Research Areas

Dr. Rivera-Núñez holds a BS in Microbiology and a MS in Environmental Health Sciences from the University of Puerto Rico. Her doctoral degree is from the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, MI. She completed a National Academies post-doctoral fellowship at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, National Center for Environmental Assessment in Cincinnati, OH. Dr. Rivera-Núñez joined the Rutgers School of Public Health in 2019. She is a resident faculty member at the Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences Institute.

Dr. Rivera-Núñez’s research focuses on early-life environmental exposures and their impact on maternal, fetal, and child health, with a particular emphasis on biomarkers that capture windows of heightened susceptibility. Her research program is supported by a strong background in chemistry and analytical training, in which she has studied a variety of chemicals (e.g., metals, zearalenone, disinfection byproducts, PFAS) and their impact on humans. Dr. Rivera-Núñez’s work integrates advanced epidemiologic methods and mechanistic insights into endocrine and placental function to better understand how environmental chemicals influence child growth and development. She has collaborations with multiple pregnancy cohorts and their investigators, including the Rochester-based Understanding Pregnancy Signals and Infant Development (UPSIDE) cohort, the Puerto Rico cohort, and The Infant Development and Environment Study (TIDES). She is an Investigator in the New Jersey Environmental influences on Child Health Outcomes (ECHO) cohort. Her work is supported by the National Environmental Health Sciences Institute (NIEHS) and the ECHO program.

More recently, she has been applying implementation science to accelerate the translation of environmental health research into interventions and practices. Working in partnership with New Jersey communities such as schools, state agencies, and local organizations, she co-designs and pilots strategies that are tailored to local priorities. This community-engaged approach emphasizes bidirectional learning and capacity building.

Scholarly Activities

Early Career Reviewer Program National Institute of Health
Chair External Advisory Committee, Center for the Promotion of Cancer Health Research (CePCHe) at the University of Puerto Rico Cancer Center and Medical Sciences Campus
International Society of Exposure Science
International Society of Environmental Epidemiology

Select Publications

Rivera-Núñez Z, Kinkade C, Brinker A, Zhang R, Buckley B, Brunner J, Ohman-Strickland P, Qiu X, Fallon JK, Smith PS, Miller RK, Salafia C, O’Connor TM, Aleksunes LM, Barrett ES. 2025. Mycoestrogen exposure during pregnancy: impact of the ABCG2 Q141K variant on birth and placental outcomes. Environ Health Perspect PMID: 40126888

Hansel MC, Lubina KA, Roepke TA, Ohman-Strickland P, Kannan K, Wang C, Miller RM, O’Connor TG, Rivera-Núñez Z*, Barrett ES*. 2025. Maternal organophosphate esters and sex steroid hormones in mid-pregnancy. Environ Res April 15:271:121063 PMID: 39922261

Shiau S, Chen X, April-Sanders A, Francis EC, Rawal S, Hansel M, Adeyemi K, Rivera-Núñez Z*, Barrett ES*. 2025. The Camden Study- A pregnancy cohort study of pregnancy complications and birth outcomes in Camden, New Jersey, USA. Nutrients 16,4372 PMID: 39770993

Kinkade CW, Rivera-Núñez Z, Brinker A, Buckley B, Waysack O, Kautz A, Meng Y, Ohman Strickland P, Block R, Groth SW, O’Connor TG. Aleksunes LM, Barrett ES. 2024. Urinary mycoestrogens and gestational weight gain in the UPSIDE pregnancy cohort. Environ Health 23:103 PMID: 39567992

Pande A, Kinkade CW, Prout N, Chowdhury SF, Rivera-Núñez Z, Barrett ES. 2024. Prenatal exposure to synthetic chemicals in relation to HPA axis activity: A systematic review of the epidemiological literature Sci Total Environ 956:177300 PMID: 39488279

Kinkade CW, Brinker A, Buckley B, Waysack O, Fernandez ID, Kautz A, Meng Y, Shi H, Brunner J, Ohman-Strickland P, Groth SW, O’Connor TGO, Aleksunes LM, Barrett ES Rivera-Núñez Z. Sociodemographic and dietary predictors of maternal and placental mycoestrogen concentrations in a U.S. pregnancy cohort. J Expo Sci Environ Epidemiol. PMID: 39363096

Barret ES, Ames JL, Eick SM, Peterson AK, Rivera-Núñez Z, Starling AP, Buckley JP. 2024. Advancing understanding for chemical exposures and maternal-child health through the U.S. Environmental influences on Child Health Outcomes (ECHO) program: A scoping review. Curr Envi Health Rpt 11(3) PMID: 38985433

Hansel M, Murphy HR, Brunner J, Wang C, Miller RK, O’Connor TG, Barrett ES, Rivera-Núñez Z. 2023. Associations between neighborhood stress and maternal sex steroid hormones in pregnancy. BMC Pregnancy Childbirth 225:115597 PMID: 37845614

Rivera-Núñez Z, Kinkade CW, Khoury L, Brunner J, Murphy H, Wang C, Kannan K, Miller RK, O’Connor TG, Barrett ES. 2023. Prenatal perfluoroalkyl substances exposure and maternal sex steroid hormones across pregnancy. Environ Res  220:115233 PMID: 33321388

Rivera-Núñez Z, Kinkade CW, Zhang Y, Rockson A, Bandera EB, Llanos AAM, Barrett ES. 2022. Phenols, Parabens, Phthalates and Puberty: a systematic review of synthetic chemicals commonly found in personal care products and girl’s pubertal development. Current Environ Health Rep 9:517 PMID: 35867279

Rivera-Núñez Z, Ashrap P, Barrett ES, Watkins DJ, Cathey AL, Vélez-Vega, CM, Rosario Z, Cordero JF, Alshawabkeh A, Meeker JD. 2021. Association of biomarkers of exposure to metals and metalloids with maternal hormones in pregnant women from Puerto Rico. Environ Int.  147, 106310 PMID: 33321388

Rivera-Núñez Z, Wright JM, Meyer A. 2018. Exposures to disinfectant by-products and the risk of stillbirth in Massachusetts. Occup Environ Med 75: 742-751 PMID: 30061312

Wong R, Gable L, Giammar DE, Rivera-Núñez Z. 2018. Perceived benefits of participation and risks of soil contamination in St. Louis urban community gardens J Commmunity Health 43:604-610 PMID: 29274067

Full Library: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/myncbi/zorimar.rivera-nunez.1/bibliography/public/