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University of New Mexico
METALS
Superfund Center
Metal Exposure and Toxicity Assessment on Tribal Lands in the Southwest
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Welcome to July 2020 Newsletter!
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TRAINEE HIGHLIGHT: SEBASTIAN MEDINA, PhD
Dr. Sebastian Medina will be departing UNM METALS this Fall to start a tenure track faculty position in Biology at New Mexico Highlands University (NMHU). Dr. Medina received his Bachelor of Science in Biology from NMHU. It has been his goal to return to northern New Mexico to teach in his home community.
Dr. Medina received his Ph.D. from the UNM in 2019 and has been an active trainee in UNM METALS, both as a graduate student and postdoctoral fellow with Dr. Burchiel in Biomedical Project 2.
A major focus of his research has been on understanding the immunotoxic effects of uranium and arsenic exposures on gut immune cells and microbiota. A component of this work was recently published (July 2020) in Toxicology and Applied Pharmacology.
Medina, S., Lauer, F. T., Castillo, E. F., Bolt, et al., (2020). Exposures to uranium and arsenic alter intraepithelial and innate immune cells in the small intestine of male and female mice.
At NMHU, Dr. Medina will continue to research metals-mediated hemato and immuno toxicity in collaboration with UNM METALS, UNM College of Pharmacy, Dr. Burchiel, and Dr. Liu.
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Metal, Zinc Fingers, and Immune Function: A Clinical Intervention
To better understand the effects of metals associated with abandoned uranium mines and mine waste on immune function, Biomedical Project 1 (BP1) investigators are assessing the impact of single and mixed metals exposures on immune cell responses and immune regulatory pathways.
This study represents the first human intervention (clinical trial) of zinc supplements to mitigate the adverse effects of mixed metal exposures.
Enrollment has started for Thinking Zinc, a clinical trial to investigate whether zinc dietary supplements mitigate adverse effects of metals in an exposed human population. Initial sample analysis is underway. The results from this study could support an avenue for intervention to improve the well-being of people during the lengthy process of environmental cleanup of mine waste.
Research Highlights from Biomedical Project 1
- In cell-based studies, we find that arsenic, but not uranium, promotes an oxidative stress response, DNA damage and cytotoxicity (Dashner-Titus and Schilz et al, in preparation).
- Arsenic stimulated an expression of genes associated with oxidative stress and inhibited expression of genes involved in T-cell activation.
- Uranium exposure had no significant impact on oxidative stress markers and in contrast to arsenic, did not interfere with T-cell activation. However, uranium modified the arsenic response suggesting that the impact of uranium may be most significant in combination with other metals (Schilz and Dashner-Titus et al, in preparation).
- This mixture effect is also observed in measures of chronic inflammation where cluster analyses show significant increases in pro-inflammatory cytokines are associated with exposure to the highest concentrations of multiple metals including Co, Mn, Mo, Pb, tungsten, and inorganic As and metabolites (Ong dissertation, 2019).
BIOMEDICAL PROJECT 1 INVESTIGATORS
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UNM METALS RESEARCHER RECEIVES FULLBRIGHT
Dr. José Cerrato, METALS Environmental Project 1 PI, received a Fulbright Scholarship to conduct research with collaborators in Spain on novel methods of detecting contaminants in water. His travel is expected to begin in spring 2021.
Dr. Cerrato's Fulbright project will integrate the expertise and facilities at the Electrochemistry Institute at the University of Alicante with advanced spectroscopy and materials at UNM to develop electrochemical sensors for detecting metal contamination in water near mining legacy sites.
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‘Huge disparity’ in COVID-19 death rates for Native Americans in NM
Albuquerque Journal
By Elise Kaplan and Theresa Davis
May 30, 2020 Article features interviews with Drs. Johnnye Lewis & Debra MacKenzie
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UNM Researchers: No sign Navajo has reached the Plateau
Navajo Times
May 21, 2020 Article highlights report given by Dr. Johnnye Lewis to the Navajo Health, Education, and Human Services Committee (HEHSC). The invited report on COVID-19 data analysis by METALS statisticians provided data that as of May 12, Navajo Nation had not yet reached a plateau for cases and that the mortality rate is almost twice that seen in surrounding states.
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The GLOBES Graduate Certificate Program in Environment and Society at the University of Notre Dame awarded a mini grant to Virginia Rodriguez, PhD student from Notre Dame, to collaborate with Isabel Meza and José Cerrato from the UNM METALS Superfund Research Center. The award supports the proposal "Characterization of Sandstone Deposits from the Jackpile Mine: Understanding Uranium Occurrence in Tribal Land in New Mexico".
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Cherie DeVore, from UNM Civil, Construction & Environmental Engineering Department, was granted a 2020 National Science Foundation Earth Sciences Postdoc fellowship to support her future research at Stanford University.
She also successfully defended her PhD Dissertation titled "Biochemical Processes Affecting Arsenic (AS) Mobility and Bioavailability Near Abandoned Mine Waste."
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PUBLICATIONS
Bush, Nicole, Laurie Wakschlag, Kaja Zabrina LeWinn, Irva Hertz-Picciotto, Sara Nozadi, Sarah Pieper, Johnnye Lewis et al. "Family environment, neurodevelopmental risk, and the Environmental influences on Children’s Health Outcomes (ECHO) initiative: Looking back and moving forward." Frontiers in Psychiatry 11 (2020): 547.
Lin, Y., Hoover, J., Beene, D., Erdei, E., & Liu Z. Environmental risk mapping of potential abandoned uranium mine contamination on the Navajo Nation, USA, using a GIS-based multi-criteria decision analysis approach. Environ Sci Pollut Res (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-020-09257-3
Medina, S., Lauer, F. T., Castillo, E. F., Bolt, A. M., Ali, A. M. S., Liu, K. J., & Burchiel, S. W. (2020). Exposures to uranium and arsenic alter intraepithelial and innate immune cells in the small intestine of male and female mice. Toxicology and Applied Pharmacology, 115155. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.taap.2020.115155
Sanchez, B., Zhou, X., Gardiner, A.S., Herbert, G., Lucas, S., Morishita, M., Wagner, J.G., Lewandowski, R., Harkema, J.R., Shuey, C., Campen, M.J, & Zychowski K. Serum-borne factors alter cerebrovascular endothelial microRNA expression following particulate matter exposure near an abandoned uranium mine on the Navajo Nation. Part Fibre Toxicol 17, 29 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12989-020-00361-3
Scammell, M. K., Sennett, C., Laws, R. L., Rubin, R. L., Brooks, D. R., Amador, J. J., ... & Birth, N. (2020). Urinary Metals Concentrations and Biomarkers of Autoimmunity among Navajo and Nicaraguan Men. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 17(15), 5263. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph17155263
Sharma, P., Caldwell, T. S., Rivera, M. N., & Gullapalli, R. R. (2020). Cadmium exposure activates Akt/ERK Signaling and pro-inflammatory COX-2 expression in human gallbladder epithelial cells via a ROS dependent mechanism. Toxicology in Vitro, 104912. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tiv.2020.104912
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RECENT GRANTS
Drs. Johnnye Lewis, Debra MacKenzie, and Joe Hoover have received the year 6 through 10 renewal of their P50 Center Grant entitled Center for Native American Environmental Health Equity Research. This grant has been awarded a total of approximately $6.75M over the 5 years
Dr. Matt Campen received 5-year, $11.5 million COBRE grant entitled University of New Mexico Center for Metals in Biology and Medicine.
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NIH/NIEHS P42 ES025589 (UNM METALS)
This material was developed in part under cited research awards to the University of New Mexico. It has not been formally reviewed by the funding agencies. The views expressed are solely those of the speakers and do not necessarily reflect those of the agencies. The funders do not endorse any products or commercial services mentioned in this presentation.
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Follow UNM METALS on Twitter @MetalsSrp
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