Tracey Woodruff, PhD, recently joined the Stanford Cancer Institute as a professor of epidemiology and population health and environmental health, and is a fellow in the Woods Institute for the Environment. Her research examines how toxic chemicals, pollution, and other environmental exposures contribute to cancer and other chronic diseases. We caught up with Woodruff to discuss her path from engineering to the Environmental Protection Agency to Stanford, the everyday steps people can take to reduce harmful exposures, and rocking the house with her pop-punk band Ear Clap.
The following Q&A has been lightly edited for readability and length.
Could you start by sharing what you do at Stanford?
My work focuses on building a program around toxic chemicals, pollution, and environmental contributors to disease. We are particularly focused on rising rates of chronic diseases, such as cancer, and the role environmental chemicals may play in those increases.
We have a Health and Toxics Policy Lab that conducts strategic research to answer key questions and move action forward. We focus on producing the science to support policies and actions that prevent harmful exposures, including those that can contribute to cancer. We also focus on translating science for use in decision-making.
We have done a lot of work with the clinical community and with policymakers because structural changes, such as preventing toxic chemicals at the source, are the most effective ways to protect the entire population.
When I was at UCSF, we started the Environmental Research and Translation for Health Center, or the EaRTH Center, to bring together a multidisciplinary community to understand the impact of environmental exposures on health and translate the science into clinical care and policy to protect health. Now, we have created a joint UCSF-Stanford center to expand and develop collaborations across both campuses.
Can you tell me a bit more about the EaRTH Center?
Our UCSF-Stanford Environmental Research and Translation for Health (EaRTH) Center brings together a multidisciplinary community of scientists, clinicians, and partners to better understand how environmental exposures, from chemical pollutants to climate-related stressors, impact human health across the lifespan. The Center’s mission is to accelerate discovery and translate science into clinical care and policy that improves health and reduces inequities. The EaRTH Center was founded at UCSF in 2020 and is now a cross-institutional center with my move to Stanford, with myself and Dr. Jennifer Fung at UCSF as co-directors.
People who are interested in becoming members can sign up. They can also just get updates on EaRTH activities and webinars, too. It’s a great way to learn the latest about the environment and health and to hear about opportunities for funding, research support, and training.
Do you remember early on in your life when you were first excited about science?
I actually started out as an engineer. I liked science and math, and my dad was an engineer, so I thought, “Well, what should I do? I guess I’ll become an engineer.”
I went to UC Berkeley and realized that I wanted to do something more public-facing — something that contributed to the public good. That led me toward health. I earned a PhD in bioengineering because I wanted to do work focused on helping people, and at the same time, I earned a master’s in public health.
That was when I realized public health was really for me. One of the great things about public health, or population health — and something that aligns well with engineering — is that you are looking at structural changes to the broad environment people live in. You are trying to set the stage for people to live their healthiest lives.
It is the most efficient and effective way to improve health. Of course, we have to treat people when they are sick, but our goal is to have fewer sick people in the first place.
How did you find your interest in the environmental side of things?
I was trying to figure out what to do for my PhD dissertation, and I had a mentor at UCSF, Stan Glantz, who is well known for his work on environmental tobacco smoke. Somehow, he told me, “You should look at these toxic chemicals. This is going to be a big deal.”
He was on the science review panel for the California Air Resources Board related to toxic air contaminants, so he was familiar with the issue. And that was good advice.
This was before you could access all your journals online. My parents were living in Washington, D.C., at the time, and I remember going to the Library of Congress, checking out Environmental Health Perspectives, and reading hard copies in the reading room. I thought, “This is it. This is what I’m going to do.”
What was the path that brought you to Stanford?
After my postdoc, I went to the EPA and worked on the guidelines that are used to identify whether and to what extent chemicals can cause cancer, which remains one of my areas of interest, particularly childhood cancers. I left the EPA to go into academia and do more work on the basis of increasing our knowledge about the relationship between the environment, health, and cancer. I came to UCSF to help start the Program on Reproductive Health and the Environment, where I was the first director. As part of that, we developed a portfolio of research and research translation.
Then the opportunity at Stanford came up. Stanford has a great medical school, and I really like multidisciplinary collaboration. The Woods Institute brings together people in law, engineering, exposure science, policy, and other fields across campus. My career has focused on working across different disciplines to solve complex problems, and that is what makes Stanford so exciting.
What are a few steps patients or individuals can take to reduce exposure to toxic chemicals?
We try to recommend things that are affordable and easy to do. One easy step is to take your shoes off before coming into the house. A lot of toxic chemicals and microplastics accumulate in dust, so reducing the dust that comes in from outside can help. Other useful practices include avoiding microwaving food in plastic, reducing the use of plastic for storing food and water when possible, eating lower on the food chain, and using a HEPA-filter vacuum and simpler cleaning products, like vinegar and baking soda.
I would add one more thing: reuse. Try not to create more unnecessary products. I thrift a lot. The Goodwill in Palo Alto is great, and I also like to recommend the White Elephant Sale in Oakland, which happens once a year, and it supports the Oakland Museum.
Outside of work, what do you like to do for fun? What hobbies are you interested in?
We like to hike and be outside. I’m also in a band called Ear Clap. People think it’s funny. We are all kind of old, although I am probably the oldest person in the group, but it’s fun. I play keys in my band, and I’m also picking up guitar as well.
We work with a group called BandWorks in Oakland, which runs band workshops. Our band has been together for over a year, and we perform at the Ivy Room in Albany every 10 weeks. We are starting again in August after a summer break.
What kind of music do you play?
We are more rock-punk-pop adjacent. We do covers right now. In my dream world, I would write original songs, totally punk, screaming kinds of songs. I really like Talking Heads. I also think Hole is amazing, and now I’m a fan of Olivia Rodrigo.
Is there anything else you would like to add about your research or your life for this spotlight?
There is a real opportunity to restructure how we approach oncology, cancer, and other health conditions by focusing more on prevention while continuing to treat people who become ill.
We are doing work on breast cancer and pesticides, particularly looking at the government’s use of data related to pesticide contributions to breast cancer.
We are also very interested in microplastics. We have conducted evidence evaluations on how microplastics could contribute to respiratory cancers and colon cancer, and we will continue working in that area.
We are also interested in using earlier-stage models, such as whole-organism models and cellular or in vitro systems models, to identify chemicals that may contribute to cancer processes earlier in the pipeline. That would allow us to act more quickly to reduce harmful exposures.
More broadly, we are looking at new tools, including biological, in vitro, and AI tools, to accelerate our knowledge about the relationship between environmental exposures and cancer.
Unfortunately, we all know someone who has had cancer, and some who did not survive. Everything we do focuses on how to stop this from happening, so families don’t have to face the pain and suffering and can lead healthy lives.
