Dr. Julia Rager
(pronunciation: Joo-lee-uh Ray-ger)
Principal Investigator, Assistant Professor (she/her)
Julia Rager is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Environmental Sciences and Engineering (ESE) at the University of North Carolina (UNC)’s Gillings School of Global Public Health. The overarching goal of her team’s research is to unravel relationships between environmental exposures and health outcomes, with a focus on complex mixtures at growing prevalence in the environment.
Dr. Rager initially received an undergraduate degree in Civil and Environmental Engineering at the University of Texas at Austin while also completing curriculum in pre-medicine (2004-2008). At an early stage in her career, she realized that the field of medicine and human biology could be enriched through integrating data science and engineering principles. She was able to address this unique interest by obtaining a MSEE and PhD in Environmental Sciences and Engineering within UNC’s Gillings School of Global Public Health, under the direction of Dr. Rebecca C. Fry (2008-2013). Dr. Rager obtained additional expertise in exposure science through post-doctoral training in the U.S. EPA’s Exposure Forecast (ExpoCast) team (2013-2014). She then worked for three years as a Scientist III at a prominent toxicology consulting firm, ToxStrategies Inc (2015-2018). Here, she gained expertise in the translation of molecular toxicology-based research findings into regulatory policy and human health risk assessment. Dr. Rager then transitioned back into academia as a Research Track Assistant Professor (2018-2020) within the UNC Institute for Environmental Health Solutions, followed by promotion to Tenure Track Assistant Professor (2021-current) with a primary appointment in the UNC Department of Environmental Sciences and Engineering.
Dr. Rager is now excited to lead a research team that bridges the fields of toxicology and environmental engineering to improve global public health. She has launched several data science training initiatives and teaches on human health risk assessment and computational toxicology and exposure science. In her spare time, she loves spending time with her two adorable little kids, cooking, and exercising in any and all ways, including fun outdoor activities.