy cohort study (CSPCS). Environmental Pollution. 2023 Sep 15;:122568. doi: 10.1016/j.envpol.2023.122568.
  • Yu X●, Rahman MM, Chen JC, Zhuang Z, Chow T, Carter S, Lurmann FW, Shu YH, Martinez MP, Eckel SP, Chen Z, Levitt P, Schwartz J, Chen JC, McConnell R, Xiang AH. 2023. Prenatal Air Pollution, Maternal Immune Activation, and Autism Spectrum Disorders. Environment International. 179, 108148. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envint.2023.108148
  • Carter SA*, Rahman MM*, Lin JC, Chow T, Yu X, Martinez MP, Levitt P, Chen Z, Chen JC, Rud D, Lewinger JP, Eckel SP, Schwartz J, Lurmann F, Kleeman MJ, McConnell R, Xiang AH. 2023. Maternal exposure to aircraft emitted ultrafine particles during pregnancy and likelihood of ASD in children. Environment International. 2023; https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envint.2023.108061.
    *Co-first author
  • Jabin N, Rahman MM, Salam MT, Sharna TI, Franklin M, Bailey M, Alderete TL, Ahmed A, Quaiyum QA, Islam T. 2023. Cohort profile: Bangladesh Cook Stove Pregnancy Cohort Study (CSPCS). BMJ Open 2023;13:e068539. doi: 10.1136/bmjopen-2022-068539
  • Palinkas LA, De Leon J, Yu K, Salinas E, Fernandez C, Johnston J, Rahman MM, Silva SJ, Hurlburt M, McConnell RS, Garcia E. 2023. Adaptation Resources and Responses to Wildfire Smoke and Other Forms of Air Pollution in Low-Income Urban Settings: A Mixed-Methods Study. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. 2023; 20(7):5393. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph20075393
  • Rahman MM*, Lorenzo M*●, Ban-Weiss G, Hasan Z, Azzouz M, Eckel SP, Conti D, Lurmann FW, Schlaerth H, Johnston J, Ko J, Palinkas L, Hurlburt M, Silva M, Gauderman W, McConnell R, Garcia E. 2023. Ambient temperature and air pollution associations with suicide and homicide mortality in California: A statewide case-crossover study. Science of the Total Environment 874:162462; doi:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.162462.
    *Co-first author
  • Rahman MM, Carter SA, Lin JC, Chow T, Yu X, Martinez MP, Levitt P, Chen Z, Chen JC, Rud D, Lewinger JP, Eckel SP, Schwartz J, Lurmann F, Kleeman MJ, McConnell R, Xiang AH. 2023. Prenatal Exposure to Tailpipe and Non-Tailpipe Tracers of Particulate Matter Pollution and Autism Spectrum Disorders. Environment International. 2023 Jan 5;171:107736. doi: 10.1016/j.envint.2023.107736