Special Interview with Dr. Hongxiu Liu
On December 11, 2025, the Journal of Environmental Exposure Assessment (JEEA) conducted a special interview with Dr. Hongxiu Liu, Professor at Hainan University, Haikou, China, and a leading scholar in pediatric environmental health. The interview was conducted by Dr. Yifan Xu, Postdoctoral Researcher at the College of Environmental Sciences and Engineering, Peking University, Beijing, China.
Dr. Liu discussed her group's long-term research on how environmental pollution affects children's health, focusing on identifying highly toxic environmental chemicals, elucidating the health consequences of early-life exposures, and developing evidence-based intervention strategies to reduce environmental health risks in vulnerable populations. She shared insights into exposure assessment methods, including internal exposure measurement using biospecimens and external exposure modeling, as well as the identification of early biomarkers from molecular to functional levels.
Drawing on her extensive research experience, Dr. Liu highlighted several key considerations in environmental risk assessment for children's health, including the vulnerability of developing organs, early-life exposures, chemical mixture effects, dose-response relationships, and knowledge gaps related to replacement chemicals and long-term health outcomes.
With respect to prevention and risk mitigation, Dr. Liu emphasized the importance of multi-layered interventions, ranging from national policies and regulations to individual behavior changes supported by health education. Looking forward, she expressed strong interest in leveraging artificial intelligence to prioritize toxic chemicals and identify the most sensitive health outcomes, aiming to enhance efficiency and precision in environmental health research.
Watch the video below for Dr. Hongxiu Liu's expert insights:
Interview Questions:
1. Could you briefly introduce the research work of your group?
2. Your research explores the health effects of early-life exposure to pollutants such as pesticides and per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS). How do you design exposure assessment strategies and identify early biomarkers of adverse health outcomes in children?
3. Based on your research experience, what are the most important considerations in environmental risk assessments for children's health? Are there specific knowledge gaps that future research should focus on?
4. Environmental health risk assessment and prevention are central to your work. What intervention strategies or public health measures do you consider most effective in protecting children from environmental hazards?
5. What research direction are you most interested in pursuing in the future?
Interviewee Profile:
Dr. Hongxiu Liu is a Professor at Hainan University, Haikou, China. She has long been engaged in environmental health research, focusing on pediatric environmental risk screening and identification, early-life exposure effects, exposure-health causal modeling, and healthy community development. As a key investigator of the Wuhan Healthy Baby Cohort (WHBC), Wuhan, China, she has published extensively in journals, including Science Bulletin, BMC Medicine, Environmental Science & Technology, and Environment International. She currently leads several national research projects and serves as a Reviewer and Young Editorial Board Member for multiple international journals such as Environmental Science & Technology, Environment International, and BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth. Notably, her PFAS-related findings have been adopted by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for toxicity assessment and the development of drinking water maximum contaminant level goals.
Interviewer Profile:
Dr. Yifan Xu is a Postdoctoral Researcher at the College of Environmental Sciences and Engineering, Peking University, Beijing, China, mentored by Prof. Tong Zhu, Academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences. Dr. Xu's research focuses on the health effects and underlying mechanisms of air pollution, extreme temperatures, and high-altitude hypoxia. Notably, he participated as a young scientist in the "Earth Summit Mission 2022: Scientific Expedition and Research on Mount Qomolangma." He has published in journals such as Environment International, Environmental Research, and Science of the Total Environment, with studies covering human adaptation to high altitude, extreme temperature-related cardiovascular risk, and lipidomic mechanisms of pollutant-induced cardiometabolic effects.
Editor: Tracy Sun
Language Editor: Catherine Yang
Production Editor: Ting Xu
Respectfully Submitted by the Editorial Office of Journal of Environmental Exposure Assessment
