CLEAR Trainee Spotlight: Mackenzie Connell
Mackenzie Connell is a CLEAR trainee and University of Florida doctoral student. She works with Dr. Tracie Baker (Project 3) in Dr. Baker's WATERLab, and also serves as the student ambassador for the Environmental & Global Health Department (UF).
1. Please tell us about yourself
I first got into biomedical research as an undergraduate student at Wayne State University. I had the opportunity to conduct an undergraduate research experience in the WATER lab under the mentorship of Dr. Tracie Baker during that time. Once I began my public health coursework, I was enthralled by the interconnectedness of environmental health research, toxicology, and maternal child health epidemiology. Once I realized that those research interests intersect in the field of public health, I decided to pursue a Masters degree in public health at Wayne State in the School of Medicine. During that time, I coordinated a maternal child health epidemiology study at Henry Ford Health and met many of the great folks that would later become part of CLEAR. I decided to pursue a PhD in public health at the University of Florida in 2022 – back in Dr. Baker’s research lab! I also became a CLEAR Superfund trainee in 2022 and have enjoyed every second of it so far. In my spare time, you can find me paddleboarding or sailing on the ocean or Great Lakes.
2. Please tell us a bit about your research.
Of course! I am passionate about reproductive health outcomes and how exposure to environmental stressors influence reproduction. My dissertation research allows me to do this using the zebrafish animal model. Our lab uses zebrafish to study fertility, behavior, and gene expression changes in response to contaminant exposures. Zebrafish are actually very similar to humans and tell us a lot about the toxicity of contaminants like volatile organic compounds. So far, I have worked on projects that have uncovered developmental and reproductive effects of relatively low doses of benzene and 1,4-dioxane. I also had the opportunity to go to Ethiopia and conduct field sampling which will help uncover what pesticides are present in drinking water and could be linked to adverse birth outcomes in the region.
3. Any big news lately?
Yes! Just before the holidays I received news that a current opinion in toxicology article I authored with Dr. Baker was accepted for publication...stay tuned! Additionally, I passed my written qualifying exams mid-December which is an exciting milestone in my PhD program. It has been great having Dr. Carol Miller (CLEAR) on my supervisory committee to bring in an interdisciplinary perspective!
4. What are your long-term goals?
In the future, I hope to conduct independent research and use my expertise to influence environmental policy and contaminant regulations. Global health initiatives are also very important to me and I would like to remain involved in global health research in the future. I also hope to teach public and environmental health concepts at the university level.
