Environmental and Public Health Scholar, Researcher, Professor
September 12, 2022
Featured presentation in EDF’s new Cumulative Risk Assessment Framework (CRAF) webinar.
August 23, 2022
Embracing the Complexity of Environmental Health Challenges, Dr. Payne-Sturges is featured as success story featured on the National Institute for Environmental Health Sciences.

July 6th, 2022
Dr. Payne-Sturges attends 2022 Black Europe Summer School (BESS) where she also presents invited talk, "But They Are Not Our Children," Observations on Environmental Justice and Theoretical Approaches from U.S. Perspective.
March 30, 2022 • Interview with SOT TV at the Society of Toxicology annual meeting in San Diego, CA this March 2022.
Autism Science Foundation Podcast:
Autistic Black Lives Matter
June 14, 2020 • Racial and ethnic disparities in autism care is not new, the lower age of diagnosis and lack of care for these families have been reported for years. While they have always been unacceptable, in light of recent events, it’s time to reconsider what scientists should be doing about them. A systematic review identifies what is going on with regards to access to interventions and their efficacy. Another study successfully collaborates Part C Early Intervention providers to reach families of color to improve screening. And finally, researchers not even focused on autism provide a perspective on how far and wide this problem reaches. Autism Science Foundation maintains their commitment to working together with other organizations to eradicate these disparities once and for all.
"All of us are exposed to a cocktail of toxic synthetic pesticides linked to a range of health impacts from our daily diets. Certified organic food is produced without these pesticides. But can eating organic really reduce levels of pesticides in our bodies?
In this peer-reviewed study, we compared pesticide levels in the bodies of four American families for six days on a non-organic diet and six days on a completely organic diet.
We found that eating organic works. An organic diet rapidly and dramatically reduced exposure to pesticides in just one week. Levels of all detected chemicals dropped an average of 60.5 percent with a range of 37 percent to 95 percent depending on the compound. Learn more about the study at www.organicforall.org"
Payne-Sturges D. March 16, 2018. “Don't use lanternfly as an excuse to permit dangerous pesticide” [Letter to the editor]. The Baltimore Sun. https://www.baltimoresun.com/news/opinion/readersrespond/bs-ed-rr-pesticide-ban-letter-20180316-story.html.
Payne-Sturges D. March 5, 2019. Opinion: Eliminating the Pesticides Inside Us. Maryland Matters. https://www.marylandmatters.org/2019/03/05/opinion-eliminating-the-pesticides-inside-us/.
Liebman A. and Payne-Sturges D. May 7, 2020. Opinion: We Must Protect Workers Who Put Food on Our Table. . Maryland Matters. https://www.marylandmatters.org/2020/05/07/opinion-we-must-protect-workers-who-put-food-on-our-table/
Dr. Payne-Sturges receives $3.7M NIH Grant to Fund Study of Structural Racism, Pandemic Effects on Farmworkers: Research Will Focus on Residential Air Quality, State Policies and Legal Protections.
UMD Maryland Today. September 19, 2022
Maryland Today | $3.7M NIH Grant to Fund Study of Structural Racism,… (umd.edu)
Low-income, underrepresented populations at greater risk for chemical exposures. Coverage on plenary talk at the American Neurological Association Annual Meeting in Chicago in October 2022.
Healio News. November 07, 2022. See Children's Environmental Health research.
Low-income, underrepresented populations at greater risk for chemical exposures (healio.com)
A Toxic Legacy: New publication by Devon Payne-Sturges and Robert Sprinkle details historical and ongoing obstacles preventing the Environmental Protection Agency from protecting Americans from cumulative toxic exposures.
UMD Public Health, News. November 03, 2021
https://sph.umd.edu/news/toxic-legacy
The Struggle to Legislate Environmental Justice: New Study Uses Ethnographic Research to Explore Why Environmental Health Policy-Making Has Failed to Address Cumulative Impacts on Communities of Color. UMD School of Public Health, News. May 06, 2021
https://sph.umd.edu/news/struggle-legislate-environmental-justice
Dr. Devon Payne-Sturges Develops New Tools to Protect Children From Environmental Toxins that Impact Neurodevelopment.
UMD School of Public Health, News. March 11, 2021.
Stop Eating Pesticides: Use CR’s exclusive ratings to get the health benefits from fruits and vegetables while minimizing your risk from toxic chemicals.
Consumer Reports. August 27, 2020.
https://www.consumerreports.org/pesticides-in-food/stop-eating-pesticides/
Environment and Energy News. EPA urged to gauge neurological price tag of exposure.
February 21, 2019.
https://www.eenews.net/eenewspm/stories/1060121887/search?keyword=Payne-Sturges
Md. farmers fight to keep pesticide in arsenal despite research on toxic effects.
The Frederick News Post. February 16, 2019.
Payne-Sturges DC. Hidden Struggles with Food Insecurity on College Campuses.
Office of Minority Health and Health Disparities Newsletter. Maryland Department of Health. November, 2018.
Hunger Gains: Campus Pantry Fills Growing Need Among Terps.
Terp Magazine January 8, 2018.
http://terp.umd.edu/hunger-gains/#.XKqRN1VKipr
SPH's Payne-Sturges and Colleagues Reveal Food Insecurity Among College Students (lead story).
UMD Research Roundup. September 17, 2017.