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April 2024| Center for Human Health and the Environment

Note from the Director


Happy Spring everyone!  


I hope you have been able to enjoy some of the beautiful weather of late, despite the fact that we are all driving vehicles in some shade of yellow right now. Last month I added a Research Scholar, Dr. Alina Hamilton, to my lab group. Dr. Hamilton hails from UTRGV and more recently got her PhD from UNC-CH in Pathology and Laboratory Science, and then trained with Melissa Troester in cancer biology. If you see her downstairs in the Tox Building, please welcome her. The CHHE Leadership team has been hard at work getting pieces of the renewal ready to upload...18 days and counting!! Thanks to those of you that have provided parts, pieces and letters of support. We are nearing the finish line. I hope you enjoy the content of the newsletter this month - please note that we will try to feature newly published papers regularly now. If you cite the Center, they will show up in this newsletter...a great way to increase your papers' citation rate is for the hundreds of people that get this newsletter to see it!!  


Sue Fenton

sefenton@ncsu.edu 

Toxicology Bldg. rm 1104E

Upcoming Events

April 5: Behavior & Neuroscience RIG Monthly Meeting, Santosh Mishra's lab 12:00pm DCL 102 or Zoom

April 5: Data Science and Environmental Health Sciences Research Symposium 8:30am-6:15pm Auditorium and Duke Energy Hall, Hunt Jr. Library Registration

*Co-sponsored by CHHE


Add the CHHE Google Calendar to your calendar to never miss an event or opportunity!

News

John Horowitz Retiring


Dr. Horowitz will retire from NC State at the end of this fiscal year. He joined the Office of Research and Innovation in 2013 after leading an NIH-funded cancer research laboratory at Duke and NC State for 25 years. 

Sinan Sousan (Co-PI) received a $27,500 Flash Grant from the NC Biotechnology Center


Dr. Sousan's proposal is titled “Development of a Novel Compact Wind Tunnel for Testing Formulated Products against Mosquitoes and Other Insects”. The study expands on the current methods for assessing insecticide-formulated products for mosquito control. Given there is widespread resistance to insecticide classes, the award proposes developing a second-generation, lower-cost compact wind tunnel that works inside and outside a small fume hood. This work will advance the wind tunnel developed by Sousan and his collaborator to further market development and could be expanded for use in other arthropods. Article

John Meitzen Awarded Alumni Distinguished Undergraduate Professor Award


This award is supported by the NC State Alumni Association and is coordinated by the Office of the Executive Vice Chancellor and Provost and the Office for Faculty Excellence. It is one of the most prestigious undergraduate teaching awards at NC State.

Hannah Starnes Received an Outstanding Graduate Student Leadership Award


Hannah, in Scott Belcher's lab, was recognized as one of three recipients of the esteemed "Outstanding Graduate Student Leadership Award" for 2024 by the Society of Technology Graduate Student Leadership Committee.

Michico (MJ) James nominated for Outstanding State Government Service Award


Michico, CHHE Program Manager, will be honored at the 2024 ORI Awards for Excellence ceremony, held on April 3, 2024 at 2:00pm at the Friday Institute. MJ exemplies the team-based foundation that our Center's mission is based on.

Xiaoqiu (Churchill) Wang Received the Janice Bahr Junior Scientist Travel Award


Dr. Wang is one of seven individuals who have made outstanding contributions to the scientific discipline of reproductive biology in 2024! He will be officially honored at the Society for the Study of Reproduction Annual Meeting later this year.

Share the Good News!


Have you or someone in your research interest group or lab; received an award, served on a special committee, given an invited lecture, published a paper and/or completed a project recently? Please share the good news by completing this form. An announcement may be included in the newsletter and/or posted on the website.

RIG and Core Updates

Community Engagement Core


The CEC, in partnership with the Data Science Academy and The Science House, hosted the "Let's Keep it Real: Real Teaching with Real Data" workshop on March 16. 13 science teachers from 7 counties used raw research data from CHHE labs to explore pre-made lesson plans designed to help their students improve their data analysis skills. The overall goal was to equip these science teachers with the tools necessary to use real research data in their classrooms. 


Spring 2024 Pilot Project Awardeess


Title: Role of Cockroaches in the Proliferation of Microbial Contaminants in Low-income Households

PI: Coby Schal

$25,000


Title: High-throughput Analysis of Toxicant Mixtures in C. Elegans

PI: Adriana San Miguel

$25,000


Title: Exploring the Interplay Between Phthalate Exposure and Autoimmune Demyelination

PI: Alessandro Didonna

$25,000


Title: Comparative Analysis of Trace Elements and PFAS and their Systemic Effects for the Galapagos Sea Lion (Zalophus wollebaeki) and the California Sea Lion (Zalophus californianus)

PI: Matthew Breen

$25,000


Title: Developing an Assessment Modality for Vaping-induced Inflammation and Immune Dysfunction

PI: Rob Onyenwoke

$25,000


The fall request for applications will be released in August.


Recent Member Publications

"Reverse Metabolomics for the Discovery of Chemical Structures from Humans"

"Do Animal Husbandry Operations Contaminate Groundwater Sources with Antimicrobial Resistance: Systematic Review"

"Vaping-Dependent Pulmonary Inflammation Is Ca(2+) Mediated and Potentially Sex Specific"

"Reanalysis of PFO5DoA Levels in Blood from Wilmington, North Carolina, Residents, 2017-2018"

"Developmental Regulation of Cellular Metabolism Is Required for Intestinal Elongation and Rotation"

"Measurement of Hydro-EVE and 6:2 FTS in Blood from Wilmington, North Carolina, Residents, 2017-2018"

"Cyfip2 Controls the Acoustic Startle Threshold through FMRP, Actin Polymerization, and GABA(B) Receptor Function"

"Invited Perspective: Increasing Disparities in Air Pollution Health Burdens in the United States-A Concerning Trend for PM2.5 and a Path Forward"

Reminders

Cite and acknowledge NIH award support and the CHHE’s P30 grant in future publications and presentations by including this –

“Research reported in this publication was supported by the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences of the National Institutes of Health under Award Number P30ES025128. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health.”



Publications citing the Center grant in the acknowledgements of a manuscript and in the deposit of the manuscript in NIEMS are the currency for the P30 renewal!


CHHE Resources and Facilities Page for NIH Grants is available on the CHHE website.

PINS: When submitting your grants, be sure to select "Center for Human Health and the Environment" as the center in PINS.

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