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Dr. Lung-Wen Antony Chen
Dr. Lung-Wen Antony Chen
Director, Urban Air Quality Lab
Professor, Department of Environmental and Global Health, UNLV School of Public Health
Dr. Lung-Wen "Antony" Chen is a Professor in Environmental Health at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas and Director of the Urban Air Quality Lab (UAQL) where he leads research and community-based monitoring of outdoor and indoor air quality across Southern Nevada. Dr. Chen has more than 25 years of experience in air pollution research, working closely with federal and state agencies and international collaborators to address challenges in air pollution measurement, emission reduction, and mitigating health risk. His work was recognized with the Frank A. Chambers Excellence in Air Pollution Control Award from the Air & Waste Management Association. Dr. Chen's research also extends to global environmental health issues related to energy use, water quality, urbanization, and climate change.
Olusanya Onamuti
Olusanya Onamuti
Graduate Research Assistant, Urban Air Quality Lab
Graduate Student, Water Resources
Olusanya Onamuti brings over 15 years of professional experience in environmental management and environmental problem-solving to his research at UNLV's Urban Air Quality Laboratory. He has studied and worked across Nigeria, the United Kingdom, and the United States, holding an MSc in Environmental Change, Management and Monitoring from the University of Hull, United Kingdom, an MBA from the University of Lagos and a BSc in Biochemistry, alongside the MIEnvSc designation from the Institution of Environmental Sciences (IES). He is currently a graduate student in UNLV's Water Resources program.
Prior to joining UAQL, Onamuti spent 12 years as an Environmental Scientist with Lagos State Ministry of the Environment and Water Resources in Nigeria, where he contributed to regulatory frameworks and major environmental impact assessments, and partnered with Dr. Lung-Wen Antony Chen on the World Bank-supported Pollution Management and Environmental Health (PMEH) program, helping develop air quality monitoring networks and an air quality management plan for the city of Lagos.
At UAQL, Olusanya's research focuses on heavy metal pollution in water systems and its implications for public and environmental health and policy. He also contributes to the Fire Emissions and Atmospheric Aging track of the Harnessing the Data Revolution for Fire Science (HDRFS) project, and to research assessing the climate and health impacts of urban greening in Las Vegas. He is committed to advancing data-driven, science-based solutions to environmental challenges that promote public health and sustainability globally, and mentors undergraduate researchers in the lab.
Kya Johnson
Kya Johnson
Graduate Research Assistant, Urban Air Quality Lab
MPH Student, Environmental and Global Health, UNLV School of Public Health
Kya is a second-year MPH student working under Dr. Chen as the lab's graduate research assistant. She leads participant recruitment and outreach for UAQL's air monitor programs. In 2025, she received her bachelor's degree in Communications from UNLV, which shapes how she approaches outreach and public engagement for the lab.
Before joining UAQL, Kya worked with the Nevada Heat Lab at the Desert Research Institute, where she studied heat resilience and access to cooling stations across Las Vegas and Henderson during extreme heat events. She has also worked in environmental advocacy, researching and drafting legislative campaigns focused on climate change and plastic pollution with Seaside Sustainability. She is interested in environmental health injustice and learning the ways urban planning and tree canopy can help cities adapt to rising temperatures.
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