Schedule: Monday to Friday from 8:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. and from 1:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m.

Programa Infantes y Salud Ambiental (ISA)

Infants' Environmental Health Program (ISA)

We are a research-outreach-teaching program performed mainly in the Huetar Atlántica region, Costa Rica, coordinated by the Central American Institute of Studies on Toxic Substances (IRET) of the Universidad Nacional, Costa Rica (IRET-UNA).

About ISA

Socio-environmental context

We evaluated and characterized socio-economical, environmental, and cultural contexts of communities in Talamanca and Matina to understand how they are composed.

Outreach and environmental education

We informed study participants, communities in the study area, civil society organizations, governmental organizations and the private sector about study findings.

Alternatives to pesticide use

We tested alternatives to pesticide use in experimental plots established in several plantain farms, owned and managed by local farmers.

Environmental health and exposure

We evaluated pathways and routes of pesticide exposure and excess manganese, and how these are associated with health outcomes in women and children.

Publications

Scientific production by academics of the ISA program, available for download.

Scientific articles

Thesis and studient´s projects

Informative materials

Fellowships

The NIH-funded International Training In Environmental Health over the Lifespan project (collaboration between the Ichan School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York and the ISA-IRET program) seeks to train and fund research in the fields of public health, epidemiology, biostatistics, among others.

Course Fellowships

Research Fellowships

DREAM

DeRmal Exposure Assessment Method (DREAM) is a semi-quantitative method to assess dermal exposure to chemical or biological agents. It includes a structured questionnaire and a free Excel tool that includes the DREAM algorithm for its application.

Download

Last News

Last News of ISA's recent activities

Natural barriers and buffer zones for aerial spraying

Geospatial analyses and in-situ survey reveal 44 kilometers of croplands adjacent to houses and roads without natural barriers.

Pesticides, metals and thyroid function.

Mancozeb and pyrimethanil are associated with a hypothyroidism-like effect, while chlorpyrifos, pyrethroids, manganese with a hypothyroidism-like effect.

Playful educational methods stimulate children’s social and cognitive areas.

Play-pedagogical methodologies are useful for the stimulation of different areas of children's cognitive development.

Pyrimethanil and chlorpyrifos detected in urine samples from women in Matina County.

The amount of pyrimethanil and chlorpyrifos measured in air partially accounts for the amount of their metabolites determined in urine samples.

Excellence in public service for ISA co-principal investigator

ScD. Jane Hoppin was awarded the 2021 James E. Holshouser Jr. Award for Excellence in Public Service.