Environmental Health Sciences Research Center

University of Iowa College of Public Health

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Winners Selected in Statewide Radon PSA Poster and Video Contests; EHSRC Participates

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Each year in Iowa, the American Lung Association and the Iowa Department of Public Health, in partnership with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region 7 and the Iowa Radon Coalition host the annual statewide Iowa Radon Poster and Video Contests.

Iowa citizens ages 9-14 are invited to create a radon poster that will increase public awareness of radon gas and encourage others to test their homes. A committee will select the top five winning posters from throughout the entire state of Iowa to receive monetary prizes. The school that submits the most entries wins $200.

Concurrently, high school students are invited to submit entries to the Iowa Radon Video Contest, for which three top prizes are awarded.  As a member of the Iowa Radon Coalition, EHSRC Coordinator Nancy Wyland has participated in judging this event for the past three years in representation of the Center.

“The submissions are quite creative, and the students work hard on their entries,” Ms. Wyland offered.  It’s a great event that engages young adults in environmental awareness and the dangers of radon, which is particularly prevalent in Iowa.”

Radon is a colorless, odorless, tasteless, radioactive gas produced by the natural decay of uranium in the soil. Exposure to elevated radon levels increases the risk of developing lung cancer. Radon is the leading cause of lung cancer among non-smokers and is the number one cause of death in homes, surpassing falls, poisoning, fires, choking, and drowning. As all Iowa counties are considered at high risk, this contest provides an opportunity to educate Iowa youth and the general public. By participating in this activity, students learn about radon and how to reduce their risk of exposure.

Wyland added, “Our Center has a longstanding research interest in radon and its environmental health impacts, so we’re proud to participate in this educational activity through our membership in the Iowa Radon Coalition.”

Poster Contest Winners can be viewed here:  https://www.lung.org/local-content/ia/radon-poster

The Top Ten Video Contest Winners can be viewed here: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLsIpNVMVEwiiT0UM6ax1cHFBVWkAD65G2

The EHSRC has a longstanding history of radon research, including studies of residential radon in Iowa, research on outdoor concentrations, and testing of monitoring devices. Recently, EHSRC Member Bill Field and Co-PI Ka Kahe (Columbia University Health Sciences) received an NIH R01 titled, “Residential radon exposure and stroke risk: the REGARDS study.”  This project will examine the association between radon exposure and stroke risk and to investigate whether geographic variation of radon concentration is related to the distribution of stroke rate in the U.S.

Iowa Public Radio- Restoring Environmental Protections and the Race Against Climate Change

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EHSRC Deputy Director Dr. Peter Thorne was a guest on the show River to River to discuss restoring environmental protections and the race against climate change. Listen to the interview here. 

Blurb from Iowa Public Radio:

“President Joe Biden has vowed to restore environmental protections that have been weakened, altered or rolled back by the Trump Administration over the past four years.

The new president has ordered a review of more than 100 rules and regulations on air, water, public lands, endangered species and climate change and legal experts say it could take two to three years, or even longer, to put many of the old rules back in place.

On this edition of River to River, host Ben Kieffer talks with environmental health scientist Peter Thorne to talk about stances the new administration is taking when it comes to environmental policy. Thorne chaired the Environmental Protection Agency’s Science Advisory Board from 2015 to 2017.”

Dr. Ashutosh Mangalam received a Merit Award from the Department of Veteran Affairs

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Dr. Ashutosh Mangalam, member of the EHSRC, received a four-year VA Merit Award entitled, “Effect of Gut Microbiome Dysbiosis in the Pathobiology of Multiple Sclerosis”. Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a chronic inflammatory disease of the central nervous system and affects around one million people in the US. The proposed studies will build upon recent findings from Dr. Mangalam’s laboratory showing that patients with MS have gut dysbiosis (altered gut microbiome compared to healthy controls). This study will test the hypothesis that gut dysbiosis promotes MS through enrichment of pathobionts which leads to leaky gut syndrome in addition to depletion of Equol producing gut bacteria. The latter are an important class of gut bacteria responsible for metabolizing phytoestrogen into beneficial compounds. Dr. Mangalam will utilize samples from MS patients and healthy control as well as from animal models of MS, to determine the mechanism(s) through which gut microbiome plays a role in the pathobiology of MS. Dr. Deema Fattal, a neurologist at the Iowa City VA and Dr. Kai Wang, a biostatistician in the College of Public Health are the co-investigators participating in the study. The focus of Dr. Mangalam’s team is to better understand the role of the gut microbiome in MS with a long term goal of manipulating the gut microbiome as a treatment option for MS patients.
This notice was first published by the University of Iowa Department of Pathology.

2020 Distinguished Faculty Lecture coming Dec 2

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The College of Public Health’s Distinguished Faculty Lecture will take place on December 2, 2020, from 12:30-1:30 P.M. This year’s lecture will be given by EHSRC member, Dr. Fred Gerr, and will provide an overview of historical and current occupational injury and illnesses among meat packing plant workers.

Dr. Gerr has served as a professor in the Department of Occupational and Environmental Health for the last 18 years. He has been the director of both the Great Plains Center for Agricultural Health and the Occupational Medicine Residency Training Program in CPH for many years. He has taught Occupational Health Practice, Occupational Medicine, and Interpreting Occupational Health Research. His research focuses on occupational and environmental risk factors for neurological impairment and musculoskeletal disorders. He has made significant contributions in the specialty of occupational and environmental medicine.

2020 CPH Distinguished Faculty Lecture | December 2 at 12:30 P.M.

Join via Zoom (https://uiowa.zoom.us/j/93121351181)