Candace Tsai

Dr. Candace Tsai is an Associate Professor in the Department of Environmental Health Sciences at UCLA, and the Director/Principal Investigator of the Southern California Superfund Research Program (SCSRP), funded by the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS). At the Southern California Education and Research Center, Dr. Tsai serves as the Director of Industrial Hygiene Program. As an expert in industrial hygiene, Dr. Tsai leads research addressing aerosol, nanoparticles and toxic airborne substance exposure assessment in occupational and environmental settings. She is a Certified Industrial Hygienist (CIH) and has many years of practical experience in the industry and business settings.  Dr. Tsai has been working on multidisciplinary research projects and collaborating with scientists in the U.S. and internationally.  She has applied her expertise in research and teaching, in the fields of health science, aerosol science, toxicology, engineering, human protection, and policy. She serves as a board member in the UC Center for Laboratory Safety and the Sustainable Nanotechnology Organization, as Associate Editor for Journal of Nanoparticle Research, and on the Editorial Advisory Board for ACS Chemical Health and Safety Journal. With her special expertise in nanomaterials, she has served as an expert for the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) and the World Health Organization (WHO) in the nanotechnology programs. She currently serves as a Threshold Limit Value (TLV) committee for the American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists (ACGIH) and as co-chair of the Databases and Computational Modeling in the U.S.-EU NanoEHS Communities of Research (COR) in the National Nanotechnology Coordination Office (NNCO).

Areas of Interest and Teaching

Dr. Tsai’s research interests address diverse aspects of environmental health and safety, and industrial hygiene - with a special focus on emerging substances including nanomaterials, advanced materials, electronic related toxic substances, and wildfire related pollutants. Her research involves innovative interdisciplinary collaborations, and she is currently pursuing critical research in exposure assessments, occupational hygiene practices, sampling techniques, engineering controls, and the biological effects associated with various forms of airborne particle exposure. Currently, her primary research activities include: 

1) Occupational/Environmental exposure assessments for airborne substances including carcinogens, metals, organic and inorganic compounds associated with wildfire pollution and various modern manufacturing and processes; 

2) Particle sampling and sensing techniques for the airborne fibers/particles and advanced materials; 

3) The toxicological studies utilizing in vitro model and advanced techniques to investigate ultrafine particle and solvent exposure;

4) Use of computational fluid dynamic (CFD) models for aerosol and virus exposure, sampling technique and airflow simulation; 

5) Personal protective equipment and engineering control techniques for worker protection and pollution prevention including protective clothing, masks, filtration mechanisms, and local exhaust ventilation systems; 

6) Interactions of airborne pollutants or nanoparticles with contacting surfaces; 

7) The biological responses and nanomaterial distributions associated with nanomaterial intake using in vivo and in vitro models; and other topics related to exposure and safety considerations. 

Dr. Tsai teaches courses for industrial hygiene discipline and environmental health sciences including industrial hygiene principles, airborne particles, gas and vapor, control methods and ventilation system, emerging technology health and safety and environmental and occupational health introduction courses. 

Committee Participation

• Council on Research, Academic Senate
• Faculty Executive Committee
• Admission committee
• Curriculum committee

Selected Publications

Books 

• Chen, Y.H., Munoza, A., Krause, C., Brune, J., Tsai, CSJ.* Assessment of Sub-Micrometer-Sized Particles with Practical Activities in an Underground Coal Mine, Mining, Metallurgy & Exploration 2024.

• Tsai, S.*, Author, Fundamentals of Industrial Hygiene, Chapter 8, Particulate Matter, 7th Edition, National Safety Council (NSC), published, Jan. 2021.

• Ellenbecker, M.J., and Tsai, S., Health and Safety Considerations for Working with Engineered Nanoparticles, Wiley Interscience, 2015.

Peer-Reviewed Journal Articles 

• Chen, Y.H., Munoza, A., Krause, C., Brune, J., Tsai, CSJ.* Assessment of Sub-Micrometer-Sized Particles with Practical Activities in an Underground Coal Mine, Mining, Metallurgy & Exploration 2024.

• Swinnerton, S., Su, J. & Tsai, C.S.J.* The emission and physicochemical properties of airborne microplastics and nanoplastics generated during the mechanical recycling of plastic via shredding. Sci Rep 14, 24755 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-024-73775-0.

• Swinnerton, S., Kurtz, K., Neba Nforsoh, S., Craver, V.*, Tsai, C.* The manufacturing process and consequent occupational health and environmental risks associated with the use of plastic waste in construction bricks in small-scale recycling plants, Journal of Cleaner Production, Volume 477, 2024, 143818, ISSN 0959-6526, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2024.143818.

• Reifenberger, R. and Tsai, CSJ.* The Interaction and Lift-Off Forces of an Atomic Force Microscope Tip from Single Fibers Extracted from Protective Clothing Fabric, Langmuir 2024 Jul 23;40(29):14788-14797. doi: 10.1021/acs.langmuir.3c03939. PMID: 38985834 PMCID: PMC11270982.

• Ireland, N., Chen, Y.H., Tsai, CSJ.* Potential Penetration of Engineered Nanoparticles under Practical Use of Protective Clothing Fabrics, ACS Chem. Health Saf. 2024, 31, 393−403.

• Nguyen, D, Tsai, CSJ.* Inadequate Personal Protective Equipment Factors and Odds Related to Acute Pesticide Poisoning: A Meta-Analysis Report. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2024 Feb 23;21(3):257. doi: 10.3390/ijerph21030257. PMID: 38541259; PMCID: PMC10970141.

• Landskroner, E.A., Tsai, C.S.J.* Occupational exposures and cancer risk in commercial laundry and dry cleaning industries: a scoping review. BMC Public Health. 2023 Dec 21; 23(1):2561. doi: 10.1186/s12889-023-17306-y. PMID: 38129859; PMCID: PMC10740271.

• Munoz, A., Schmidt, J., Suffet, M., Tsai, C.S.J.*, Characterization of emissions from carbon dioxide laser cutting acrylic plastics, ACS Chemical Health and Safety, June 22, 2023.

• Chen, Y.H, Nguyen, D., Brindley, S., Ma, T., Xia, T., Brune, J., Browne, J. Tsai, C.S.J.*, The dependence of particle size on cell toxicity for modern mining dust, Scientific Report, 2023, 13, 5101. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-023-31215-5
   
• Hiyoto, K., Momtaz, S., Maksot, A., Reifenberger, R., Tsai, C.S.J.*, Fisher, E.*, Effects of surface hydrophobicity of lab coat fabrics on nanoparticle attachment and resuspension: implications for fabrics used for making protective clothing or work uniform, ACS Applied Nano Materials, 2023, 6, 9, 7384-7394.
   

• Slouka, S., Ishaq, M., Brune, J., Rostami, J., Tsai, C.S.J., Sidrow, E., Preliminary characterization of respirable rock dust generated from cutting potash in laboratory full scale tests with radial picks at different stages of wear, Journal of Environmental Science and Engineering, 2022, A, 11, 213-229.

• Slouka, S.*, Brune, J., Rostami, J., Tsai, C., Sidrow, E., Characterization of respirable dust generated from full scale cutting tests in limestone with conical picks at three stages of wear, Minerals, special issue: Mineralogic Analysis of Respirable Dust, 2022, 12, 930.

• Mazzotta, H., Robbins, W., Tsai, C.S.J.*, An analysis of prenatal exposure factors and offspring health outcomes in rodents from synthesized nanoparticles, Reproductive Toxicology, 2022 Jun. 110:60-67. doi: 10.1016/j.reprotox.2022.03.014. Epub 2022 Mar 30. PMID: 35367333.

• Shen, C.*, Dunn, K.*, Woskie, S., Bennett, J., Ellenbecker, E., Dandy, D., Tsai, C.S.J.#, The effect of the body wake and operator motion on the containment of nanometer-scale airborne substances using a conventional fume hood and specially designed enclosing hood: A comparison using computational fluid dynamics, Journal of Nanoparticle Research, Feb. 2022. 

• Maksot, A., Sorna, S., Blevens, M., Reifenberger, R., Hiyoto, K., Fisher E., Vindell, T., Li, Y., Kipper, M., Tsai, C.S.J.*, Engineered nanoparticle release from personal protective clothing: implications for inhalation exposure, ACS Applied Nano Materials, Feb. 2022. 
   
• Blevens, M., Pastrana, F., Mazzotta, H., Tsai, C.S.J.*, Cloth face masks containing silver nanoparticles: evaluating the status, ACS Chemical Health and Safety, published Apr. 2021, 28, 3, 171-182. 
   
• Tsai, C.S.J.*, Shin, N., Formella, A., Fiber Emission of Carbon Nanotube Containing Materials for Construction Applications, Aerosol Science and Technology, 2021. 55:9, 1001-1013 
   
• Shin, N., Drapcho, J., Aich, N., Guha, U., Tsai, C.S.J.*, Assessment of Nanometer-Sized Particles Released From Dental Composite Products, J. Nanoparticle Research, 2020, 11, Nov. 1. 
   
• Tsai, C.S.J.*, Shin, N., Brune, J., Evaluation of sub micrometer sized particles generated from diesel locomotive and drilling within an experimental underground mine, Annals of Work Exposures and Health, July 28, 2020. 
   
• Back, D., Theisen, D., Seo, W., Tsai, C.S.J.*, Janes, D.*, Development of Interdigitated Capacitive Sensor for Real-time Monitoring of Sub-micron and Nanoscale Particulate Matters in Personal Sampling Device for Mining Environment, IEEE Sensors Journal, May 20, 2020. 
   
• Calcaterra, H., Shin, N., Quirk, P., Tsai, C.S.J.*, Low Concentration Analysis of Silver Nanoparticles in Consumer Spray Products, Atmosphere, 11, 403, April 17, 2020.
   
• Khattak, J., Theisen, D., Tsai, C.S.J.*, Sampling Techniques on Collecting Fine Carbon Nanotube Fibers for Exposure Assessment, Scientific Reports, 9, article number: 7137, 2019. 
   
• Shin, N., Velmurugan, K., Su, C., Bauer, A., Tsai, C.S.J.*, Assessment of fine particles emitted during paper printing and shredding processes, Environmental Science: Processes & Impacts, 21, 1342-1352, 2019. 
   
• Tsai, C.S.J.*, Theisen, D., A sampler designed for nanoparticles and respirable particles with direct analysis feature, Journal of Nanoparticle Research, 20:209, 2018. 
   
• Ellenbecker, M., Tsai, C.S.J., Jacobs, M., Riedeker, M., Peters, T., Liou, S., Avila, A., Foss-Hanson, S., The difficulties in establishing an occupational exposure limit for carbon nanotubes, Journal of Nanoparticle Research, 20:131, 2018. 
   
• Pastrana, H., Avila, A., Tsai, C.S.J.*, Nanomaterials in cosmetics products: the challenges with regard to current legal frameworks and consumer exposure, NanoEthics, Aug. 12(2), 2018. 
   
• Lo, L., Tsai, C.S.J.*, Heitbrink, W., Dunn, K., Topmiller, J., Ellenbecker, M., Particle emissions from laboratory activities involving carbon nanotubes, Journal of Nanoparticle Research, 19:293, 2017. 
   
• Tsai, S.*, Shin, N., Castano, A., Khattak, J., Wilkerson, A., Lamport, N., A pilot study on particle emission from printer paper shredders, Aerosol Science and Technology, 1-12, 2017. 
   
• Shinde, A., Tsai, S.*, Toxicity mechanism in fetal lung fibroblast cells for multi-walled carbon nanotubes defined by chemical impurities and dispersibility, Toxicology Research, 5:248-258, 2016. 
   
• Tsai, S.*, Dysart, A., Beltz, J., Pol, V., Identification and mitigation of generated solid by-products during advanced electrode materials processing, Environmental Science and Technology, 50(5):2627-2634, 2016. 
   
• Tsai, S.*, Contamination and release of nanomaterials associated with the use of personal protective clothing, Annals of Occupational Hygiene, 59(4):491-503, 2015. 
   
• Tsai, S.*, Hofmann, M., Kong, J., Hallock, M., Ada, E., Ellenbecker, M., Assessment of exhaust emissions from carbon nanotube production and particle collection by sampling filters, Journal of the Air & Waste Management Association, 65(11):1376-1385, 2015. 
   
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