Superfund Research Program News

Sixteen UNC SRP postdoctoral and graduate student trainees improved their skills in communicating research to broad audiences, thanks to a supplemental grant from NIEHS. Trainees participated in three skill-building sessions this spring that allowed them to practice presentation skills, develop an elevator speech, and apply adult learning principles in an effort to improve their ability… Read more »

Dr. Joaquim Vila, a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Barcelona, has received a prestigious Marie Curie Research Fellowship from the European Commission to support two years of research in the Aitken lab. Dr. Vila will be working with Dr. Aitken to study the biodegradation of PAHs and other polycyclic aromatic compounds that are typically… Read more »

In a recent study, researchers in Dr. Rebecca Fry’s lab have demonstrated that pregnant women in Gómez Palacio, Mexico are being exposed to potentially harmful levels of inorganic arsenic in their drinking water and highlighted a negative relationship between maternal arsenic metabolite concentrations in urine and adverse health outcomes for the newborn. The paper, Maternal… Read more »

Information Session on Vapor Intrusion at SciWorks on Monday, Feb. 9 National experts will present information and answer questions from 6:30-8:30 pm WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. (February 6, 2014) — With help from the UNC Superfund Research Program, a free informational session on vapor intrusion has been organized for Monday, February 9, from 6:30-8:30pm at SciWorks. The… Read more »

James Swenberg, PhD, Kenan Distinguished Professor of environmental sciences and engineering at the Gillings School, delivered the keynote address at the 30th annual meeting of the Korean Society of Toxicology/Korean Environmental Mutagen Society, held at Muju Deogyusan Resort, in Jeonbuk, Korea, Nov. 6-7. Swenberg’s lecture, “Using Science to Improve Risk Assessment,” addressed use of the… Read more »

PhD student Alden Adrion won the “Best student poster in environmental sciences and engineering – Session 1” award at the annual National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) Superfund Research Program (SRP) meeting, November 12-14, 2014, in San Jose, California. His winning poster was entitled, “Using Surfactants to Improve the Bioremediation of Soil Contaminated with… Read more »

October 31, 2014 A new study at UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health found that prenatal exposure to inorganic arsenic may lead to detrimental health effects and gene reprogramming in children. The findings were published Oct. 10 in Toxicological Sciences, the official journal of the Society of Toxicology. Rebecca Fry, PhD, associate professor of… Read more »

SRP Research Translation Core (RTC) staff are engaging with community partners to educate recreational anglers and their families about a fish consumption advisory related to polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) contamination in Lake Crabtree near Morrisville, NC. Dangerous levels of PCBs have been found in fish in Lake Crabtree County Park and its tributaries, popular fishing sites… Read more »

We worry about our exposure to cancer-causing chemicals in our environment, our diets, our homes and workplaces. But some of those very same chemicals are actually produced inside our bodies as byproducts of normal metabolism, inflammation, infections and other metabolic processes. The challenge is to be able to differentiate whether chemical levels inside a person’s… Read more »

Soil at many Superfund sites contains polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs): byproducts of industrial processes such as oil and gas production or wood preservation with creosote. Some of these PAHs are potent carcinogens. One of the most effective ways to clean up these hazardous chemicals is bioremediation, a process in which contaminated soil is excavated and… Read more »