University of Maryland School of Public Health: The Healthy Turtle

Dr. Amir Sapkota

Dr. Amir Sapkota receives Junior Faculty Award for environmental research, presents findings

Dr. Amir Sapkota, assistant professor in the School of Public Health, was presented with the inaugural Junior Faculty Award by UMD Vice President for Research Dr. Patrick O'Shea, SPH Dean Dr. Jane Clark, and Council on the Environment chair Dr. Antonio Busalacchi on Wednesday, Sept. 11.

The new award recognizes faculty members who contribute significantly to environmental research and knowledge. It is a far-reaching award that links student impact, contributions to literature, service pursuits, and collaboration with external non-governmental organizations.

Dr. Sapkota has made significant advancements in the field and has helped develop the curriculum for the new Master of Public Health Program in Environmental Health within the School of Public Health, according to Dr. Busalacchi.

Dr. O'Shea's remarks intrigued the audience in the Chemistry Building by referring to his own experiences with household and environmental pollution in his early years in Ireland. 

Dr. Sapkota thanked many people for his award and presented his work on exposures to household air pollution, particularly in developing countries. 

He revealed alarming statistics and facts on indoor air pollution, linking it to lung cancer and pharyngeal cancer.

Dr. Sapkota explained that household air pollution is the fourth leading contributor to the Global Burdens of Disease.

His main inquest on this topic began with posing questions about what is causing illness and low life expectancy and how these risk factors are being distributed across the globe.

In his research, Dr. Sapkota found that some households are polluting themselves by using solid fuels — such as wood, coal, charcoal, and agricultural waste — for cooking and heating purposes.

His research showed that household air pollution from solid fuels can contribute to very high level of particulate matter inside homes. During peak hours, particulate matter concentrations can reach 3,000 micrograms per cubic meter.

His work suggests that chronic exposures to such pollution can increase risk of cancers, particularly lung cancer and that of the head and neck region. He presented a summary of findings from studies done in India, Nepal, and several eastern European countries and showed that exposure to household air pollution was associated with increased risk of certain cancers. He noted that the consistency of findings across these diverse geographical areas increases the validity of these findings.

Dr. Sapkota mentioned that the most challenging part lies ahead, in figuring out how to reduce exposures among the 3 billion people who currently use solid fuels for cooking and/or heating.