EHSRC News – Environmental Health Sciences Research Center

The Analytical Toxicology Laboratory has moved!

July 30, 2026 By Phillips, Rose A

The Analytical Toxicology Laboratory, part of the EHSRC’s Exposure Science Facility (ESF), has moved to a newly renovated laboratory space in the Iowa Bioscience Innovation Facility (IBIF). This purpose-built laboratory space supports cutting-edge research on environmental exposures, the human microbiome, and molecular mechanisms of disease. It includes dedicated laboratories for molecular biology, microbiome research, sample preparation, chemical synthesis, and cell culture to support biomonitoring studies. The move was made possible by $7.5 million in institutional commitment and philanthropic funds. Several state-of-the-art instruments are available to analyze various chemical compounds in complex matrices, including water, food, air, blood and tissue samples:

SCIEX Triple Quad 7500 System – QTRAP Ready (AB SCIEX, California) with an LC system (Agilent, Santa Clara, California) consisting of a High-Speed Pump solvent delivery system, Multicolumn Thermostat column oven, and Multisampler with Thermostat autosampler.
Agilent Technologies 8890 gas chromatograph with 7693A Autoinjector and a 7000E Quadrupole MS/MS. This GC-MS/MS instrument is installed with Masshunter software on a dedicated, networked personal computer.
Agilent Technologies 7890 gas chromatograph with 5975 single quadrupole mass spectrometer, inert EI ion source, and a CombiPAL sampler with SPME capability and an SPME fiber conditioning station. This instrument is operated with Masshunter software installed on a dedicated, networked personal computer.
Agilent Technologies 6890N gas chromatograph with 5975 inert mass selective detector with EI or NCI ion sources, a micro electron capture detector, and a Gerstel MPS MulitPurpose Sampler with SPME capability. The instrument is operated with Masshunter software installed on a dedicated, networked personal computer.
Shimadzu high pressure-liquid chromatography system consisting of a DGU-14A degaser, LC-10ATvp liquid chromatograph, SIL-10ADvp auto injector, SCL-10Avp system controller, CTO-20AC column oven, SPD-10Avp UV-VIS detector and FRC-10A fraction collector. This instrument operates with LabSolutions software and is installed on a dedicated personal computer.

Click here for more information about the EHSRC’s Core Facilities, including the Exposure Science Facility (ESF) and its Analytical Toxicology Laboratory (ATL).

EHSRC Member David Cwiertny to lead the Iowa Integrated Network for Science, Information, and Geospatial Health Tracking (INSIGHT) initiative

July 1, 2026 By Phillips, Rose A

A new University of Iowa research initiative is launching July 1, 2026, to study environmental risk factors and improve health outcomes for Iowans. The Iowa Integrated Network for Science, Information, and Geospatial Health Tracking (INSIGHT) program will produce scientific evidence needed to understand how environmental exposures affect human health, from the air we breathe to the water we drink. A generous $5 million founding gift from Sharon and Kyle Krause supports Iowa INSIGHT, which is a collaboration between the UI Center for Health Effects of Environmental Contamination (CHEEC) and IIHR—Hydroscience and Engineering (IIHR).

David Cwiertny, the Rose and Joseph Summers Chair in Water Resources Engineering, co-leader of the EHSRC Water Quality Thematic Area, and CHEEC Director, will lead the initiative. His research focuses on watersheds, water treatment, and the movement and fate of pollutants such as pesticides and “forever chemicals” in the environment.

Iowa is one of only a few states where cancer rates continue to rise; currently, Iowa has the second highest cancer rate in the country. Data gathered through Iowa INSIGHT will support epidemiological studies to establish associations between environmental exposures and adverse health outcomes, especially cancer, to potentially power future solutions and innovations.

“There’s an opportunity here to make sure we can contribute to help Iowa, the place that we came to and never wanted to leave,” says Cwiertny, who moved his family to Iowa from California in 2011. “It’s very fulfilling.”

To learn more, read the news release from IIHR.

EHSRC Member Jun Wang leads study linking wildfires to worsened ozone pollution in the US

June 24, 2026 By Phillips, Rose A

Jun Wang , EHSRC Member and Lichtenberg Family Chair in the Department of Chemical and Biochemical Engineering, is the corresponding author for a study published in the journal Science that found that ozone pollution has worsened in much of the continental United States over the past decade, fueled by wildfires and the long-distance transport of unhealthy air.

The study also found that the increase in wildfire-driven ozone pollution over the past decade has undercut air-quality improvements achieved before 2015, largely through reductions in automobile emissions, which are a main contributor to surface ozone.

To read more about this study and its implications, click here.

New fact sheet: Microplastics and Health

February 17, 2026 By Curnick, Jacqueline A

The Community Engagement Core has released a new fact sheet about health impacts of microplastics.

View the full packet and all of the individual fact sheets on the resources page.

EHSRC Associate Member Snehajyoti Chatterjee leads a PCB study published in Molecular Psychiatry (Nature Publishing Group)

February 6, 2026 By Phillips, Rose A

EHSRC Associate Member Snehajyoti Chatterjee, an Assistant Professor of Neuroscience and Pharmacology, led a study using spatial transcriptomic profiling to uncover the effects of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) on gene expression related to spatial memory, a relevant factor in cognitive decline. The study, recently published in Molecular Psychiatry, a journal published by the Nature Publishing Group, found that mice exposed to PCBs exhibited deficits in long-term spatial memory.

To examine the molecular effects of PCB on the brain, the team used a spatial transcriptomics technique to analyze gene expression changes in five brain regions: the hippocampus, neocortex, thalamus, caudal putamen, and fiber tracts. Their analysis of spatial gene expression revealed the molecular signatures influenced by PCB in these susceptible brain regions of mice. Network analysis suggested that these changes are associated with higher chlorinated PCBs present in the brain. Additionally, the team showed that PCB exposure disrupts the expression of tight junction proteins, which are crucial for maintaining the integrity of the blood-brain barrier (BBB). Thus, the study results offer mechanistic insights into how PCB exposure affects brain function and cognition.