Exposure science
Linking pollutant sources and concentrations to human behavior, the pollutant–host interaction, and the health outcome that follows — indoors, outdoors, and at work.
Respiratory · Immunology · Exposure Science
Multidisciplinary & Computational Approaches to Advance Equitable Respiratory, Immune, and Environmental Health
The RIPLRT Institute — the Respiratory and Immunology Project and Laboratory Research Team — turns environmental exposure data into predictive, translational, prevention-focused tools that improve respiratory health in Puerto Rico, underserved communities, and beyond. Through inclusive mentoring and science communication, we train the next generation of scientists and bring that science to the communities it serves.
What we do
Exposure, immunity, and computation — studied together
We lead collaborative, multi-cohort studies that combine biospecimens, wearable exposure assessment, molecular profiling, and AI/ML modeling to identify critical environmental risk windows and separate biological from non-biological drivers of respiratory disease.
Human-based immunotoxicology
Human whole-blood and cell-based assays that quantify the inflammatory potential of real-world environmental samples, aligning biomarker profiles with measured exposures.
Computational data science
Reproducible R, Python, and MATLAB pipelines, with code and data shared through GitHub, OSF, FigShare, and Zenodo so that findings can be checked and reused.
Community to Clinic to Cloud
One through-line connects every project
We measure environmental signals in communities, link them to clinical and biomarker outcomes, and convert them into equity-aware decision tools — with mentees embedded at every step.
- Community
Exposure science
- Clinic
Immune & biochemical bioactivity
- Clinic
Biomarker discovery
- Cloud
Computational modeling
- Translation
Equity-focused translation
- Across every step
Inclusive workforce development
Who we are
A mentee-powered research team
At the RIPLRT Institute we prioritize mentoring the next generation of researchers and healthcare professionals. Mentees do not assist the science — they lead it, with structured training in laboratory technique, experimental design, documentation, project and budget management, scientific and grant writing, data science, science communication, peer review, teamwork, leadership, and career planning.
How we work together is written down in theRIPLRT Institute Research Group Manual — our mentoring compact, onboarding guide, authorship policy, and reproducibility standards in one place.
Core values
- Inclusiveness
- Multidisciplinary focus
- Diversity
- Integrity
- Productivity
- Innovation
- Excellence
- Collaboration
- Leadership
- Psychological safety
- Reproducibility
- Transparency
- Health equity
- Community responsiveness
- Bilingual science communication
- Responsible AI
Selected papers
Recent peer-reviewed work
- Mechanism-aware ML identifies a protease-chemokine-galectin (PCG) axis that links plasma proteomics to single-cell signaling and enables compact severity classification of COVID-19. J Biol Chem. 2026; 302(5):112618. Access the publication →
- Indoor dust, immune activation, and household exposure risk after Hurricane Maria: a two-year pilot prospective cohort study in Puerto Rico. Journal of Exposure Science & Environmental Epidemiology. 2025; 36(3):521-530. Access the publication →
- Culture and molecular methods to identify to species-level Aspergillus isolates sampled from homes affected in the aftermath of Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico. Scientific Reports. 2025; 15(35922). Access the publication →
*Mentored trainee (student, postdoctoral fellow, early-career scientist); #Corresponding author
Recent news
From the RIPLRT Institute
Emily Solomon completes her M.S. thesis on polygenic risk for endometriosis and early menopause
RIPLRT mentee Emily Solomon earned her M.S. in Biological Sciences at Lynn University with a capstone thesis, advised by Dr. Rivera-Mariani, evaluating polygenic risk scores for endometriosis and early menopause.
SporeLag, RIPLRT's open-source environmental exposure package, joins CRAN
SporeLag, an R package by Dr. Félix E. Rivera-Mariani for building lagged and moving-average environmental exposure variables, has been accepted into the Comprehensive R Archive Network.
RIPLRT extends respiratory virus forecasting in Puerto Rico at ASM Microbe 2026
Presented at ASM Microbe 2026 in Washington, DC: fungal spores, but not pollen, provide a reproducible short-lead signal of RSV incidence across two health regions of Puerto Rico.
Collaborate, mentor, or join a study
We partner with clinicians, community organizations, and academic laboratories across Puerto Rico and the mainland United States. Tell us what you are working on.
Get in touch