Leslie Hart

Associate Professor of Public Health

Education

• Ph.D. in Epidemiology, Medical University of South Carolina
• M.S. in Environmental Studies, College of Charleston
• B.S. in Biology and Environmental Science, College of William and Mary

Research Interests

“OneHealth” is the concept that human, environmental, and wildlife health are inextricably linked. Our impact on the environment can be detected and monitored through studies of wild animals and plants, which can warn of potential impacts to human users of the same natural resources.  The HOPE (Hypothesizing Onehealth Pollution Effects) research lab studies exposure to endocrine-disrupting chemicals and microplastics in humans and dolphins, providing an opportunity to examine the connections between our oceans and human health.

Funding

• R15, National Institutes of Health, National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (role: PI, $442,723)

  • Investigating Trophic Exposure to Marine Microplastics and Plasticizers in a Sentinel Species and the Implications for Seafood Safety
• MRI Grant, National Science Foundation (role: PI, $311,139)
  • Acquisition of a Raman Spectroscopy System to Enhance Microplastic Screening in Environmental and Biological Samples
• Research Grant, Sea Grant (role: PI, $74,442)
  • Climate factor influences, spatiotemporal variability, and bottlenose dolphin health related to phthalate exposure measured over 30 years in Sarasota Bay, Florida (1993-2023)

Affiliations

• Adjunct Faculty, Environmental & Sustainability Studies Graduate Program
• Adjunct Faculty, Marine Biology Graduate Program
• Research Affiliate, University of South Carolina’s Arnold School of Public Health
• Faculty Mentor, College of Charleston Women's Health Research Team
• Faculty Affiliate, Environmental & Sustainability Studies Undergraduate Program
• Assessment Fellow, Center for Sustainable Development

Honors & Awards

• Nominee, Distinguished Researcher Award, College of Charleston, 2021, 2025, & 2026
• Nominee, William V. Moore Distinguished Teacher-Scholar Award, College of Charleston, 2019
• Nominee, South Carolina Environmental Awareness Award, SC SeaGrant, 2018
• ExCEL Award, Outstanding Faculty of the Year, School of Education, Health & Human Performance, 2018

Courses Taught

• PBHL 320: Special Topics in Public Health - Oceans & Human Health
• PBHL 350: Epidemiology
• PBHL 456: Biostatistics in Health Services
• PBHL 470: Public Health Research Design & Analysis

Selected Publications

*student co-authors

• *Martin, E., *Dziobak, M., Wells, R.S., Berens McCabe, E.J., *Case, S.M., *Conger, E.C., *Curtin, T., *Gaur, A., *Knowles, M.A., Allen, R.F., Toms, C., Weinstein, J.E., & Hart, L.B., (In Review), "Microplastic munchies: exploring microplastics trophic transfer potential between two key prey fish species and resident bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) in Sarasota Bay, Florida." Marine Mammal Science.
• *Dziobak, M., *Curtin, T., Wells, R.S., Takeshita, R., Smith, C., Zolman, E.S., Toms, C., Allen, R.F., & Hart, L.B. (2025), "Comparing phthalate exposure between bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) residing in urban and rural environments." Frontiers in Marine Science. 12: 1554075.
• *Dziobak M.K., Fahlman A., Wells R.S., Takeshita R., Smith C., Gray A., Weinstein, J., & Hart, L.B.(2024), "First evidence of microplastic inhalation among free-ranging small cetaceans." PLoS ONE 19(10): e0309377.
• *Conger, E., *Dziobak, M., *Curtin, T., *Gaur, A., Berens McCabe E., Wells, R.S., Weinstein, J., & Hart, L.B. (2024), "An Analysis of Microparticles in the Muscle and Gastrointestinal Tissue of Fish from Sarasota Bay, FL: Exposure Implications for Apex Predators and Seafood Consumers." Environments, 11 (9), 185.
• *Golder, J., *Lightsey, M., Sundstrom, B., *Dziobak, M., and Hart, L.B. (2024), "Factors Influencing CDC-Recommended Preventative Behaviors through the COVID-19 Pandemic in College Students." Journal of American College Health, 73(4), 1631–1639.
• Hart, L.B., *Dziobak, M., Wells, R.S., Berens McCabe, E., *Conger, E., *Curtin, T., *Knight, M., & Weinstein, J. (2023), “Plastic, it's what's for dinner: A preliminary comparison of ingested particles in bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) and their prey.” Oceans, 4(4), 409-422. 
• Hart, L.B., *Dziobak, M., Wells, R.S., Ertel, B., & Weinstein, J. (2022), “Microplastics in gastric samples from common bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) residing in Sarasota Bay FL (USA).” Frontiers in Marine Science, 9, 947124.
• Hart, L.B., *Lightsey, M., Johnson, K., *Golder, J., *Vassy, M.B., & Sundstrom, B. (2022), “A comparison of personal care product use between undergraduate students attending military and non-military universities: Possible implications for exposure to endocrine-disrupting chemicals.” Journal of Hazardous Materials Advances, 7, 100117.
• *Dziobak, M.K., Balmer, B.C., Wells, R.S., Pisarski, E.C., Wirth, E.F., & Hart, L.B. (2022), “Temporal and Spatial Evaluation of Mono (2-ethylhexyl) Phthalate (MEHP) Detection in Common Bottlenose Dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) from Sarasota Bay, Florida, USA.” Oceans, 3(3), 231-249.
• *Dziobak, M.K., Wells, R.S., Pisarski, E.C., Wirth, E.F., & Hart, L.B. (2022), “A Correlational Analysis of Phthalate Exposure and Thyroid Hormone Levels in Common Bottlenose Dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) from Sarasota Bay, Florida (2010-2019).” Animals: an open access journal from MDPI, 12(7), 824.
• *Dziobak, M.K., Wells, R.S., Pisarski, E.C., Wirth, E.F., & Hart, L.B. (2021), “Demographic Assessment of Mono (2-ethylhexyl) Phthalate (MEHP) and Monoethyl Phthalate (MEP) Concentrations in Common Bottlenose Dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) From Sarasota Bay, FL, USA.” GeoHealth, 5(5), e2020GH000348.
• Hart, L.B., *Dziobak, M., Wells, R.S., Pisarski, E., & Wirth, E. (2020), “Sentinels of synthetics: A comparison of phthalate exposure between common bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) and human reference populations.” PLoS One, 15(10), e0240506.
• Hart, L.B., *Walker, J., Beckingham, B., *Shelley, A., *Alten Flagg, M., *Wischusen, K., & Sundstrom, B. (2020), “A characterization of personal care product use among female college students in South Carolina, USA.” Journal of Exposure Science and Environmental Epidemiology, 30, 97-106.
• Hart, L.B., Beckingham, B., Wells, R.S., *Alten Flagg, M., *Wischusen, K., Moors, A., Kucklick, J., Pisarski, E., & Wirth, E. (2018), “Urinary phthalate metabolites in common bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) from Sarasota Bay, FL, USA.” GeoHealth, 2(10), 313-326.
• O’Hara, T.M., & Hart, L.B. (2018), “Environmental Toxicology”.  In: CRC Handbook of Marine Mammal Medicine, 3^rd  Eds. F.M.D. Gulland and L. Dierauf. Pgs: 297-317.