Jonathan Credo
My name is Jonathan Credo, a half-Filipino and half-Navajo from Flagstaff, Arizona. I am currently taking a hiatus from my medical training at the University of Arizona (UA) College of Medicine (CoM) in Tucson, Arizona, at which I am a third-year medical student, to pursue my PhD in Clinical Translational Sciences at UA CoM with an emphasis in ecotoxicology. Despite my degrees being at UA, most of my research is conducted at Northern Arizona University (NAU) in Flagstaff, Arizona working with Dr. Jani Ingram in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry and Dr. Frank von Hippel in the Biological Sciences Department. My dissertation research utilizes a One Health approach to evince the impact of agrichemicals on migrant farm worker populations and indigenous people. It is my goal to use my MD/PhD degree and training to conduct research in the field of environmental medicine and ecotoxicology, furthering our understanding of how the interactions between the environment, wildlife, and humans can lead to detrimental outcomes and hopefully mitigate damage. I became interested in this work when I attended a summit on algal biofuels as a high school student and learned how a changing environment could negatively impact wildlife and humans.
Because I am only in my first year in my PhD program, I cannot say the impact the work has had on myself personally or my career. Looking back, however, I would say that research, and more specifically environmental and exposure science research, laid the foundations for the type of person I am and responsible for where I find myself in my career path today. Driven by my interest in algal biofuels and health impacts associated with algal blooms, I became involved with research as a freshman at NAU investigating water contamination through Dr. Ingram’s environmental analytical chemistry laboratory. This experience shaped me into the researcher, student, and person I am today, and I identify it as one of the most transformative experiences in my life, additionally establishing a lifelong mentorship relationship with Dr. Jani Ingram. I can easily say that if not for the time in Dr. Ingram’s laboratory, I would not be in medical school or even doing research; the lab experience and Jani’s guidance allowed me to find the confidence in myself and find success in my pursuits.
As stated above, my PhD work is still too early to list any awards, papers, or presentations that have come out of that work. Due to this, the accolades and presentations listed will be from my previous project in Dr. Ingram’s laboratory on work that has both finished and is still on-going.
Awards
- Tribal Environmental Health Summit Science Communication Award; Summer 2018
- University of Arizona University Fellows Award
- Internal University sponsored fellowship to cover first year of PhD work
- National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences Fall Southwest Centers Poster Recognition and Award; Fall 2017
- Recognition at Regional NIEHS Conference for exemplary research and outreach in the field of Environmental Health Sciences
- “Elemental Contamination of water systems on Navajo”, J. Credo, J. F. Torkelson, J. C. Ingram, in preparation
- “Using Multiple, Publicly Available Databases to Create a Statewide Map of Arsenic Concentrations across Arizona”, M. Hutchins, J. Credo, J. Ingram, J. Baldwin, R. Trotter, C. Propper, submitted Environmental Monitoring and Assessment
- H.B. 2481: TPT; tribal college compact
Sponsor: AZ State Rep. Eric Descheenie, District 7
Papers
Presentations
