Directory

Amber Roegner, DVM PhD

About

Dr. Amber Roegner joined the School of Environmental Sustainability in November 2023 as an Assistant Professor of One Health and Environmental Toxicology. She started in the environmental field in remediation and consulting after studying environmental engineering as an undergraduate. Evident disparities in and consequences for the health of vulnerable human and animal populations from environmental pollution and contamination motivated her to return to school for both veterinary medicine and toxicology. She graduated in 2014 from the combined Veterinary Scientist in Training Program (VSTP) at the University of California, Davis, School of Veterinary Medicine with a degree in Veterinary Medicine (DVM) and PhD (Pharmacology and Toxicology). She has worked over the last decade both as veterinarian within nonprofit, laboratory, fisheries, and mobile medicine, as well as gaining postdoctoral research experience in global health, environmental toxicology, mechanistic toxicology, and environmental health, including as a as an NCRR Veterinary Trainee in Aquatic Models in Biomedical Research (Oregon State University) and as a University of California Global Health Institute (UCGHI) Fellow in Kenya (UC Davis). Certified in veterinary acupuncture, she believes in a holistic approach to health & well-being for animals and human beings that starts at the community level.  

Degrees

Research Interests

As a practitioner of One Health in research, medicine, teaching, and service, Amber seeks to address global environmental health and toxicological challenges through community-engaged, community-centered research to improve human, animal, and ecological healt, and well-being outcomes with sustainable and transdisciplinary approaches. To date, she has examined chronic health risks and community-level impacts from eutrophication and freshwater algal blooms through rich partnerships in Kenya, Guatemala, and Uruguay, and most recently in Oregon. She is dedicated to applying and interrogating the One Health research framework to expand its inclusiveness and rigor by pairing access to analytical toxicological tools and mechanistic biological understanding with the lived experiences of individuals and communities, with respect to water, air, food, and livelihood.   

Professional & Community Affiliations

• Institute for Racial Justice Faculty Affiliate (Loyola) 
• Center for Research on International Affairs Affiliate (Loyola) 
• American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) 
• Manuscript Reviewer: Neurotoxicity Research, PlosOne, Great Lakes Research

Courses Taught

• ENVS 275: Chemistry of the Environment Lab 
• ENVS 298: One Health Approaches to Environmental Challenges.  
• ENVS 338: Climate Change and Human Health 

Awards

• National Hazards Center Special Call for Proposals (University of Colorado, Boulder) Title: Public Health Preparedness for Harmful Algal Blooms in Rural and Tribal Communities. $49,850 (2023) 

Selected Publications

• Corman, J.R.; Roegner A.; Ogari Z.; Miller T.R.; Aura C.M. Local-scale impacts of water hyacinth on water quality in a hypereutrophic lake. Frontiers in Water 2023, 5:917837. https://doi.org/10.3389/frwa.2023.917837   
• Roegner, A.F.; Corman, JR; Sitoki, L.M.; Kwena,Z.A.; Ogari Z.; Miruka, J.B.; Xiong A.; Weirich, C.; Aura, C.M.; CM, Miller, T.R. Impacts of algal blooms and microcystins in fish on small-scale fishers in Winam Gulf, Lake Victoria. Ecology and Society 2023, 28 (1):49. https://doi.org/10.5751/ES-13860-280149 
• Aura, C.M.; Roegner, A.; Owiti, H.; Birungi, D.; Fiorella, K.J.; Corman, J; Kayanda, R.; Mbullo, P.; Nyawmweya, C.S.; Mchau, G.; Daniels, M.; Abila, R.O.Lakes & Reservoir 2022, 27(3): e12411. https://doi.org/10.1111/lre.12411 
• Roegner, A.; Orozco,M.; Jarquin,C.; Boegel, W.; Secaira, C; Caballeros, M.; Al-Saleh, L.; Rejmánková,E. Childhood gastrointestinal parasitic infections and illness in lakeside indigenous communities at Lake Atitlán, Guatemala. Peer J. 2021, 9: e12332. https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.12331  
• Roegner, A.; Sitoki, L.; Weirich, C.; Corman, J.; Owage, D.; Umami, M.; Odada, E.; Miruka, J.; Ogari, Z.; Smith; Rejmankova, E; Miller, T.R. Harmful Algal Blooms Threaten the Health of Peri‑Urban Fisher Communities: A Case Study in Kisumu Bay, Lake Victoria, Kenya. Exposure and Health 2020, 12: 835-848. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12403-019-00342-8 
• Roegner, A.F.; Daniels, M.E.; Smith, W.A.; Liu, J.; Schwartz, L; Gottdenker, N.; Campbell, A.; Fiorello, C.V. Giardia Infection and Trypanosoma Cruzi Exposure in Dogs in the Bosawás Biosphere Reserve, Nicaragua. EcoHealth. 2019, 16:512-522. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10393-019-01434-2 
• Roegner, A.F.; Truong, L.; Schirmer, M.; Brena, B.; Weirich, C.; Miller, T.; Tanguay,R. Utilizing Danio rerio embryo photomotor response to broadly assess chronic human health risks from freshwater harmful algal bloom metabolites. Science of the Total Environment 2019, Dec 20:697:134210. doi: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2019.134210 
• Roegner, A.F.; Ochaeta, G.; Bocel, E.; Ogari, Z.; Pfotenhaeur, B.; Rejmánková,E. Employing CBPR to investigate function, utility, and longevity of household filters to improve potable water quality for indigenous peoples at Lake Atitlán, Guatemala: a Pilot Study with San Pedro de La Laguna. Energy, Ecology and Environment 2017, April.2(2):95-113. doi: 10.1007/s40974-016-0045-4