Environmental Contamination
Environmental contamination is the human-made “stuff” that our environment is not able to dissipate. We are mostly interested in chemicals that we flush down the drain at home, chemicals that industries are allowed to discharge into the air or water, and chemicals that leach into our food or drinking water from soil or even the containers that hold them. On their own and in small amounts, these chemicals provide many benefits to humankind; they keep us dry, keep our food from sticking to our pans, kill unwanted or dangerous pests, and give structure to our plastic containers. However, the environment, including our bodies, does not have an unlimited capacity to protect itself from all of the different chemicals that we encounter. And, we do not understand all of the possible health effects of these chemicals because not all health effects are evaluated before they are used in consumer products.
Currently, we are studying/planning to study fluorinated compounds, environmental phenols, pharmaceutical and personal care products, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, and pesticides.
Neurotoxicology
Neurotoxicology is the study of the effects of exogenous agents on the nervous system.
Developmental Toxicology
Developmental toxicology is the study of the effects of exogenous agents on developing organisms or on specific developmental processes. The endocrine system plays a very important role in developing organisms, so we often evaluate hormones, their receptors, and their signaling pathways when evaluating developmental processes.
Immunotoxicology
Immunotoxicology is the study of the effects of exogenous agents on the immune system.
Developmental neuroimmunotoxicology
Developmental neuroimmunotoxicology combines neurotoxicology, developmental toxicology, and immunotoxicology. We are interested in communication between the immune and nervous systems during development and how exogenous agents may disrupt this communication. Our focus is on determining how exposure to developmental immunotoxicants leads to changes in nervous system development. Developmental immunotoxicity (DIT) occurs when the developing immune system experiences an adverse outcome after exposure to a toxicant or other stressor. Exposure to developmental immunotoxicants has been suggested in several neurological disorders, including autism spectrum disorders, attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, chronic fatigue syndrome, and mental retardation, and possibly plays a role in disease susceptibility in aging populations.
The benefit of this combined systems approach is that we can appreciate the complexity of development that requires the interaction of multiple systems, processes, and events. The challenge is that evaluating multiple systems is complex!
Ultimate goal
Our goal is not to eliminate chemicals from the environment; our goal is to determine if exposure to these chemicals contributes to diseases and disorders in humans and wildlife. If we determine linkages between exposure and diseases/disorders, it is our hope that our data will be used to better regulate these chemicals to reduce exposure or to develop additional safety testing guidelines for high production volume chemicals.
Current projects
- - Neurotoxicity of heavy metal-containing dusts.
- - Immunotoxicity of perfluorinated and polyfluorinated compounds.
- - Developmental toxicity of perfluorinated compounds.
- - Developmental neuroimmunotoxicity of environmental phenols.
- - Developmental neuroimmunotoxicity of perfluorinated compounds.