James A. VanDerslice

James A. VanDerslice, PhD

Languages spoken: English

Academic Information

Departments Primary - Family & Preventive Medicine

Divisions: Public Health

Research Interests

  • Exposure Assessment Using GIS and Environmental Modeling
  • Historical Exposure Characterization
  • Improving Water and Sanitation Interventions
  • Transmission of Antibiotic Resistant Organisms in the Environment
  • Statistical Analysis of Environmental Data
  • Drinking Water Quality

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

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

Selected Publications

Journal Article

  1. Honda T, Henry T, VanDerslice J, Porucznik CA, Corlin L, Gilani O, Kirwa K, Lazaro-Guevara JM, Pezzolesi MG (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 Res Clin Pract, 230, 112983. (Read full article)
  2. Dominguez T, Pettit L, Garner C, Yamamoto DP, VanDerslice JA, Handy RG, Gren LH, Sleeth DK (2025). Evaluating United States Air Force hearing conservation educational materials for compliance, readability, understandability, and actionability. J Occup Environ Hyg, 1-14. (Read full article)
  3. Grineski SE, Ramos K, Renteria R, Collins TW, VanDerslice J, Bilder D, Bakian A (2025). Multigenerational exposures to polluting industries and developmental disabilities. Sci Total Environ, 989, 179888. (Read full article)
  4. Ou JY, Ramsay JM, Kaddas HK, VanDerslice JA, ONeil B, Garca SM, Horne BD, Hanson H, Kirchhoff AC (2025). Air Pollution and Cardiovascular Risks in Testicular Cancer Survivors: An Exploratory Case-Crossover Study. J Adolesc Young Adult Oncol. (Read full article)
  5. Tajammul A, Benson S, Ahmed J, VanDerslice J, Tanner WD (2025). Detection of Salmonella Typhi and blaCTX-M genes in drinking water, wastewater, and environmental biofilms in Sindh Province, Pakistan. PLoS Negl Trop Dis, 19(4), e0012963. (Read full article)
  6. Richards-Steed R, Wan N, Bakian A, Medina RM, Brewer SC, Smith KR, VanDerslice JA (2024). Observational methods for human studies of transgenerational effects. Epigenetics, 19(1), 2366065. (Read full article)
  7. Tanner Q, Chang CP, Curtin K, VanDerslice J, Gren L, Deshmukh V, Newman M, Date A, Dodson M, Henry NL, Hashibe M (2024). Mammography Among Women Residing in Urban Versus Rural Utah: Breast Cancer Survival. Cancer Med, 13(24), e70505. (Read full article)
  8. Grineski SE, Renteria R, Bakian A, Collins TW, VanDerslice J, Alexander CJ, Bilder D (2024). Prenatal ozone exposure and risk of intellectual disability. J Expo Sci Environ Epidemiol. (Read full article)
  9. Grineski SE, Renteria RA, Collins TW, Bakian AV, Bilder D, VanDerslice JA, Fraser A, Gomez J, Ramos KD (2024). PM(2.5) threshold exceedances during the prenatal period and risk of intellectual disability. J Expo Sci Environ Epidemiol, 34(5), 861-867. (Read full article)
  10. 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 RJ (2025). Airborne Lead Exposure and Childhood Cognition: The Environmental Influences on Child Health Outcomes (ECHO) Cohort (2003-2022). Am J Public Health, 114(3), 309-318. (Read full article)
  11. Ramsay JM, Fendereski K, Horns JJ, VanDerslice JA, Hanson HA, Emery BR, Halpern JA, Aston KI, Ferlic E, Hotaling JM (2023). Environmental exposure to industrial air pollution is associated with decreased male fertility. Fertil Steril, 120(3 Pt 2), 637-647. (Read full article)
  12. Newman MG, Porucznik CA, Date AP, Abdelrahman S, Schliep KC, VanDerslice JA, Smith KR, Hanson HA (2023). Generating Older Adult Multimorbidity Trajectories Using Various Comorbidity Indices and Calculation Methods. Innov Aging, 7(3), igad023. (Read full article)
  13. Bakian AV, Chen D, Zhang C, Hanson HA, Docherty AR, Keeshin B, Gray D, Smith KR, VanDerslice JA, Yu DZ, Zhang Y, Coon H (2021). A population-wide analysis of the familial risk of suicide in Utah, USA. Psychol Med, 53(4), 1448-1457. (Read full article)
  14. Grineski S, Alexander C, Renteria R, Collins TW, Bilder D, VanDerslice J, Bakian A (2022). Trimester-specific ambient PM(2.5) exposures and risk of intellectual disability in Utah. Environ Res, 218, 115009. (Read full article)
  15. Ou JY, Ramsay JM, Lee G, VanDerslice JA, Taddie M, Kirchhoff AC, Divver E, Akerley W, Kepka D, Hanson HA (2022). Patterns of indoor radon concentrations, radon-hazard potential, and radon testing on a small geographic scale in Utah. J Environ Radioact, 256, 107046. (Read full article)
  16. Richards Steed R, Bakian AV, Smith KR, Wan N, Brewer S, Medina R, VanDerslice J (2022). Evidence of transgenerational effects on autism spectrum disorder using multigenerational space-time cluster detection. Int J Health Geogr, 21(1), 13. (Read full article)
  17. Apanga PA, Ahmed J, Tanner W, Starcevich K, VanDerslice JA, Rehman U, Channa N, Benson S, Garn JV (2022). Carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae in sink drains of 40 healthcare facilities in Sindh, Pakistan: A cross-sectional study. PLoS One, 17(2), e0263297. (Read full article)
  18. Seage M, Petersen M, Carlson M, VanDerslice J, Stanford J, Schliep K (2022). What Role Does Hispanic/Latina Ethnicity Play in the Relationship Between Maternal Mental Health and Preterm Birth? Utah Womens Health Rev, 6. (Read full article)
  19. Keating EM, Robison JA, Chiume M, Taddie M, VanDerslice JA, Benson LS, Fitzgerald E, Crouse HL, Eckerle MD, Ciccone EJ, Porucznik CA (2022). Relationship between distance of referring facilities and haemoglobin change in children in Malawi. Paediatr Int Child Health, 41(4), 253-261. (Read full article)
  20. Henry TD, Porucznik CA, Honda TJ, VanDerslice JA, Blackburn BE, Cox KJ, Carrell DT (2021). Differential impacts of particulate air pollution exposure on early and late stages of spermatogenesis. Ecotoxicol Environ Saf, 220, 112419. (Read full article)
  21. Pinto NM, LuAnn Minich L, Yoo M, Floyd A, Wilkes J, VanDerslice J, Yamauchi M, Nelson R (2021). Influence of Geographic Access on Surgical Center Readmissions After Index Congenital Heart Surgery. J Pediatr, 234, 195-204.e3. (Read full article)
  22. 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 N (2021). Correlation of SARS-CoV-2 RNA in wastewater with COVID-19 disease burden in sewersheds. Sci Total Environ, 775, 145790. (Read full article)
  23. McCullough ML, Wan N, Pezzolesi MG, Collins TW, Grineski SE, Wei YD, Lazaro-Guevara J, Frodsham SG, Vanderslice JA, Holmen JR, Srinivas TR, Clements SA (2021). Type 1 Diabetes incidence among youth in Utah: A geographical analysis. Soc Sci Med, 278, 113952. (Read full article)
  24. Koric A, Singh B, VanDerslice JA, Stanford JB, Rogers CR, Egan DT, Agyemang DO, Schliep K (2021). Polycystic ovary syndrome and postpartum depression symptoms: a population-based cohort study. Am J Obstet Gynecol, 224(6), 591.e1-591.e12. (Read full article)
  25. Nagelhout ES, Lensink R, Zhu A, Parsons BG, Haaland B, Hashibe M, Grossman D, VanDerslice J, Gren LH, Jensen JD, Wu YP (2020). Higher Ultraviolet Radiation Exposure Among Rural-Dwelling Versus Urban-Dwelling Adults and Children: Implications for Skin Cancer Prevention. J Community Health, 46(1), 147-155. (Read full article)
  26. Ahmed J, Wong LP, Chua YP, Channa N, Memon UU, Garn JV, Yasmin A, VanDerslice JA (2021). Heavy metals drinking water contamination and health risk assessment among primary school children of Pakistan. J Environ Sci Health A Tox Hazard Subst Environ Eng, 56(6), 667-679. (Read full article)
  27. Thornton CN, Tanner WD, VanDerslice JA, Brazelton WJ (2020). Localized effect of treated wastewater effluent on the resistome of an urban watershed. Gigascience, 9(11). (Read full article)
  28. Ou JY, Hanson HA, Ramsay JM, Kaddas HK, Pope CA 3rd, Leiser CL, VanDerslice J, Kirchhoff AC (2020). Fine Particulate Matter Air Pollution and Mortality among Pediatric, Adolescent, and Young Adult Cancer Patients. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev, 29(10), 1929-1939. (Read full article)
  29. Leiser CL, Taddie M, Hemmert R, Richards Steed R, VanDerslice JA, Henry K, Ambrose J, ONeil B, Smith KR, Hanson HA (2020). Spatial clusters of cancer incidence: analyzing 1940 census data linked to 1966-2017 cancer records. Cancer Causes Control, 31(7), 609-615. (Read full article)
  30. VanDerslice J, Taddie MC, Curtin K, Miller C, Yu Z, Hemmert R, Cannon-Albright LA, Neklason DW (2020). Early life exposures associated with risk of small intestinal neuroendocrine tumors. PLoS One, 15(4), e0231991. (Read full article)
  31. Ahmed J, Wong LP, Chua YP, Channa N, Mahar RB, Yasmin A, VanDerslice JA, Garn JV (2020). Quantitative Microbial Risk Assessment of Drinking Water Quality to Predict the Risk of Waterborne Diseases in Primary-School Children. Int J Environ Res Public Health, 17(8). (Read full article)
  32. Qeadan F, Honda T, Gren LH, Dailey-Provost J, Benson LS, VanDerslice JA, Porucznik CA, Waters AB, Lacey S, Shoaf K (2020). Naive Forecast for COVID-19 in Utah Based on the South Korea and Italy Models-the Fluctuation between Two Extremes. Int J Environ Res Public Health, 17(8). (Read full article)
  33. Hu Q, Lee J, Nelson J, Harris M, Ess RH, Rogers CR, Sanders J, VanDerslice J, Stanford JB, Schliep KC (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). Utah Womens Health Rev, 2020. (Read full article)
  34. Bliss JC, Mensah NA, Rogers CR, Stanford JB, VanDerslice J, Schliep KC (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. Utah Womens Health Rev, 2020. (Read full article)
  35. Leiser CL, Smith KR, VanDerslice JA, Glotzbach JP, Farrell TW, Hanson HA (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. J Clin Med, 8(12). (Read full article)
  36. Curtin K, Cannon-Albright LA, VanDerslice J, Yu Z, Herget KA, Thota R, Neklason DW (2019). Associations of Tobacco and Alcohol Use with Risk of Neuroendocrine Tumors of the Small Intestine in Utah. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev, 28(12), 1998-2004. (Read full article)
  37. Ou JY, Hanson HA, Ramsay JM, Leiser CL, Zhang Y, VanDerslice JA, Pope CA 3rd, Kirchhoff AC (2019). Fine Particulate Matter and Respiratory Healthcare Encounters among Survivors of Childhood Cancers. Int J Environ Res Public Health, 16(6). (Read full article)
  38. 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 AV (2019). Multi-state study of Enterobacteriaceae harboring extended-spectrum beta-lactamase and carbapenemase genes in U.S. drinking water. Sci Rep, 9(1), 3938. (Read full article)
  39. Leiser CL, Hanson HA, Sawyer K, Steenblik J, Al-Dulaimi R, Madsen T, Gibbins K, Hotaling JM, Ibrahim YO, VanDerslice JA, Fuller M (2018). Acute effects of air pollutants on spontaneous pregnancy loss: a case-crossover study. Fertil Steril, 111(2), 341-347. (Read full article)
  40. Knighton AJ, Savitz LA, Benuzillo J, VanDerslice JA (2017). It takes a village: Exploring the impact of social determinants on delivery system outcomes for heart failure patients. Healthc (Amst), 6(2), 112-116. (Read full article)
  41. Pirozzi CS, Jones BE, VanDerslice JA, Zhang Y, Paine R 3rd, Dean NC (2017). Short-Term Air Pollution and Incident Pneumonia. A Case-Crossover Study. Ann Am Thorac Soc, 15(4), 449-459. (Read full article)
  42. Malecki KMC, Schultz AA, Severtson DJ, Anderson HA, VanDerslice JA (2017). Private-well stewardship among a general population based sample of private well-owners. Sci Total Environ, 601-602, 1533-1543. (Read full article)
  43. Nguyen QC, Brunisholz KD, Yu W, McCullough M, Hanson HA, Litchman ML, Li F, Wan Y, VanDerslice JA, Wen M, Smith KR (2017). Twitter-derived neighborhood characteristics associated with obesity and diabetes. Sci Rep, 7(1), 16425. (Read full article)
  44. Tanner WD, Atkinson RM, Goel RK, Toleman MA, Benson LS, Porucznik CA, VanDerslice JA (2016). Horizontal transfer of the blaNDM-1 gene to Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Acinetobacter baumannii in biofilms. FEMS Microbiol Lett, 364(8). (Read full article)
  45. 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 A (2016). Long-term health effects among testicular cancer survivors. J Cancer Surviv, 10(6), 1051-1057. (Read full article)
  46. Knighton AJ, Savitz L, Belnap T, Stephenson B, VanDerslice J (2016). Introduction of an Area Deprivation Index Measuring Patient Socioeconomic Status in an Integrated Health System: Implications for Population Health. EGEMS (Wash DC), 4(3), 1238. (Read full article)
  47. Nguyen QC, Kath S, Meng HW, Li D, Smith KR, VanDerslice JA, Wen M, Li F (2016). Leveraging geotagged Twitter data to examine neighborhood happiness, diet, and physical activity. Appl Geogr, 73, 77-88. (Read full article)
  48. Frederick L, VanDerslice J, Taddie M, Malecki K, Gregg J, Faust N, Johnson WP (2016). Contrasting regional and national mechanisms for predicting elevated arsenic in private wells across the United States using classification and regression trees. Water Res, 91, 295-304. (Read full article)
  49. Neklason DW, VanDerslice J, Curtin K, Cannon-Albright LA (2015). Evidence for a heritable contribution to neuroendocrine tumors of the small intestine. Endocr Relat Cancer, 23(2), 93-100. (Read full article)
  50. Tanner WD, VanDerslice JA, Toor D, Benson LS, Porucznik CA, Goel RK, Atkinson RM (2015). Development and field evaluation of a method for detecting carbapenem-resistant bacteria in drinking water. Syst Appl Microbiol, 38(5), 351-7. (Read full article)
  51. Waters AB, VanDerslice J, Porucznik C, Kim J, Durrant L, DeLegge R (2015). The effect of follow-up inspections on critical violations identified during restaurant inspections. J Environ Health, 77(10), 8-12. (Read full article)
  52. Manortey S, Alder S, Crookston B, Dickerson T, VanDerslice J, Benson S (2014). Social Deterministic Factors to Participation in the National Health Insurance Scheme in the Context of Rural Ghanaian Setting. J Public Health Afr, 5(1), 352. (Read full article)
  53. Manortey S, VanDerslice J, Alder S, Henry KA, Crookston B, Dickerson T, Benson S (2014). Spatial Analysis of Factors Associated with Household Subscription to the National Health Insurance Scheme in Rural Ghana. J Public Health Afr, 5(1), 353. (Read full article)
  54. Waters AB, VanDerslice J, Porucznik CA, Kim J, DeLegge R, Durrant L (2013). Examination of the association between announced inspections and inspection scores. J Environ Health, 76(2), 8-12. (Read full article)
  55. Waters AB, VanDerslice J, Porucznik CA, Kim J, DeLegge R, Durrant L (2013). Impact of internet posting of restaurant inspection scores on critical violations. J Environ Health, 75(10), 8-12. (Read full article)
  56. Schliep KC, Schisterman EF, Mumford SL, Perkins NJ, Ye A, Pollack AZ, Zhang C, Porucznik CA, VanDerslice JA, Stanford JB, Wactawski-Wende J (2013). Validation of different instruments for caffeine measurement among premenopausal women in the BioCycle study. Am J Epidemiol, 177(7), 690-9. (Read full article)
  57. Arnold M, VanDerslice JA, Taylor B, Benson S, Allen S, Johnson M, Kiefer J, Boakye I, Arhinn B, Crookston BT, Ansong D (2013). Drinking water quality and source reliability in rural Ashanti region, Ghana. J Water Health, 11(1), 161-72. (Read full article)
  58. Stone MB, Stanford JB, Lyon JL, VanDerslice JA, Alder SC (2012). Childhood thyroid radioiodine exposure and subsequent infertility in the intermountain fallout cohort. Environ Health Perspect, 121(1), 79-84. (Read full article)
  59. Laflamme DM, Vanderslice JA (2004). Using the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) for exposure tracking: experiences from Washington State. Environ Health Perspect, 112(14), 1428-33. (Read full article)
  60. Redlinger T, ORourke K, VanDerslice J (1997). Hepatitis A among schoolchildren in a US-Mexico border community. Am J Public Health, 87(10), 1715-7. (Read full article)
  61. Adair L, Popkin BM, VanDerslice J, Akin J, Guilkey D, Black R, Briscoe J, Flieger W (1993). Growth dynamics during the first two years of life: a prospective study in the Philippines. Eur J Clin Nutr, 47(1), 42-51. (Read full article)
  62. Baltazar J, Briscoe J, Mesola V, Moe C, Solon F, Vanderslice J, Young B (1988). Can the case-control method be used to assess the impact of water supply and sanitation on diarrhoea? A study in the Philippines. Bull World Health Organ, 66(5), 627-35. (Read full article)

Conference Proceedings

  1. Laflamme DM, VanDerslice JA (2004). Using the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) for exposure tracking: experiences from Washington State. Environ Health Perspect, 112(14), 1428-33.

Editorial

  1. Bakian AV, VanDerslice JA (2019). Pesticides and autism. BMJ, 364, l1149. (Read full article)

Letter

  1. Tanner WD, Atkinson RM, Goel RK, Porucznik CA, Benson LS, VanDerslice JA (2015). Effect of Meropenem Concentration on the Detection of Low Numbers of Carbapenem-Resistant Enterobacteriaceae. [Letter to the editor]. Antimicrob Agents Chemother, 60(1), 712-3. (Read full article)