Jefferey L Burgess

Professor, Public Health

Adjunct Professor, Mining and Geological Engineering

Professor, BIO5 Institute

Member of the General Faculty

Member of the Graduate Faculty

Primary Department

Public Health Administration

Department Affiliations

Community, Environment & Policy

BIO5 Institute

Contact

(520) 626-4918

jburgess@arizona.edu

Research Interest

Jefferey L. Burgess, MD, MS, MPH is a Professor and Division Director of Community, Environment and Policy within the University of Arizona Mel and Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health. Dr. Burgess’ research focuses on improving occupational health and safety, with a special focus on firefighters, other public safety personnel and miners. Areas of current and past research include: reduction of occupational exposures, illnesses and injuries; respiratory toxicology; environmental arsenic exposure; and hazardous materials exposures including methamphetamine laboratories. In addition to multiple research grants, Dr. Burgess is the Principal Investigator (PI) for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention-funded Mountain West Preparedness and Emergency Response Learning Center and a joint PI for the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health-funded Western Mining Safety and Health Resource Center. Dr. Burgess is internationally recognized for his research evaluating the health effects of firefighting and methods for reducing firefighter exposures and other hazards, including but not limited to improved respiratory protection and injury prevention. He is also internationally known for his work on mining health and safety, and is a co-PI on a large Science Foundation Arizona grant supporting mining risk management, exposure assessment and control and economic analysis of health and safety systems. A separate ongoing grant is focused on comparing exposures and health effects associated with the use of diesel and biodiesel blend fuels in underground mining. He also has carried out multiple research projects on the adverse effects of low-level arsenic exposure in drinking water and more recently has begun to evaluate exposures from dietary arsenic sources.

Publications

Environmental arsenic exposure and sputum metalloproteinase concentrations

Josyula, A. B., Poplin, G. S., Kurzius-Spencer, M., McClellen, H. E., Kopplin, M. J., Stürup, S., Lantz, R. C., & Burgess, J. L. (2006). Environmental arsenic exposure and sputum metalloproteinase concentrations. Environmental Research, 102(3), 283-290.

BIO5 Collaborators

Jefferey L Burgess, Clark Lantz

Binational arsenic exposure survey: methodology and estimated arsenic intake from drinking water and urinary arsenic concentrations

Roberge, J., O'Rourke, M. K., Meza-Montenegro, M. M., Gutiérrez-Millán, L. E., Burgess, J. L., & Harris, R. B. (2012). Binational arsenic exposure survey: methodology and estimated arsenic intake from drinking water and urinary arsenic concentrations. International journal of environmental research and public health, 9(4), 1051-67.

The Binational Arsenic Exposure Survey (BAsES) was designed to evaluate probable arsenic exposures in selected areas of southern Arizona and northern Mexico, two regions with known elevated levels of arsenic in groundwater reserves. This paper describes the methodology of BAsES and the relationship between estimated arsenic intake from beverages and arsenic output in urine. Households from eight communities were selected for their varying groundwater arsenic concentrations in Arizona, USA and Sonora, Mexico. Adults responded to questionnaires and provided dietary information. A first morning urine void and water from all household drinking sources were collected. Associations between urinary arsenic concentration (total, organic, inorganic) and estimated level of arsenic consumed from water and other beverages were evaluated through crude associations and by random effects models. Median estimated total arsenic intake from beverages among participants from Arizona communities ranged from 1.7 to 14.1 µg/day compared to 0.6 to 3.4 µg/day among those from Mexico communities. In contrast, median urinary inorganic arsenic concentrations were greatest among participants from Hermosillo, Mexico (6.2 µg/L) whereas a high of 2.0 µg/L was found among participants from Ajo, Arizona. Estimated arsenic intake from drinking water was associated with urinary total arsenic concentration (p 0.001), urinary inorganic arsenic concentration (p 0.001), and urinary sum of species (p 0.001). Urinary arsenic concentrations increased between 7% and 12% for each one percent increase in arsenic consumed from drinking water. Variability in arsenic intake from beverages and urinary arsenic output yielded counter intuitive results. Estimated intake of arsenic from all beverages was greatest among Arizonans yet participants in Mexico had higher urinary total and inorganic arsenic concentrations. Other contributors to urinary arsenic concentrations should be evaluated.

Cytokine genotype and phenotype effects on lung function decline in firefighters

Josyula, A. B., Kurzius-Spencer, M., Littau, S. R., Yucesoy, B., Fleming, J., & Burgess, J. L. (2007). Cytokine genotype and phenotype effects on lung function decline in firefighters. Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, 49(3), 282-288.

Acute cardiovascular effects of firefighting and active cooling during rehabilitation

Burgess, J. L., Duncan, M. D., Hu, C., Littau, S. R., Caseman, D., Kurzius-Spencer, M., Davis-Gorman, G., & McDonagh, P. F. (2012). Acute cardiovascular effects of firefighting and active cooling during rehabilitation. Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, 54(11), 1413-1420.

BIO5 Collaborators

Jefferey L Burgess, Chengcheng Hu

Arsenic compromises conducting airway epithelial barrier properties in primary mouse and immortalized human cell cultures.

Burgess, J. L. (2013). Arsenic compromises conducting airway epithelial barrier properties in primary mouse and immortalized human cell cultures.. PLOS ONE.

Sherwood CL, Liguori AE, Olsen CE, Lantz RC, Burgess JL, Boitano S. Arsenic compromises conducting airway epithelial barrier properties in primary mouse and immortalized human cell cultures. PLOS ONE (online publication).

Jefferey L Burgess