Meet the Team

The Golomb Research Group, led by Beatrice Alexandra Golomb, is an interdisciplinary team of researchers dedicated to studying the health impacts of environmental exposures, medications, and complex chronic illnesses. The researchers collaborate to investigate how environmental and chemical exposures affect human health. Their work focuses on rigorous scientific analysis, patient-centered research, and translating findings into evidence that can inform medical care, public health policy, and community understanding of exposure-related illness.

Beatrice Alexandra Golomb, MD, PhD

Beatrice Alexandra Golomb, MD, PhD is the director of the Golomb Research Group. She served as a primary care doctor for a panel of veteran patients for over 15 years. Dr. Golomb is Professor of Medicine at the University of California, San Diego, School of Medicine. She received a BS in physics (summa cum laude) from the University of Southern California (age 19). Dr. Golomb also has an MD and PhD (biology) from UC San Diego. 

Dr. Golomb’s research interests include: the balance of treatment risks and benefits; research methods and inference from evidence; and the relation of oxidative stress and mitochondrial function (bioenergetics more generally) to health, behavior, illness, environmental and medication effects, nutrition, and aging. She is best known for her work on Gulf War illness, statins, placebos—and chocolate! A number of her studies have been featured in the national and international print, radio and television media, from the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and the Economist to Jon Stewarts’s The Daily Show.

Janis Ritchie

Janis is the lead research group coordinator and oversees the day-to-day functioning of the office, as well as each of the individual projects and serves as the primary supervisor of grant development.  She has a BSN from the University of Michigan, with past experience in surgery and home health care.  After an experience working with patients at a VA nursing facility, Janis developed a strong interest in veteran health.  She has worked for Dr. Golomb for over 10 years and managed several research studies to include a 1000 person trial of non-cardiac endpoints in statin cholesterol drugs and several smaller studies of Gulf War illness. 

Jami R. Wallce, JD, MPA

Jami was a resident of East Palestine, OH when a Norfolk Southern train derailed and subsequently, five tankers of Vinyl Chloride were detonated over her community on February 3, 2023. 

She followed her gut when the evacuation of her village was lifted less than two days after the detonation. She knew her home was not safe which was proved when a toxicologist visited her home. 

Jami and her family never returned to that home. She used the knowledge from her Juris Doctor Degree and Master of Public Administration, both from Cleveland State University, to be a fierce advocate for Environmental Justice focused on human health.

She joined Golomb Research Group because she was passionate about finding answers for her community, and all communities impacted by toxin exposure.

Bruce Miller

Bruce Miller has an M.S. in Information and Computer Science from UC Irvine, and has recently been studying a pre-medical curriculum.  Bruce is interested in medication adverse reactions and chronic multisystem illnesses. 

Jessica Situ

Jessica earned her Bachelor of Science degree in Public Health with a Concentration in Medicine Sciences from the University of California, San Diego with a minor in General Biology. She joined the Golomb Research Group in January 2022 as an undergraduate intern and was fortunate enough to be brought on as a staff member after her graduation! She is currently a research coordinator for the "Coenzyme Q10 for Gulf War Illness: A Replication Study" which assesses how CoQ10 improves self-rated health, symptoms, and function in veterans with GWI. Jessica hopes to obtain both a MD and MPH degree in order to provide a holistic approach to treating patients as a future physician.

Maia Gilbert

Maia graduated from the University of San Francisco with a Bachelor of Science in Biology and a minor in Philosophy, with a focus on ethics. She is passionate about studying the effects of toxic chemical exposures and their ethical and medical implications, and she hopes to one day pursue medical school to provide comprehensive, high-quality care for affected populations.