Research News

Genetics at the Community Level (Environmental Health Perspectives, August, 2005) Genetics and Ethics (Environmental Health News, Spring-Summer, 2005) Who will have access to my genetic information? Should I get tested for a genetic disease that runs in my family, even if there's no cure? These and other ethical, legal, and social questions were discussed during a community forum sponsored by the National Human Genome Research Institute with help from the CEEH Community Outread and Education Program. Student Green Mapping (KPLU, June 6, 2005--link to MP3 file) High School students study environmental issues by exploring their local urban neighborhoods. Many of the students are from the Health, Environment, and Life Academy (HEAL) at Cleveland High School in Seattle. HEAL advisors include staff from the CEEH Community Outreach and Education Program. Students get dose of toxins in classroom (The Daily, Seattle, Washington, April 11, 2005) Tox Ambassadors teach K-12 students about toxicology using activities in the Tox-in-a-Box kit, designed and distributed by the CEEH Community Outreach and Education Program. A brochure about the kit is available online. Mukilteo students brew up some fuel: They hope to persuade the school board to use biodiesel in school buses (The Herald, Everett, Washington, March 28, 2005) Students studying alternative fuels with the help of the NIEHS-funded Integrated Environmental Health Middle School Project take second place in the national Volvo Adventure contest backed by the United Nations Environment Program. The student made their own biodiesel, a vegetable-oil-based fuel, and plan to lobby their School Board to to use this less polluting fuel in its busses. IEHMSP Resource Teacher Lyle Rudensey led the project. Beyond the Bench: Tox-in-a-Box (Environmental Health Perspectives 113(3), March 2005) Another article on the ways "Tox Ambassadors" use the Tox-in-a-Box kit to bring science from the lab to the classroom. It smells like popcorn and it's catching on (Seattle Post-Intelligencer 2/18/2005) Not only does CEEH educator Lyle Rudensey make his own biodiesel, he also helps high-school students mix their own batches of this less-polluting fuel. Rudensey is the resource teacher for the NIEHS-funded Integrated Environmental Health Middle School Project. UW Researchers to Study Link Between Air Pollution, Cardiovascular Disease (University Week 8/5/2004) EPA press release CEEH researcher Joel Kaufman is principal investigator on a $30 million grant from the Environmental Protection Agency to study links between chronic exposure to air pollution and cardiovascular disease. Kaufman also heads the CEEH Cardiovascular and Respiratory Toxicology Research Core, which focuses on genetic susceptibility to pollutants. Deadly Algae Blooms to be Studied at New UW research Center (University Week 4/29/2004) New Centers for Oceans and Human Health (Environmental Health Perspectives, 112(8):A468-A470) Domoic acid can cause memory loss and brain damage. UW toxicologists and oceanographers will study the genetics of the this toxin, created during algal blooms, in a new research project headed by CEEH researcher Elaine Faustman. Faustman also directs the CEEH Reproductive and Developmental Toxicology Research Core. Hormone Therapy May Double Risk of Dementia (Rapp et al. 2003. Effect of estrogen plus progestin on global cognitive function in postmenopausel women. JAMA 289: 2663-2672) Research by CEEH investigator Deborah Bowen and her colleagues shows that hormone replacement therapy may harm rather than help the mental acuity of women 65 and older. Bowen was a co-author of one of two studies on hormones and the brain published in the May 28 issue of JAMA. Bowen is a member of the CEEH Ethical, Legal, and Social Issues Core and an investigator in the Cancer Prevention Research Program at the Fred Hutchison Cancer Research Center. On the Job Safety is Major Concern for Minors (Seattle Times 4/26/2003) CEEH School to Work specialist Darren Linker discusses ways that teens can avoid injuring themselves on the job. More information is available at the Health and Safety Awareness for Working Teens Web site. Students Learn About Public Issues (Skagit Valley Herald 4/2/2003) Students at Mount Baker Middle School in Mount Vernon learned about environmental health while researching issues related to a mock "pesticide spill" and presenting clean-up plans to fellow students a "town meeting." This program was supported by the CEEH Integrated Environmental Health Middle School Project. Wood Smoke: In the Winter, Smoke From Wood Burning Pollutes (University Week 11/7/2002) CEEH investigator Jane Koenig's research into the health effects of exposure to wood smoke is profiled. Koenig is co-director of the CEEH Cardiovascular and Respiratory Toxicology Research Core, and the EPA Northwest Center for Particulate Matter and Health. "Safety first" on that Summer Job (The News Tribune 6/19/2002) The Health and Safety Awareness for Working Teens Program, a joint venture between COEP and the Washington State Department of Labor and Industries, is designed to teach teens about work safety, and so reduce the high number of work-related injuries and deaths among young workers. Dark Cloud of Illness Lingers Over Many (Seattle Post-Intelligencer 4/19/2002) Timothy Takaro is quoted regarding beryllium exposure and illness in workers at the Hanford Nuclear Reservation. Takaro researches chronic beryllium disease as a member of the CEEH Cardiovascular and Respiratory Toxicology Research Core. He is also a clinical assistant professor in the Occupational and Environmental Medicine Program, a clinical assistant professor in the Department of Environmental Health, and an affiliate investigator in the FHCRC Division of Public Health Science. Research Downplays Risk of Cousin Marriages (USA Today 4/04/2002) Risk for Offspring of Cousins Lower Than Commonly Believed (University Week 4/04/2002) Research by Arno Motulsky, CEEH Associate Director, and colleagues showed that the risk of bearing children with birth defects is only 1.7 percent to 2.8 percent higher among parents who are first cousins as compared to parents who are unrelated. The story was also reported in the New York Times (April 4, 2002, Section A, Page 1, Column 3), where it can be viewed online for a fee. Warfarin-Gene Interaction (4/03/2002: Higashi et al. Association between CYP2C9 genetic variants and anticoagulation-related outcomes during warfarin therapy. JAMA 287, 13:1690-1698.) A CEEH research team published one of the first studies to show an association between genetic variations and a serious drug reaction. They found that common variants in the enzyme that metabolizes the drug warfarin can make patients more susceptible to serious or life-threatening bleeding. The team was led by Alan Rettie, a professor in the Department of Medicinal Chemistry and the former director of the CEEH Gastrointestinal and Renal Toxicology Research Core; Fred Farin, a research associate professor in the Department of Environmental Health and the manager of the Functional Genomics Facility Core; and Sengkeo L. Srinouanprachanh, a research technologist in the Functional Genomics Facility Core. Genetic Information and Patient Care (University Week 2/28/2002) Research of Dr. Wylie Burke, co-director of the CEEH Ethical, Legal, and Social Issues Core. Burke describes the uses and limitations of current genetic testing. The Toxicogenomics Consortium uses gene "chips" to study differences in the way people reaction to environmental exposures. Coverage of the Consortium appeared on KING TV and KOMO TV (11/05/01). The Consortium press release covers additional details on the University of Washington program, and a press release from the funding agency, the National Institute for Environmental Health Sciences, covers the national toxicogenomics program. Pesticide Traces Found in Kids Here (Seattle Times 8/10/01, p. 1) All but one of 96 Seattle-area children tested had minute traces of pesticide in their bodies; children in families that reported using pesticides in their gardens had higher levels. Original research paper available online in Environmental Health Perspectives. Microarray Center Open to Researchers (University Week 8/02/01, p. 6) Researchers once had to study the impact of toxic chemicals one gene at a time. Mircroarray technologies now allow researchers to study the activity, or expression, of thousands of genes simultaneously. This article profiles the microarray center sponsored by the Center for Ecogenetics and Environmental Health and the Nathan Shock Center for Study of the Basic Biology of Aging. Why Cells Go Bad (Columns December 2000, p. 32-34) Profile of cancer research by CEEH investigator and UW professor Lawrence Loeb, a member of the CEEH Carcinogenesis Research Core. Center Attacks Core Issues in Land of Apples (Environmental Health Perspectives 108(12)A554-A558, 12/00) Profile of Center for Ecogenetics and Environmental Health and report on Town Meeting: Voices for Healthy Environments, Healthy Communities, held September 29-30 in Seattle, WA. Town Meeting (UW Department of Environmental Health Environmental Health News 12/00) Report of environmental health concerns presented by community groups at Town Meeting: Voices for Healthy Environments, Healthy Communities, held September 29-30 in Seattle, WA. Hepatitis C Center (University Week 11/2/00) Hepatitis C leads to about 10,000 deaths and about 1,000 liver transplants each year in the United States. CEEH Investigator Nelson Fausto, member of the CEEH Carcinogenesis Research Core, heads a new research center conducting basic and applied research on this viral infection. Center Investigator Raj Kapur studies genetic variations associated with Hirschsprung disease. (University Week 1/13/00) Pesticide Use and Children's Health: UW Study Aims to Gauge the Danger (Seattle Times 8/22/99) Research by CEEH investigators working with the UW Center for Child Environmental Health Risks Research. One-Eyed Animals Implicate Cholesterol in Development (Science 6/5/98) Earliest HIV Sample (4/98)