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Leveraging Zebrafish to Investigate Emerging Kidney Disease Epidemic in Tropical Farming Communities Nishad Jayasundara, PhD Juli Plant Grainger Assistant, Duke University Juli Plant Grainger Assistant Professor of Global Environmental Health |
Environmental exposures, including chemical contaminants and heat stress, pose a major risk to kidney health, particularly contributing to an emerging epidemic of chronic kidney disease in tropical farming communities. I will discuss our community-engaged, bench-to-bedside approach investigating how these exposures contribute to disease onset and progression in impacted communities and will highlight the use of zebrafish (Danio rerio) as a mechanistic model and a screening tool to inform adult and pediatric cohort studies.
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Metabolic health disruptions by environmental chemical mixtures Roxanne Berube, PhD Postdoctoral Fellowship Institute of Environmental Health Sciences and Pharmacology department Wayne State University |
Metabolic health issues are rising worldwide and concurrently humans are exposed to various chemicals from as early as gestation. Epidemiological studies have linked the prevalence of metabolic diseases to exposure to endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs). To investigate the disruption of metabolic pathways by EDC mixtures from common exposure sources, I used a combination of in vitro and in vivo models. I have confirmed the ability of several chemicals to disrupt PPARγ signalling and increase lipid accumulation in vivo. Furthermore, I confirmed that these chemicals disrupt metabolic health in developmentally exposed zebrafish, through changes in metabolic activity, swimming behaviour and gene expression. Lastly, I observed an increased prevalence of fatty liver in zebrafish developmentally exposed to PFAS. My short-term goal is to understand the molecular perturbations caused by PFAS that lead to hepatic steatosis by studying perturbations in signalling and mitochondrial function in hepatocytes. My long-term goal is to become an independent researcher investigating the onset of metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD) and co-occurring cardiovascular diseases caused by environmental toxicants.
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Protect Puerto Rico: More than a decade for justice in maternal and child environmental health in Puerto Rico Carmen M Vélez Vega, Ph. D. Professor, University of Puerto Rico, Medical Sciences Campus, School of Public Health |
This program represents an important initiative to provide necessary care to the most vulnerable communities a6ected by a series of environmental and social determinants of health after hurricanes, earthquakes and the covid pandemic.
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Environmental pollutants as drivers of autoimmune disease Sarah Blossom, PhD Director, NM INSPIRES EHSCC University of New Mexico, Health Sciences, Albuquerque |
Autoimmune diseases include more than 140 disorders characterized by abnormal immune system activity, where inflammation is driven by autoantibodies and self-reactive T cells. The prevalence of autoimmune diseases is on the rise, affecting up to 25 million people in the US. Our lab’s objective is to uncover how exposure to environmental contaminants trigger autoimmunity, with the aim of identifying intervention strategies to restore normal immune function.
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Seminar topic TBD Matt Bozigar, PhD Oregon State University, College of Health |
Matt Bozigar is an environmental epidemiologist with a multidisciplinary background. He studies multiple adverse environmental exposures (e.g., noise, air pollution, aeroallergens, radon) and health outcomes (e.g., asthma, cancer, cardiometabolic risk factors and diseases). Matt views environmental epidemiology through a geographical lens that emphasizes “place” and how it affects the health of populations.
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Seminar topic TBD Shu-juan Chen, PhD University of California, San Diego, College of Health Sciences |
Derived from her extensive studies of xenobiotic nuclear receptors (NRs), Shujuan Chen's research interests have expanded to include nuclear receptor corepressor (NCoR1) and its physiological and pharmacological functions. Implementing mouse genetics and in vitro 3-D organoid culture, she has demonstrated the central role of NCoR1 in intestinal health and inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). These findings led her to the field of intestinal innate immunity, including studies of intestinal stem cell proliferation and differentiation, secretory cells, antimicrobial peptides, gut microbiome, and the interactions of host and intestinal bacteria. Her other research focus is investigating the impact of environmental toxicants on neonatal development, brain toxicity, hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), and colorectal cancer (CRC); these studies include the environmental toxicants arsenic, cadmium, triclosan, benzopyrene, and some polyaromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs).
TBD Emily Ho and Diana Rohlman (TRSC & CEC) |
Dr. Emily Ho's research interests are in the area of antioxidants and gene expression and dietary chemoprevention strategies. She is the leader of the EHSC Translational Research Support Core, Directory of the Linus Pauling Institute, and Co-Director of the Center for Healthy Aging Research.
Dr. Diana Rohlman studies the role of environmental health literacy in helping communities better frame and respond to environmental health hazards. She is the leader of the EHSC Community Engagement Core and co-leader of the SRC Community Engagment Core, where she is working to bring researchers and impacted communities together on collaborative projects.
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Understanding the National Pesticide Information Center; who we are and what we do? Serhan Mermer Director of National Pesticide Information Center Assistant Professor, Oregon State University |
NPIC provides objective, science-based information about pesticides and pesticide-related topics to enable people to make informed decisions about pesticides and their use. NPIC is a cooperative agreement between Oregon State University and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
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Parichehr Salimifard Culbertson Faculty Scholar Assistant Professor, Civil and Construction Engineering Oregon State University |
Buildings have far-reaching impacts on public health and well-being. Buildings are the largest energy use sector and they have had the least improvement in their energy efficiency compared to other sectors. Therefore, they are responsible for the majority of the emissions, and at the same time, they also present a great opportunity in reducing energy consumption and emissions by making buildings more energy efficient. Buildings are also where people spend about 90% of their lifetime.
The indoor environment affects people’s health and well-being, performance, and productivity. Therefore, it is critical to have buildings that are high-performing and also healthy and resilient.
In this presentation, Dr. Salimifard will share her academic career journey as well as some of her research projects focusing on the connections between indoor air quality, building energy performance, emissions footprint of buildings and their climate impacts, and public health impacts of buildings, and how to leverage building science to design and operate buildings that are sustainable, healthy, and resilient.
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Adverse Outcome Pathways For Thyroid Disruption: Filling The Gaps From In Vitro Screens To Developmental Neurotoxicity In A Mammalian System Mary Gilbert Senior Investigator United States Environmental Protection Agency | US EPA · Center for Public Health and Environmental Assessment |
The complexity of the thyroid hormone signaling pathways present a myriad of targets for interference by environmental chemicals. Because thyroid hormones are essential for normal brain development, there is a significant public health need to protect the developing brain of the fetus, newborn, and young child from thyroid system-disrupting chemicals (TSDC). This concern has led to the development of a suite of in vitro-based methodologies (NAMs) targeting specific sites within the thyroid system where chemicals may act. Currently, regulatory decisions for TSDC are largely based on alterations in circulating levels of thyroid hormone in rodent studies, but translation from NAM outputs to serum hormones is lacking. So too is our understanding of the relationships between concentrations of TH in serum, target tissues, and the downstream effects on brain development. This presentation will provide an overview of current approaches to identify and characterize TSDCs for informed regulatory decision making. It will focus ongoing research efforts to unravel how TSDC interfere with thyroid signaling at the molecular, structural, and functional level using a case study with the drinking water contaminant perchlorate. Does not reflect US EPA policy.
