PEHSU Region 1

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Service area: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont

The Region 1 New England Pediatric Environmental Health Specialty Unit (PEHSU), one of the first of now ten national units, provides consultation, care, and education to address pediatric and reproductive environmental health concerns. Founded in 1999, the Region 1 PEHSU covers the New England states; Connecticut, Massachusetts, Maine, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont.

Academic Affiliation: Harvard Medical School and Harvard TH Chan School of Public Health 

Hospital Affiliation: Boston Children’s Hospital

Based in Boston, Massachusetts.
Services
Faculty & Staff
What’s New
Resources
PEHSU Region 1
EXAMPLE RESOURCE

Dr. Alan Woolf on Pediatric Environmental Health Radio

 

How does water quality affect children’s health? What’s important to know about water in schools, water in wells, and tap water?

Alan Woolf, MD, MPH, FAAP, FACMT, FAACT discusses water quality and children’s health in this episode of Pediatric Environmental Health Radio.

Water Quality & Children’s Health Podcast
Region 1

Specialties & comprehensive services

The Region 1 Pediatric Environmental Health Specialty Unit (PEHSU) provides comprehensive, coordinated services for children exposed to environmental toxins. Our pediatricians, medical toxicologists, and resource specialists address a wide range of concerns, including lead, arsenic, mercury, pesticides, and indoor air pollutants such as carbon monoxide. Find resources on our website here. 

Visit our website for more

Faculty & staff

Alan Woolf, MD, MPH, FAAP, FACMT, FAACT

Alan Woolf, MD, MPH, FAAP, FACMT, FAACT

Region 1 Co-Director, Harvard Medical School

Childhood Cancer & the Environment Champion

Chelsea Wadle

Patient Experience Representative

Diane Story, MPH

Data Analyst

Kim Manning, MA, CHES

Kim Manning, MA, CHES

Senior Program Coordinator

Margaret Guinan

Research Administration Manager

Marissa Hauptman, MD, MPH, FAAP

Marissa Hauptman, MD, MPH, FAAP

Region 1 Co-Director

Director, Boston Children’s Pediatric Environmental Health Center

Matthew Spence, MPH

Matthew Spence, MPH

Special Projects Educator

Rose Goldman, MD, MPH

Rose Goldman, MD, MPH

Associate Director Emeritus

Shalini H. Shah, DO, FAAP

Shalini H. Shah, DO, FAAP

Assistant Director

Alan Woolf, MD, MPH, FAAP, FACMT, FAACT

Alan Woolf, MD, MPH, FAAP, FACMT, FAACT

Region 1 Co-Director, Harvard Medical School

Dr. Alan Woolf is Co-Director of the Pediatric Environmental Health Center at Boston Children’s Hospital and its Pediatric Environmental Health Fellowship Training Program and Co-Director of the Region 1 New England Pediatric Environmental Health Specialty Unit. He is a Professor of Pediatrics at Harvard Medical School. Dr. Woolf is a past-president of both the American Academy of Clinical Toxicology (AACT) and the American Association of Poison Control Centers. In 2018, Dr. Woolf received the Career Achievement Award from the AACT. In 2019, he was named the Louis Roche Lecturer (its highest career award) by the European Association of Poisons Centers and Clinical Toxicologists. Dr. Woolf has published extensively on childhood poisonings, poisoning prevention and toxic reactions to heavy metals. He is the Medical Editor of two books: The Children’s Hospital Guide to Your Child’s Health and Development and most recently: The History of Modern Clinical Toxicology (Elsevier 2022). 

https://www.childrenshospital.org/directory/alan-woolf

Related Publications

Chelsea Wadle

Patient Experience Representative

Diane Story, MPH

Data Analyst

Related Publications

Kim Manning, MA, CHES

Kim Manning, MA, CHES

Senior Program Coordinator

Kimberly Manning, MA, CHES is the Senior Program Coordinator for the Region 1 PEHSU and the Pediatric Environmental Health Center at Boston Children’s Hospital. She is a health educator with expertise in community outreach, health literacy, program development, and health coaching.  

Margaret Guinan

Research Administration Manager
Marissa Hauptman, MD, MPH, FAAP

Marissa Hauptman, MD, MPH, FAAP

Region 1 Co-Director

Marissa Hauptman, MD, MPH, FAAP is a mother, practicing board-certified general pediatrician, environmental medicine physician-scientist, and co-director for the Boston Children’s Pediatric Environmental Health Center and the Region 1 New England Pediatric Environmental Health Specialty Unit. Each week, in addition to her general pediatrics practice, she provides multidisciplinary clinical care for children with lead poisoning, mold exposure, asthma and other environmentally-mediated disease processes. Her career is dedicated to mitigating environmental health challenges for pediatric and reproductive-aged populations through the intersection of public health and medicine. Her work particularly focuses on the importance of systematically integrating and leveraging geospatial and biological markers of environmental exposures and screening tools into pediatric medicine. She has an NIH/NIEHS K23 Career Development Award and recently became an inaugural Chief Medical Advisor to the Bureau of Climate and Environmental Health at the Massachusetts Department of Public Health.

Dr. Hauptman has leveraged her expertise as a physician-scientist in pediatric environmental medicine to make important clinical advances and innovations in the field of childhood lead poisoning and other environmental and climate justice issues. She has received numerous local, regional and national awards for her research and dedication to addressing environmental and climate injustices for pediatric populations. These accolades include the Boston Combined Residency Program Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Faculty Honor Roll (2022-23), the Rhode Island Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention Program Healthy Housing Award (2007), the American Academy of Pediatrics Section on Allergy and Immunology Outstanding Abstract Award (2016), the Academic Pediatric Association Fellow Research Award (2015) and the Academic Pediatric Association Michael Shannon Research Award (2017).

Related Publications

Matthew Spence, MPH

Matthew Spence, MPH

Special Projects Educator
Rose Goldman, MD, MPH

Rose Goldman, MD, MPH

Associate Director Emeritus

Related Publications

Shalini H. Shah, DO, FAAP

Shalini H. Shah, DO, FAAP

Assistant Director

Shalini H. Shah, DO is a practicing board-certified pediatrician, environmental medicine physician, and assistant director for the Boston Children’s Pediatric Environmental Health Center (PEHC) and Region I Pediatric Environmental Health Specialty Unit (PEHSU). She studied Biological Sciences at the University of Massachusetts Lowell and attending medical school at the University of New England College of Osteopathic Medicine. She completed her residency in pediatrics at the University of Massachusetts Medical School and her fellowship in pediatric and reproductive environmental health at Boston Children’s Hospital.

Dr. Shah provides clinical care in primary care pediatrics and environmental health clinic for patients with environmental exposures. She is passionate about the intersection of the environment and children’s health. Her research and academic efforts are aimed at bringing environmental health to the “bedside” via development of an environmental health screening tool that is integrated into clinical care to bolster referrals and resource utilization by families. This project was awarded the 2022 Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America New England (AAFANE) Medical Research Grant. Other projects she is working on include developing patient-facing materials on how extreme weather impacts health and sharing what families can do to prepare/adapt, as well as the development of a continuing education curriculum and quality improvement project to help pediatric providers integrate climate counseling into clinical care. Her work has been presented both regionally and nationally.

Related Publications

What’s new

Pediatric Environmental Health Radio Episode 6: Water Quality & Children’s Health

Featuring Dr. Alan Woolf How does water quality affect children’s health? What’s important to know about water in schools, water in wel…

07/06/2026
National PEHSURegion 1
Healthy Homes| Healthy Schools| Lead| Water Quality

Training Health Professionals Throughout the U.S. on the Health Effects of Eating Fish High in Mercury

Food SafetyWater Quality
Region 1
Families & CommunitiesHealth Professionals

Educating Families in Massachusetts About Contaminants in Well Water

Water Quality
Region 1
Families & CommunitiesHealth Professionals

Regional resources

What are microplastics?

Microplastics are small specks of plastic material that can measure smaller than a red blood cell. Microplastics are released when plastics are exp…

Region 1
Healthy Homes| Microplastics| Phthalates and Bisphenol A
healthy pregnancy

Prenatal Diet and Health: A Research Journey

Use passcode: 5^?bZV2m Dr. Emily Oken obtained her MD degree at Harvard Medical School, and then did residencies in both internal medicine and pedi…

Region 1
Food Safety| Reproductive Health

Mental Health & Extreme Weather

Weather-related disasters and forced migration have been linked to PTSD, depression, and anxiety. As children learn more about extreme weather, we …

Region 1
Extreme Weather

Sea Level Rise & Flooding

The sea level is rising more quickly due to increasing temperatures and precipitation. Sea level rise can cause flooding and pollute the water that…

Region 1
Extreme Weather

Infectious Disease

You may be at risk for diseases that are new to where you live. Climate change has been linked to the increasing geographic spread of Lyme disease,…

Region 1
Extreme Weather

Nutrition

As extreme weather impacts farming, changes in our ability to access healthy foods impacts how children grow and develop.

Region 1
Extreme Weather

Pediatric Environmental Health Radio Episode 1: Lead Exposure in Children

From the PEHSU National Program Office, Pediatric Environmental Health Radio highlights stories, best practices and community impacts shared by ped…

National PEHSURegion 1Region 5
Lead

Where I Live and Breathe: Reflections on How Home Environments Influence Health

Learn more about how home environments influence children’s health. Use the passcode: X3ls!n3R

Region 1
Healthy Homes

PCBs: A Legacy Pollutant

Learn more about PCBs (Polychlorinated Biphenyls) affect children’s health. Use the passcode: Bht2WN3%

Region 1
Healthy Homes| Water Quality

Childhood Cancer & the Environment Information from New England PEHSU

Region 1
Childhood Cancer

Happy, healthy, lead-free me!

Lead is a poison that harms nearly every part of a child’s body, especially the brain. Simple steps can help keep your child lead-safe.

Region 1
Healthy Homes| Lead

Kontan, an sante, epi mwensan plon!

Plon se yon pwazon ki nuizib pou prèske chak pati nan kò yon timoun, espesyalman sèvo a. Kèk etap senp kapab ede kenbe pitit ou san plon.

Region 1
Healthy Homes| Lead

Reducing Childhood Lead Exposures: Nutrition

This video is part of the Reducing Childhood Lead Exposures video series. This video focuses on nutrition and how well balanced meals can help redu…

Region 1
Food Safety| Healthy Homes| Lead

Reducing Childhood Lead Exposure: Leave Shoes at the Door

This video is part of the Reducing Childhood Lead Exposures video series. In this video, you will learn why it is important to leave shoes and dirt…

Region 1
Cleaning and Sanitizing| Healthy Homes| Lead

Reducing Childhood Lead Exposures: Wash Toys and Hands Frequently

This video is part of the Reducing Childhood Lead Exposures video series. In this video, you will learn about washing hands and toys frequently.

Region 1
Children's Toys| Cleaning and Sanitizing| Healthy Homes| Lead

Reducing Childhood Lead Exposures: Damp Mop and Dust

This video is part of the Reducing Childhood Lead Exposures video series. In this video, you will learn how to clean to reduce lead exposures.

Region 1
Healthy Homes| Lead

Reducing Childhood Lead Exposures: Peeling Paint

This video is part of the Reducing Childhood Lead Exposures video series. In this video, you will learn how to protect your home from peeling lead …

Region 1
Healthy Homes| Lead

Introduction to Reducing Childhood Lead Exposure

This video is part of the Reducing Childhood Lead Exposures video series. In this video, you will be learn how children are exposed to lead.

Region 1
Healthy Homes| Lead

Environmental Health Resources for School Nurses

Region 1
Healthy Schools

Magic in the Wild Coloring Book

A coloring book to encourage children to think about the interconnectedness of the world around them.

Region 1
Healthy Schools

Uranium in Your Water?

Learn about risk of exposure to uranium in your drinking water.

Region 1
Water Quality

TTHM in Your Water?

Learn more about total trihalomethanes (TTHM), a group of disinfection byproducts, and what happens when an excess amount is found in drinking wate…

Region 1
Water Quality

Perchlorate In Your Water?

Learn about how to protect yourself when there is Perchlorate in your water. Perchlorate is an industrial chemical found in rocket fuel, fireworks,…

Region 1
Water Quality
little kid on beach wearing hat

Heat-Related Illness

Region 1
Extreme Weather
Water faucet and child's hand

Lead in Consumer Products: Insights from New York City and Massachusetts

Boston Children’s Hospital and the New England Region One Pediatric Environmental Health Specialty Unit are offering a monthly online Grand R…

Region 1
Lead
Poly- and Perfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS) – Emerging Pollutants in New England A White Paper

Poly- and Perfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS) – Emerging Pollutants in New England A White Paper

Poly- and perfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are a group of manmade chemicals in production since the 1940s. They impart temperature resistance, fric…

Region 1
PFAS
PFAS and health factsheet

PFAS and health factsheet

Protecting yourself, your family, and your community from exposure to perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances.

Region 1
Food Safety| PFAS| Water Quality
PFAS Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

PFAS Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Learn more about per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances & how to stay safe from possible contamination.

Region 1
PFAS
PFAS Drinking Water Standards in New England

PFAS Drinking Water Standards in New England

View a visual of PFAS drinking water standards in New England.

Region 1
PFAS| Water Quality
Keeping PFAS Off Your Plate

Keeping PFAS Off Your Plate

PFAS are a category of chemicals that are harmful to human health. We can come into contact with PFAS through our diets. Learn more about the steps…

Region 1
Food Safety| PFAS
Pests in Your Home

Pests in Your Home

Do you have cockroaches, mice, rats, ants, bedbugs or other pests in your home? Dust or droppings from these indoor pests can worsen allergies, ast…

Region 1
Pesticides & Pests
Tips for a Healthy Home Humidity in the home

Tips for a Healthy Home Humidity in the home

Humidity is the amount of water or moisture in the air. It can affect your child’s health in many ways, especially if they have asthma or allergies.

Region 1
Mold
Mold in Your Home

Mold in Your Home

Mold is a fungus that grows in areas where there is water, dampness or high humidity. It can cause a musty and sour smell. Mold may be found in bat…

Region 1
Healthy Homes| Mold
Climate Rx on Extreme Weather in ENGLISH

Extreme Weather Information

Extreme weather events are a health risk for child safety, physical and emotional health. View the full resource by clicking on View Resource to th…

Region 1
Extreme Weather
City in Massachussets

LeadRx for Massachusetts (Haitian Creole)

Resous Edikasyon Adapte pou Redui Ekspozisyon Plon ak Swen pou Timoun, Moun Ansent ak Fanmi Edisyon Massachusetts (Kreyòl Ayisyen)

Region 1
Lead
City in Massachussets

LeadRx for Massachusetts (English)

Tailored Educational Resources to Reduce Lead Exposure and Care for Children, Pregnant Individuals and Families Massachusetts Edition (English)

Region 1
Lead
Kids at home.

Air Quality & Allergens in Your Home

Poor air quality impacts our health. Children and people with medicalconditions that affect breathing, like asthma, are at a higher risk.Depending …

Region 1
Air Quality
Plastic toys at the beach

Plastics and Children’s Health

This Grand Rounds explores children’s heightened vulnerability to plastics throughout their lifecycle; examines the clinical and mechanistic impact…

Region 1
Healthy Homes| Microplastics| PFAS| Phthalates and Bisphenol A
Water faucet and child's hand

Drinking Water from Private Wells: Risks, Barriers, and Environmental Challenge

Learn about health concerns related to private wells– use passcode: PXf8HZk& to view this Grand Rounds recording from PEHSU Region 1 for …

Region 1
Water Quality

Asthma & Allergens

Climate change creates longer, stronger pollen seasons, which can trigger asthma and make it harder to breathe. Extreme temperatures caused by clim…

Region 1
Air Quality

Programs

Boston Children's Hospital Screening Program: HHOMES (for "Healthy Homes")
HHOMES (for “Healthy Homes”) is a mnemonic from our piloted environmental screening program. We ask patients and families about different environmental factors and hazards that can affect children’s health prior to their visit.
Visit the Program Website
Learning Opportunities: Grand Rounds
Learn more