Lab Members
The Environmental Exposures, Epidemiology, and Health Lab (E3H Lab) affiliations span multiple New England institutions, including MaineHealth, Redington Fairview General Hospital, Tufts University School of Medicine, Harvard School of Public Health, and Dartmouth Geisel School of Medicine.
Attending Physician, Pediatric Endocrinology & Diabetes
Associate Professor of Pediatrics
Dr. Fleisch
Abby Fleisch, MD, MPH, is an environmental health researcher at the MaineHealth Institute for Research and a practicing pediatric endocrinologist at MaineHealth. She is an Associate Professor of Pediatrics at Tufts University School of Medicine and an Adjunct Associate Professor of Environmental Health at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. Dr. Fleisch completed medical school at Northwestern University, pediatrics residency and endocrinology fellowship at Boston Children’s Hospital, and a pediatric health services research fellowship and MPH at Harvard.
Her research focuses on how prenatal and lifelong exposure to environmental toxicants—particularly PFAS—affects body composition and cardiometabolic health. She leads multiple NIH-funded studies, including investigations of PFAS impacts on growth, bone health, and chronic disease in cohorts from childhood through older adulthood. Dr. Fleisch also works closely with PFAS‑affected communities in central Maine and cares for exposed pediatric patients. She has published more than 70 peer‑reviewed papers and actively mentors emerging environmental health researchers.
Assistant Professor of Family Medicine
Dr. Criswell
Rachel Criswell, MD, MS, IBCLC, is a MaineHealth Institute for Research Affiliated Investigator and full‑spectrum family medicine physician and environmental health researcher at Redington‑Fairview General Hospital, a rural critical access facility in central Maine. She cares for patients in her family medicine clinic and provides inpatient pediatric and obstetric care. Dr. Criswell earned her MD and MS in Biomedical Research from Columbia University and completed her family medicine residency at the Maine‑Dartmouth Family Medicine Residency. She holds faculty appointments as an Assistant Professor of Family Medicine at Tufts University School of Medicine and as an Adjunct Professor in Epidemiology at the Dartmouth Geisel School of Medicine.
Her research examines how environmental exposures, particularly PFAS, affect physical and mental health across the lifespan. She co-leads the Maine Biosolids Study and leads a study on PFAS and proteins in human milk. Dr. Criswell is also active in clinician and community PFAS education and cares for adults, children, and reproductive‑age patients affected by PFAS.
Research Assistant Professor of Pediatrics
Dr. Rokoff
Lisa Rokoff, PhD, is an environmental epidemiologist whose research examines how exposure to environmental toxicants affects human health across the life course. She earned her PhD in Population Health Sciences from the Harvard Graduate School of Arts and Sciences and joined the E3H Lab in 2022. Her research focuses on chemicals in consumer and household products, particularly PFAS, as well as other widespread contaminants like heavy metals, and pesticides. She studies the impacts of these environmental exposures on vulnerable populations, including children, pregnant women, aging adults, and PFAS-contaminated communities.
Dr. Rokoff investigates how mixtures of environmental chemicals influence cardiometabolic, musculoskeletal, and mental health outcomes. Her studies have shown that elevated exposures to PFAS and lead during pregnancy and early childhood can have lasting effects on bone health and neurobehavior into adolescence and adulthood.
Katie Senechal
Katie Senechal, SM is an early career researcher whose work focuses on the impact of environmental exposures on human health. Katie received her Master of Science in Epidemiology with a concentration in Reproductive, Occupational, and Environmental Epidemiology from the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. While completing her Masters, Katie conducted research on the impact of air pollutants and climactic factors (heat and humidity) on fetal measurements and gestational outcomes. Katie joined the EH3 Lab in 2023. As part of her work in the lab, Katie analyzes the distribution of PFAS in Maine residential well drinking water.
Dr. Mullin
Anne Mullin, MD, is a Resident Physician in Pediatrics at Maine Medical Center and a graduate of the Tufts University School of Medicine Maine Track program. She earned her undergraduate degree from the University of Vermont and spent two years at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia working on GeoBirth, a geospatially linked birth cohort study examining associations of area-level environmental exposures and social factors with maternal and infant health outcomes.
Anne has been a part of the E3H Lab part-time since medical school and has contributed to projects aimed at better understanding exposure pathways of PFAS and the biological mechanisms through which they may influence bone mineral density. She is particularly interested in studying environmental influences on cardiometabolic outcomes and applying advanced analytic methods to study environmental mixtures and mediation pathways to clarify underlying mechanisms of risk.
Extended Lab Members
Dr. Katherine Dobosh, DO, MA, MPH
Maine Dartmouth Family Medicine Residency
Dr. Shannon Gallagher, DO
Maine Dartmouth Family Medicine Residency
Rika Goto, MS2
Tufts University School of Medicine – Maine Track
Lydia Henry
Redington-Fairview General Hospital
Dr. Caroline LaFave, DO
Maine Dartmouth Family Medicine Residency
Molly Mann, MS4
Tufts University School of Medicine – Maine Track
Dr. Brianna Petrone, MD, PhD
Maine Dartmouth Family Medicine Residency
Publications & Media Highlights
View our full publication list here
Criswell R, Fleisch AF, Ducatman A. Clinical Implications of New Drinking Water Regulation for “Forever Chemicals”. JAMA. 2024 Sep 10;332(10):785-786.
Criswell R, Senechal K, Mullin AM, Calafat AM, Botehlo JC, Rokoff LB, Fleisch AF. Concentrations of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in private well drinking water and serum of individuals exposed to PFAS through biosolids: The Maine Biosolids Study. Environ Pollut. 2025 Oct 12;386:127259.
Scharnetzki E, Rokoff LB, Senechal K, Bosquet Enlow M, Fleisch AF, Criswell R. Psychosocial distress among individuals residing in a rural PFAS-contaminated community. Int J Hyg Environ Health. 2026 Mar;272:114736.
Lin PD, Cardenas A, Temprosa M, Botelho JC, Calafat AM, Gold DR, Oken E, Fleisch AF. Associations of Perfluoroalkyl and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances With Cardiovascular Disease Incidence in Adults With Prediabetes: Findings From the Diabetes Prevention Program. J Am Heart Assoc. 2026 Jan 6;15(1):e046298. doi: 10.1161/JAHA.125.046298. Epub 2025 Dec 18. PMID: 41413398; PMCID: PMC12909047.
Rokoff LB, Rifas-Shiman SL, Aris IM, Lin PD, Rosen CJ, Calafat AM, Gordon CM, Oken E, Fleisch AF. Mid-Childhood Plasma Concentrations of Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances, Modifiable Lifestyle Factors, and Bone Mineral Density Through Late Adolescence. Environ Sci Technol. 2024 Nov 12;58(45):19970-19980.
Driban JB, Rokoff LB, Lu B, McAlindon TE, Eaton CB, Roberts MB, Mathes D, Lestician C, Xu ZC, Fan ZT, O’Leary SP, Haugen IK, Sellam J, Courties A, Fleisch AF. Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances and Hand Osteoarthritis: Data From the Osteoarthritis Initiative. Arthritis Rheumatol. 2025 Dec 22:10.1002/art.70026.
Rokoff LB, Wallenborn JT, Harris MH, Rifas-Shiman SL, Criswell R, Romano ME, Young JG, Calafat AM, Oken E, Sagiv SK, Fleisch AF. Plasma concentrations of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances in pregnancy and breastfeeding duration in Project Viva. Sci Total Environ, 2023. Sep 15; 891:164724. PMID: 37290653.
Criswell R, Gleason K, Abuawad AK, Karagas MR, Grene K, Mora AM, Eskenazi B, Senechal K, Mullin AM, Rokoff LB, Fleisch AF. A Call for Pediatric Clinicians to Address Environmental Health Concerns in Rural Settings. Pediatr Clin North Am. 2025 Feb;72(1):65-83.
View our full list of media highlights here
Criswell and Fleisch discuss using cholestyramine for PFAS body burden reduction (The Washington Post; Oct 2025) As new treatments for microplastics emerge, here’s the evidence on how well they work
Fleisch and Criswell discuss clinical uses of cholestyramine for PFAS body burden reduction (Portland Press Herald; Oct 2025) Maine offers free medical tests for residents exposed to PFAS
Fleisch discusses her work exploring early life exposures and effects on health (NIEHS Director’s Corner; Environmental Factor; Dec 2024) Environmental Factor – December 2024: Diet, lifestyle, and PFAS: Abby Fleisch tackles ‘forever chemicals’
Criswell discusses her work with PFAS-affected communities in Maine (Radio Maine with Dr. Lisa Belisle; Dec 2024) Maine’s PFAS Crisis: Dr. Rachel Criswell