James A. VanDerslice

James A. VanDerslice, PhD

Languages spoken: English

Academic Information

Departments Primary - Family & Preventive Medicine

Divisions: Public Health

Jim VanDerslice, PhD is a Professor and Division Chief of the Division of Public Health in the Department of Family and Preventive Medicine where he holds the TFH Morton Endowed Chair He is a member of the Cancer Control and Population Sciences Program at the Huntsman Cancer Institute, and a Faculty Affiliate in the Population and Pedigree Resource, Utah Population Database. He earned his doctoral and master degrees in Environmental Sciences and Engineering at the School of Public Health, University of North Carolina – Chapel Hill, followed by post-doctoral study at the Carolina Population Center at the same institution.

His research focuses on the development and transmission of antimicrobial resistant organisms in the environment, and exposure ascertainment methods for large retrospective studies using spatial methods. He teaches graduate courses in data collection, data management and analysis and environmental health.

Prior to arriving at the University of Utah he served as the Senior Environmental Epidemiologist at the Washington State Department of Health, and as an Assistant Professor and Program Director with the El Paso Campus MPH program for the University of Texas – Houston, School of Public Health.

Research Statement

James VanDerslice, MSEE, PhD, is an environmental epidemiologist who focuses on methods to assess community exposures and the relationships between these exposures and a wide variety of health outcomes. He is currently working on studies of the impacts of poor ambient air quality on suicide, pneumonia, sperm quality, carcinoid and testicular cancer and pre-term birth. Dr. VanDerslice also has a long-standing interest in the impacts of poor drinking water quality, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) in low-resource settings and the engineering, social and economic systems needed for sustainable improvements in WASH. His current research focuses on the spread of antimicrobial-resistant enteric organisms from human and animals’ wastes to human populations.

Education History

Undergraduate Humboldt State University
 BSEE
Graduate Training University of North Carolina, School of Public Health
 MSEE
Doctoral Training University of North Carolina, School of Public Health
 PhD
Postdoctoral Fellowship University of North Carolina
 Postdoctoral Fellow

Selected Publications

Journal Article

  1. Richards-Steed R, Wan N, Bakian A, Medina RM, Brewer SC, Smith KR, VanDerslice J (2024). Observational methods for human studies of transgenerational effects. Epigenetics, 19(1), 2366065.
  2. Grineski SE, Renteria RA, Collins TW, Bakian AV, Bilder D, VanDerslice JA, Fraser A, Gomez J, Ramos K (2024). PM(2.5) threshold exceedances during the prenatal period and risk of intellectual disability. Journal of exposure science & environmental epidemiology, 34(5), 861-867.
  3. Gatzke-Kopp LM, Willoughby M, Kress AM, McArthur K, Wychgram C, Folch DC, Brunswasser S, Dabelea D, Elliott AJ, Hartert T, Karagas M, McEvoy CT, VanDerslice JA, Wright RO, Wright R (2024). Airborne Lead Exposure and Childhood Cognition: The Environmental Influences on Child Health Outcomes (ECHO) Cohort (2003-2022). American journal of public health, 114(3), 309-318.
  4. Ramsay JM, Fendereski K, Horns JJ, VanDerslice JA, Hanson HA, Emery BR, Halpern JA, Aston KI, Ferlic E, Hotaling J (2023). Environmental exposure to industrial air pollution is associated with decreased male fertility. Fertility and sterility, 120(3 Pt 2), 637-647.
  5. Newman MG, Porucznik CA, Date AP, Abdelrahman S, Schliep KC, VanDerslice JA, Smith KR, Hanson H (2023). Generating Older Adult Multimorbidity Trajectories Using Various Comorbidity Indices and Calculation Methods. Innovation in aging, 7(3), igad023.
  6. Bakian AV, Chen D, Zhang C, Hanson HA, Docherty AR, Keeshin B, Gray D, Smith KR, VanDerslice JA, Yu DZ, Zhang Y, Coon (2023). A population-wide analysis of the familial risk of suicide in Utah, USA. Psychological medicine, 53(4), 1448-1457.
  7. Ou JY, Ramsay JM, Lee G, VanDerslice JA, Taddie M, Kirchhoff AC, Divver E, Akerley W, Kepka D, Hanson H (2023). Patterns of indoor radon concentrations, radon-hazard potential, and radon testing on a small geographic scale in Utah. Journal of environmental radioactivity, 256, 107046.
  8. Apanga PA, Ahmed J, Tanner W, Starcevich K, VanDerslice JA, Rehman U, Channa N, Benson S, Garn J (2022). Carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae in sink drains of 40 healthcare facilities in Sindh, Pakistan: A cross-sectional study. PloS one, 17(2), e0263297.
  9. Keating EM, Robison JA, Chiume M, Taddie M, VanDerslice JA, Benson LS, Fitzgerald E, Crouse HL, Eckerle MD, Ciccone EJ, Porucznik C (2021). Relationship between distance of referring facilities and haemoglobin change in children in Malawi. Paediatrics and international child health, 41(4), 253-261.
  10. Henry TD, Porucznik CA, Honda TJ, VanDerslice JA, Blackburn BE, Cox KJ, Carrell D (2021). Differential impacts of particulate air pollution exposure on early and late stages of spermatogenesis. Ecotoxicology and environmental safety, 220, 112419.
  11. Koric A, Singh B, VanDerslice JA, Stanford JB, Rogers CR, Egan DT, Agyemang DO, Schliep (2021). Polycystic ovary syndrome and postpartum depression symptoms: a population-based cohort study. American journal of obstetrics and gynecology, 224(6), 591.e1-591.e12.
  12. Knighton AJ, Savitz LA, Benuzillo J, VanDerslice J (2018). It takes a village: Exploring the impact of social determinants on delivery system outcomes for heart failure patients. Healthcare (Amsterdam, Netherlands), 6(2), 112-116.
  13. Laflamme DM, Vanderslice J (2004). Using the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) for exposure tracking: experiences from Washington State. Environmental health perspectives, 112(14), 1428-33.
  14. Leiser CL, Smith KR, VanDerslice JA, Glotzbach JP, Farrell TW, Hanson H (2019). Evaluation of the Sex-and-Age-Specific Effects of PM(2.5) on Hospital Readmission in the Presence of the Competing Risk of Mortality in the Medicare Population of Utah 1999-2009. Journal of clinical medicine, 8(12),
  15. Qeadan F, Honda T, Gren LH, Dailey-Provost J, Benson LS, VanDerslice JA, Porucznik CA, Waters AB, Lacey S, Shoaf (2020). Naive Forecast for COVID-19 in Utah Based on the South Korea and Italy Models-the Fluctuation between Two Extremes. International journal of environmental research and public health, 17(8),
  16. Leiser CL, Taddie M, Hemmert R, Richards Steed R, VanDerslice JA, Henry K, Ambrose J, O'Neil B, Smith KR, Hanson H (2020). Spatial clusters of cancer incidence: analyzing 1940 census data linked to 1966-2017 cancer records. Cancer causes & control, 31(7), 609-615.
  17. Honda T, Henry T, VanDerslice J, Porucznik CA, Corlin L, Gilani O, Kirwa K, Lazaro-Guevara JM, Pezzolesi M (2025). Ambient particulate air pollution is associated with higher risk of microvascular complications and diabetic ketoacidosis among persons with type 1 diabetes mellitus in an observational survival study. Diabetes research and clinical practice, 230, 112983.
  18. Dominguez T, Pettit L, Garner C, Yamamoto DP, VanDerslice JA, Handy RG, Gren LH, Sleeth D (2025). Evaluating United States Air Force hearing conservation educational materials for compliance, readability, understandability, and actionability. Journal of occupational and environmental hygiene, 22(11), 1-14.
  19. Ou JY, Ramsay JM, Kaddas HK, VanDerslice JA, O'Neil B, García SM, Horne BD, Hanson H, Kirchhoff A (2025). Air Pollution and Cardiovascular Risks in Testicular Cancer Survivors: An Exploratory Case-Crossover Study. Journal of adolescent and young adult oncology,
  20. Grineski SE, Ramos K, Renteria R, Collins TW, VanDerslice J, Bilder D, Bakian (2025). Multigenerational exposures to polluting industries and developmental disabilities. The Science of the total environment, 989, 179888.
  21. Tajammul A, Benson S, Ahmed J, VanDerslice J, Tanner W (2025). Detection of Salmonella Typhi and blaCTX-M genes in drinking water, wastewater, and environmental biofilms in Sindh Province, Pakistan. PLoS neglected tropical diseases, 19(4), e0012963.
  22. Tanner Q, Chang CP, Curtin K, VanDerslice J, Gren L, Deshmukh V, Newman M, Date A, Dodson M, Henry NL, Hashibe (2024). Mammography Among Women Residing in Urban Versus Rural Utah: Breast Cancer Survival. Cancer medicine, 13(24), e70505.
  23. Grineski SE, Renteria R, Bakian A, Collins TW, VanDerslice J, Alexander CJ, Bilder (2024). Prenatal ozone exposure and risk of intellectual disability. Journal of exposure science & environmental epidemiology,
  24. Richards Steed R, Bakian AV, Smith KR, Wan N, Brewer S, Medina R, VanDerslice (2022). Evidence of transgenerational effects on autism spectrum disorder using multigenerational space-time cluster detection. International journal of health geographics, 21(1), 13.
  25. Seage M, Petersen M, Carlson M, VanDerslice J, Stanford J, Schliep (2022). What Role Does Hispanic/Latina Ethnicity Play in the Relationship Between Maternal Mental Health and Preterm Birth?. The Utah women's health review, 6,
  26. Grineski S, Alexander C, Renteria R, Collins TW, Bilder D, VanDerslice J, Bakian (2023). Trimester-specific ambient PM(2.5) exposures and risk of intellectual disability in Utah. Environmental research, 218, 115009.
  27. Ahmed J, Wong LP, Chua YP, Channa N, Memon UU, Garn JV, Yasmin A, VanDerslice J (2021). Heavy metals drinking water contamination and health risk assessment among primary school children of Pakistan. Journal of environmental science and health. Part A, Toxic/hazardous substances & environmental engineering, 56(6), 667-679.
  28. McCullough ML, Wan N, Pezzolesi MG, Collins TW, Grineski SE, Wei YD, Lazaro-Guevara J, Frodsham SG, Vanderslice JA, Holmen JR, Srinivas TR, Clements S (2021). Type 1 Diabetes incidence among youth in Utah: A geographical analysis. Social science & medicine (1982), 278, 113952.
  29. Pinto NM, LuAnn Minich L, Yoo M, Floyd A, Wilkes J, VanDerslice J, Yamauchi M, Nelson (2021). Influence of Geographic Access on Surgical Center Readmissions After Index Congenital Heart Surgery. The Journal of pediatrics, 234, 195-204.e3.
  30. Weidhaas J, Aanderud ZT, Roper DK, VanDerslice J, Gaddis EB, Ostermiller J, Hoffman K, Jamal R, Heck P, Zhang Y, Torgersen K, Laan JV, LaCross (2021). Correlation of SARS-CoV-2 RNA in wastewater with COVID-19 disease burden in sewersheds. The Science of the total environment, 775, 145790.
  31. Nagelhout ES, Lensink R, Zhu A, Parsons BG, Haaland B, Hashibe M, Grossman D, VanDerslice J, Gren LH, Jensen JD, Wu Y (2021). Higher Ultraviolet Radiation Exposure Among Rural-Dwelling Versus Urban-Dwelling Adults and Children: Implications for Skin Cancer Prevention. Journal of community health, 46(1), 147-155.
  32. Thornton CN, Tanner WD, VanDerslice JA, Brazelton W (2020). Localized effect of treated wastewater effluent on the resistome of an urban watershed. GigaScience, 9(11),
  33. Bliss JC, Mensah NA, Rogers CR, Stanford JB, VanDerslice J, Schliep K (2020). The Baby-Friendly Hospital Initiative (BFHI): An Early Cross-Sectional Analysis of PRAMS Phase 8 Data on Hospital Practices and Breastfeeding Outcomes in Utah and Wyoming. The Utah women's health review, 2020,
  34. Hu Q, Lee J, Nelson J, Harris M, Ess RH, Rogers CR, Sanders J, VanDerslice J, Stanford JB, Schliep K (2020). The association between preconception body mass index and subfertility among Hispanic and non-Hispanic women: A cross-sectional study from Utah's Pregnancy Risk Assessment Monitoring System survey (2012-2015). The Utah women's health review, 2020,
  35. Ou JY, Hanson HA, Ramsay JM, Kaddas HK, Pope CA 3rd, Leiser CL, VanDerslice J, Kirchhoff A (2020). Fine Particulate Matter Air Pollution and Mortality among Pediatric, Adolescent, and Young Adult Cancer Patients. Cancer epidemiology, biomarkers & prevention, 29(10), 1929-1939.
  36. VanDerslice J, Taddie MC, Curtin K, Miller C, Yu Z, Hemmert R, Cannon-Albright LA, Neklason D (2020). Early life exposures associated with risk of small intestinal neuroendocrine tumors. PloS one, 15(4), e0231991.
  37. Ahmed J, Wong LP, Chua YP, Channa N, Mahar RB, Yasmin A, VanDerslice JA, Garn J (2020). Quantitative Microbial Risk Assessment of Drinking Water Quality to Predict the Risk of Waterborne Diseases in Primary-School Children. International journal of environmental research and public health, 17(8),
  38. Curtin K, Cannon-Albright LA, VanDerslice J, Yu Z, Herget KA, Thota R, Neklason D (2019). Associations of Tobacco and Alcohol Use with Risk of Neuroendocrine Tumors of the Small Intestine in Utah. Cancer epidemiology, biomarkers & prevention, 28(12), 1998-2004.
  39. Ou JY, Hanson HA, Ramsay JM, Leiser CL, Zhang Y, VanDerslice JA, Pope CA 3rd, Kirchhoff A (2019). Fine Particulate Matter and Respiratory Healthcare Encounters among Survivors of Childhood Cancers. International journal of environmental research and public health, 16(6),
  40. Tanner WD, VanDerslice JA, Goel RK, Leecaster MK, Fisher MA, Olstadt J, Gurley CM, Morris AG, Seely KA, Chapman L, Korando M, Shabazz KA, Stadsholt A, VanDeVelde J, Braun-Howland E, Minihane C, Higgins PJ, Deras M, Jaber O, Jette D, Gundlapalli A (2019). Multi-state study of Enterobacteriaceae harboring extended-spectrum beta-lactamase and carbapenemase genes in U.S. drinking water. Scientific reports, 9(1), 3938.
  41. Leiser CL, Hanson HA, Sawyer K, Steenblik J, Al-Dulaimi R, Madsen T, Gibbins K, Hotaling JM, Ibrahim YO, VanDerslice JA, Fuller (2019). Acute effects of air pollutants on spontaneous pregnancy loss: a case-crossover study. Fertility and sterility, 111(2), 341-347.
  42. Nguyen QC, Brunisholz KD, Yu W, McCullough M, Hanson HA, Litchman ML, Li F, Wan Y, VanDerslice JA, Wen M, Smith K (2017). Twitter-derived neighborhood characteristics associated with obesity and diabetes. Scientific reports, 7(1), 16425.
  43. Malecki KMC, Schultz AA, Severtson DJ, Anderson HA, VanDerslice J (2017). Private-well stewardship among a general population based sample of private well-owners. The Science of the total environment, 601-602, 1533-1543.
  44. Tanner WD, Atkinson RM, Goel RK, Toleman MA, Benson LS, Porucznik CA, VanDerslice J (2017). Horizontal transfer of the blaNDM-1 gene to Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Acinetobacter baumannii in biofilms. FEMS microbiology letters, 364(8),
  45. Knighton AJ, Savitz L, Belnap T, Stephenson B, VanDerslice (2016). Introduction of an Area Deprivation Index Measuring Patient Socioeconomic Status in an Integrated Health System: Implications for Population Health. EGEMS (Washington, DC), 4(3), 1238.
  46. Nguyen QC, Kath S, Meng HW, Li D, Smith KR, VanDerslice JA, Wen M, Li (2016). Leveraging geotagged Twitter data to examine neighborhood happiness, diet, and physical activity. Applied geography (Sevenoaks, England), 73, 77-88.
  47. Hashibe M, Abdelaziz S, Al-Temimi M, Fraser A, Boucher KM, Smith K, Lee YA, Rowe K, Rowley B, Daurelle M, Holton AE, VanDerslice J, Richiardi L, Bishoff J, Lowrance W, Stroup (2016). Long-term health effects among testicular cancer survivors. Journal of cancer survivorship, 10(6), 1051-1057.
  48. Frederick L, VanDerslice J, Taddie M, Malecki K, Gregg J, Faust N, Johnson W (2016). Contrasting regional and national mechanisms for predicting elevated arsenic in private wells across the United States using classification and regression trees. Water research, 91, 295-304.
  49. Neklason DW, VanDerslice J, Curtin K, Cannon-Albright L (2016). Evidence for a heritable contribution to neuroendocrine tumors of the small intestine. Endocrine-related cancer, 23(2), 93-100.
  50. Waters AB, VanDerslice J, Porucznik C, Kim J, Durrant L, DeLegge (2015). The effect of follow-up inspections on critical violations identified during restaurant inspections. Journal of environmental health, 77(10), 8-12.
  51. Tanner WD, VanDerslice JA, Toor D, Benson LS, Porucznik CA, Goel RK, Atkinson R (2015). Development and field evaluation of a method for detecting carbapenem-resistant bacteria in drinking water. Systematic and applied microbiology, 38(5), 351-7.
  52. Manortey S, Alder S, Crookston B, Dickerson T, VanDerslice J, Benson (2014). Social Deterministic Factors to Participation in the National Health Insurance Scheme in the Context of Rural Ghanaian Setting. Journal of public health in Africa, 5(1), 352.
  53. Manortey S, VanDerslice J, Alder S, Henry KA, Crookston B, Dickerson T, Benson (2014). Spatial Analysis of Factors Associated with Household Subscription to the National Health Insurance Scheme in Rural Ghana. Journal of public health in Africa, 5(1), 353.
  54. Waters AB, VanDerslice J, Porucznik CA, Kim J, DeLegge R, Durrant (2013). Examination of the association between announced inspections and inspection scores. Journal of environmental health, 76(2), 8-12.
  55. Waters AB, VanDerslice J, Porucznik CA, Kim J, DeLegge R, Durrant (2013). Impact of internet posting of restaurant inspection scores on critical violations. Journal of environmental health, 75(10), 8-12.
  56. Schliep KC, Schisterman EF, Mumford SL, Perkins NJ, Ye A, Pollack AZ, Zhang C, Porucznik CA, VanDerslice JA, Stanford JB, Wactawski-Wende (2013). Validation of different instruments for caffeine measurement among premenopausal women in the BioCycle study. American journal of epidemiology, 177(7), 690-9.
  57. Arnold M, VanDerslice JA, Taylor B, Benson S, Allen S, Johnson M, Kiefer J, Boakye I, Arhinn B, Crookston BT, Ansong (2013). Drinking water quality and source reliability in rural Ashanti region, Ghana. Journal of water and health, 11(1), 161-72.
  58. Stone MB, Stanford JB, Lyon JL, VanDerslice JA, Alder S (2013). Childhood thyroid radioiodine exposure and subsequent infertility in the intermountain fallout cohort. Environmental health perspectives, 121(1), 79-84.
  59. Redlinger T, O'Rourke K, VanDerslice (1997). Hepatitis A among schoolchildren in a US-Mexico border community. American journal of public health, 87(10), 1715-7.
  60. Adair L, Popkin BM, VanDerslice J, Akin J, Guilkey D, Black R, Briscoe J, Flieger (1993). Growth dynamics during the first two years of life: a prospective study in the Philippines. European journal of clinical nutrition, 47(1), 42-51.
  61. Baltazar J, Briscoe J, Mesola V, Moe C, Solon F, Vanderslice J, Young (1988). Can the case-control method be used to assess the impact of water supply and sanitation on diarrhoea? A study in the Philippines. Bulletin of the World Health Organization, 66(5), 627-35.
  62. Pirozzi CS, Jones BE, VanDerslice JA, Zhang Y, Paine R 3rd, Dean N (2018). Short-Term Air Pollution and Incident Pneumonia. A Case-Crossover Study. Annals of the American Thoracic Society, 15(4), 449-459.

Conference Proceedings

  1. Laflamme DM, VanDerslice J (2004). Using the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) for exposure tracking: experiences from Washington State. Environmental health perspectives, 112(14), 1428-33.

Editorial

  1. Bakian AV, VanDerslice J (2019). Pesticides and autism. BMJ (Clinical research ed.), 364, l1149.

Letter

  1. Tanner WD, Atkinson RM, Goel RK, Porucznik CA, Benson LS, VanDerslice J (2015). Effect of Meropenem Concentration on the Detection of Low Numbers of Carbapenem-Resistant Enterobacteriaceae. Antimicrobial agents and chemotherapy, 60(1), 712-3.