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Our Students
Student Research News and Highlights |
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Samir
Kelada, PhD Toxicology
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With
support from the NIEHS Environmental Pathology and Toxicology Training
Grant and a Magnuson Scholar Award, Samir
been working with Drs. Harvey Checkoway, Paola Costa-Mallen, and
Lucio G. Costa on a
case-control study of Parkinson's Disease (PD). The
work combines epidemiologic, genetic, and toxicologic techniques
to see if DNA sequence variants in genes encoding proteins that
handle dopamine may combine with environmental factors to cause
sporadic PD.
more
information
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| Chang-Fu Wu, PhD Industrial Hygiene |
Exposure
assessment is an important process for evaluating risk from occupational
hazards. This information can be used to determine if administrative
controls, engineering controls and respiratory protection, or other
programs are needed to protect workers from adverse health effects
of airborne contaminants.Chang-Fu
proposed using open-path Fourier transform infrared (OPFTIR) spectroscopy
to monitor personal exposure. The OPFTIR
instrument sends out infrared light along a fixed beam
path to measure chemicals in the air over distances up to
1000 meters. The collected light can provide information on
composition and concentration of many air contaminants.
more
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| Michael Compher, MS Environmental Health '04 |
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Diesel exhaust has been associated
with worsening asthma and allergies among children. Regulatory agencies
and school districts are making major efforts to retire old diesel
engines. However, a serious question remains unanswered: What magnitude
of impact will this major governmental environmental policy have
on public health, especially the health of asthmatic children who
commute by diesel bus? Michael worked with Professor L.-J. Sally
Liu to conduct a small-scale feasibility study. Michael's
pilot study assessed the exposures of nine asthmatic and non-asthmatic
children in Seattle while they rode to and from school in a variety
of makes and models of diesel school buses.
more
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| Carrie
Fields, MS Toxicology '03
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Working
with Dr. Jane Koenig and her research team,Carrie
measured exposure to indoor, outdoor, and personal air pollution
exposure and cardiorespiratory
health effects in adults with asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary
disease. In
an attempt to elucidate the role of PM 2.5
in cardiopulmonary
system damage, this study looked at specific cardiovascular endpoints,
such as pulse rate and blood preasure, traditional pulmonary endpoints
such as lung function, and more innovative pulmonary endpoints,
such as exhaled nitric oxide and 8-isoprostane analyses of breath
condensate. Carrie's study found a correlation between outdoor
and personal air pollution and exhaled nitric oxide and demonstrated
that exhaled nitric oxide is a good, noninvasive measurement
for respiratory distress.
more information
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| Ryan
Allen, PhD Environmental & Occupational Hygiene '04
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Nearly
all of the epidemiological studies of Particulate Matter (PM)
health effects have relied exclusively on stationary outdoor
PM monitors to estimate exposure. Since PM toxicities and control strategies differ depending
on where the particles originate, there is a need to develop
more sophisticated exposure assessment methods to estimate how much outdoor- and indoor generated
PM contributes to personal exposures. Ryan
Allen, with support from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the
Northwest Research Center for Particulate Air Pollution and Health, has been
working with Drs. Sally Liu, Tim Larson, and Lianne Sheppard at the UW and
Dr. Lance Wallace of the EPA to separate personal exposure into outdoor-
and indoor-generated components.
Allen’s research is
focused on people who are particularly sensitive to the health effects of PM,
including children with asthma and older
adults with coronary heart disease
and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.
more information |
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| Elizabeth Gribble, PhD
Toxicology |
Elizabeth Gribble, a PhD candidate in the Department
of Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences, has been working
with Dr. Elaine Faustman to develop experimental models to test
the effects of toxicant exposure on the principal processes involved
in the developing human nervous system. Identifying preventable
causes of neurodevelopmental disorders has significant potential
to improve public health. Elizabeth's work will lead to a better
grasp of how toicants influence the developing nervous system and
help policy makers translate laboratory observations into sound
decisions about the environment and human health.
more information |
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