Dr. Sylvia Akpene Takyi is a Research Assistant Professor at the Institute for Health and Lifespan Research, The University of Texas at El Paso. An environmental epidemiologist in exposure science and nutrition, she studies how air pollution, toxic metals, and climate- driven extreme heat interact with nutrition to shape cardiometabolic, respiratory, and maternal-child health across the lifespan.
Her research pairs exposure assessment with biomarkers of nutrition, inflammation, oxidative stress, and metabolic function to map pathways from exposure to disease, then into nutritional and behavioral interventions that reduce risk for workers, families, and communities. Her work in Ghana's informal e-waste communities reflects commitment to community-engaged, prevention-oriented science.
At UTEP, she advances precision environmental health — addressing toxic metals, extreme heat, cardiometabolic and respiratory health, nutrition security, and maternal-child health across rural, border, and military-connected populations.
She builds convergent teams and welcomes collaborations in sensor development, omics and biomarker science, AI and data science, implementation science, and community- engaged research to advance IHLR's precision and lifespan research mission.
She earned her PhD in Public Health from the University of Ghana, completed the NIH Fogarty-funded Northern Pacific Global Health Fellowship, and trained as an Impact Scholar at the University of Michigan's Center for Global Health Equity.
