Environmental Health Sciences Research Center
University of Iowa College of Public Health
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EHSRC Role(s): Director, Integrative Health Sciences Facility; Population Health
Dr. Comellas’ research interest is in the area of lung injury, focusing on the regulation of the alveolar epithelial tight junctions. His laboratory is interested in developing strategies that will preserve the integrity of the epithelial barrier by stabilizing the alveolar epithelial tight junctions and by up-regulating the mechanisms involved in the alveolar fluid clearance.
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Center Affiliation and Expertise: Co-Director, Water Quality; Nanotoxicology
Dr. Cwiertny’s areas of research expertise include Environmental Chemistry, Water and Wastewater Treatment and Reuse. Currently, he is pursuing research on materials-based treatment strategies for water and wastewater and chemical transformation pathways for emerging contaminant classes in a natural aquatic systems.
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Center affiliation: Co-Director, Systemic and Redox Toxicology
Dr. Doorns’ work involves examining the role of reactive intermediates in toxicity and disease. Specifically, his mechanistic, hypothesis-driven research focuses on the potential role of protein modification by a reactive metabolite of dopamine metabolism in neurotoxicity and neurodegenerative disease, i.e. Parkinson’s disease. Dopamine (DA) is an important neurotransmitter that is metabolized by monoamine oxidase to 3,4-dihydroxyphenylacetaldehyde (DOPAL), an intermediate shown to be reactive toward proteins and toxic to dopaminergic cells. Specifically, the following areas are being investigated. (1) Characterize the chemistry of DOPAL, with emphasis on determining DOPAL reactivity toward proteins and identifying novel ways to synthesize the DA-derived aldehyde. (2) Elucidate mechanisms for generation of DOPAL at aberrant concentrations, involving exposure to drugs, oxidative stress and environmental agents. (3) Identify proteins modified by DOPAL. The Doorn lab is developing a proteomics-based approach to isolate and identify proteins with DOPAL adducts. (4) Determine the functional consequence of protein modification by DOPAL. Several potential targets are being studied, including the proteasome and proteins involved in DA synthesis and trafficking. In summary, the Dr. Doorn is studying the biological chemistry of DOPAL, as aberrant levels of the DA-derived aldehyde may represent a chemical trigger for neurodegeneration (e.g. PD). This work is highly significant as outcomes of the research may yield novel targets for therapeutic intervention, and future work will evaluate the potential of aldehyde-scavenging drugs to attenuate DOPAL- mediated toxicity and neurodegeneration.
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EHSRC Role(s): Director, Population Health; Exposure Assessment Specialist, Exposure ScienceFacility
Dr. Field is an international expert on radon health effects and retrospective radon exposure reconstruction. He is also a co-investigator on both the DOE (former nuclear workers) and DOD (munitions workers) studies in Burlington, Iowa. His current activities include leading a combined Iowa-Missouri residential radon epidemiologic study. He is also participating with international collaborators in a combined analysis of all residential radon epidemiologic studies performed worldwide, with the goal of further refining the risk posed by residential radon exposure.
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EHSRC Role(s): Associate Director, Imaging, Integrative Health Sciences Facility; Population Health
Dr. Hoffman’s research interests include studies of dynamic, volumetric physiologic imaging and image analysis, with specific emphasis on the cardiopulmonary system, and cardiopulmonary physiology including cardiac and pulmonary mechanics, pulmonary ventilation and perfusion medical informatics. He is also exploring outcomes predictors and measures in multi-center trials and image data transmission, archiving, and quality control.
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EHSRC Role(s): Director, Community Engagement Core
Trained as an anthropologist, Dr. Janssen applies a holistic perspective to farming, agricultural safety and health, and sustainable agriculture. As director of Iowa’s Center for Agricultural Safety and Health (I-CASH), she oversees a statewide coalition of public and private organizations devoted to reducing injuries and fatalities on Iowa farms. As a researcher, she examines local food production in Iowa to better understand how to develop food systems that enhance rural communities while being environmentally sustainable, accessible to consumers, and profitable for farmers.
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Dr. Lehmler is a Professor in the College of Public Health and serves as the EHSRC Director since 2020. Prior to that time he was the EHSRC Deputy Director. Dr. Lehmler is an experienced environmental health scientist and highly qualified research grant administrator.
In addition to his role as EHSRC Director, Dr. Lehmler is among the leadership team of the Exposure Science Facility and serves as the director of the Career Development Program. He leads a joint seminar series that regularly brings together faculty, staff, and students of the EHSRC, the Iowa Superfund Research Program, and the Interdisciplinary Graduate Program in Human Toxicology. Additionally, he oversees the activities of the Systemic and Redox Toxicology thematic area together with Dr. Jonathan Doorn, and the Water Quality thematic area together with Dr. David Cwiertny.
He also serves as Deputy Director of the recently refunded Iowa Superfund Research Program under the direction of Dr. Keri Hornbuckle. Under this program, Dr. Lehmler leads a new Research Project investigating the neurotoxicity of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) in adolescence. This Research Project brings together several EHSRC researchers, including Hanna Stevens, Jonathan Doorn, and Michael Duffel, to study how local PCB metabolism in the brain affects neurotoxic outcomes in an adolescent rat model. Dr. Lehmler also leads the Synthesis Core of the Iowa Superfund Research Program and is a member of the leadership team of the Analytical Core.
His NIEHS-funded research employs novel animal models, including germ-free mice, transgenic animals, and population-based animal models, to characterize how the metabolism of chemical hazards affects toxic outcomes. These studies bring together investigators from the UC Davis Environmental Health Sciences Core Center, the Center for Exposures, Diseases, Genomics, and Environment (EDGE) at the University of Washington, and the Southwest Environmental Health Sciences Center (SWEHSC) at the University of Arizona.
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EHSRC Role(s): Director, Inflammation and Innate Immunity
Dr. McCray has a long-standing interest in the pathogenesis and treatment of cystic fibrosis. His laboratory has two main areas of investigation: 1) pulmonary host defense, and 2) gene transfer for the treatment of inherited diseases. Work in the lab is supported by the NIH and the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation.
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EHSRC Role(s): Director, Exposure ScienceFacility; Exposure Generation Specialist, Pulmonary Toxicology Facility; Member, Integrative Health Sciences Facility; Nanotoxicology; Population Health
Dr. O’Shaughnessy is an Environmental Engineer whose research interests are in Environmental Systems, Aerosol Generation Measurement Instrumentation, Inhalation Toxicology, Evaluation of Nanoparticles in the Workplace, Air Pollution Dispersion of Contaminants Emanating from Animal Housing Facilites, and Occupational Health of Workers in Agriculture. He has published extensively on aersol sampling and measurement, as well as a variety of inhalable toxins, including house and grain dust, endotoxins, asbestos, ammonia, and nitrogen dioxide. In addition, Dr. O’Shaughnessy has developed cutting-edge environmental measuring and monitoring systems for animal photoperiod control, aerosol generation and exposure chambers for laboratory use, to name a few. In collaboration with Vicki Grassian and other EHSRC investigators, his recent interests have recently expanded into the impacts of manufactured nanoparticles on human health and the environment.
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EHSRC Role(s): Director, Pilot Grant Program; Aerosol Measurement Specialist, Pulmonary Toxicology Facility; Aerosol Measurement Specialist, Exposure Science Facility; Member Population Health; Nanotoxicology
Dr. Peters is engaged in research on the mechanics of aerosols, including sampling and transport, instrumentation, and filter design. In addition, he conducts studies on industrial ventilation and the capture and control of workplace pollutants. He is also interested in the design of detectors and control strategies for harmful bioaerosol agents. Current projects include Ultrafine Particles in Heavy Vehicle Manufacturing; Ambient Particle Monitoring with Passive Samplers, and; Airway and Immune Response to Inhaled Endotoxin and Diesel Exhaust Particles.
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EHSRC Role(s): Co-Director, Population Health
Dr. Rohlman’s research activities have focused on the design, development, and validation of computerized test methods to assess neurotoxic effects and neurological disorders in humans exposed to chemical and physical agents. Her numerous research projects employ neurobehavioral and psychological test methods to study populations of all ages, with emphasis on the detection and characterization of impaired populations exposed to workplace hazards. She has extended the methods developed for adult working populations, to children and adolescents. These methods have been applied in research examining the effects of pesticide exposures in migrant workers and families, wartime stressors in Persian Gulf Veterans, and chemical exposures in Air Force fuelers. She has conducted research examining exposure and health effects in agricultural communities including Hispanic seasonal and migrant workers. Her current research is focused on identifying and characterizing adverse effects of pesticide exposure, specifically organophosphate exposure, on neurobehavioral performance. Dr. Rohlman has also been part of the development of computerized training methods for use in the workplace. The cTRAIN software has been used in agricultural settings, construction with immigrant workers, construction workers, office workers, and graduate students. Current projects involve the use of neurobehavioral methods to examine pesticide exposure in children whose parents apply pesticides, working children in Lebanon, young children in the Philippines exposed to pesticides and Egyptian cotton workers. Her work in Egypt was recently featured in a NIOSH science blog.
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EHSRC Role(s): Co-Director, Nanotoxicology
Dr. Salem’s research interests are primarily focused on self-assembling systems, the rational design of novel drug and gene delivery systems and on the development of vaccines that stimulate potent antigen-specific immune responses. Dr Salem’s laboratory applies microfabrication techniques to develop novel drug and gene delivery devices and to optimize control over polymer-cell interactions. The group is currently exploring the synergistic application of polymer particle technology, CpG oligonucleotides, adenoviruses and heat shock protein therapy for generating sustained stronger immune responses against tumors.
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EHSRC Role(s): Deputy Center Director; Director, Pulmonary Toxicology Facility; Director, Nanotoxicology
Dr. Thorne is engaged in studies of environmental risk factors for asthma, inflammatory lung diseases, endotoxin- and glucan-induced immunomodulation, and novel methodology for exposure assessment and modelling. He is internationally recognized for his discoveries in the exacerbation of asthma associated with domestic and occupational exposures to bioaerosols, especially endotoxin. He teaches graduate level courses on environmental health, human toxicology, and research methods in biological agents. He serves on a variety of editorial and review boards for scientific journals, government agencies, and academic institutions.
In addition to his leadership in the EHSRC and the Pulmonary Toxicology Facility, Dr. Thorne is co-investigator on an EPA-funded study of “Impacts of Manufactured Nanomaterials on Human Health and the Environment”. He is an investigator on a large number of grants and subcontracts with colleagues at the University of Iowa as well as USC, Columbia, National Jewish, UNC and Johns-Hopkins. He is also a co-investigator on the Iowa Superfund Basic Research Program under the direction of Dr. Larry Robertson. Dr. Thorne is the PI of a large epidemiology project on children’s environmental health (Research Project 6), Leader of the Toxicology Core, and Leader of the Research Translation Core within the proposed Iowa superfund basic research program.
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Center Affiliation and Expertise: Integrative Health Sciences Facility
Dr. Kai Wang is a faculty member in Department of Biostatistics. His research interests include application and development of statistical technologies related to biomedical studies including analysis of PCBs, bioinformatics, and statistical genetics.
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EHSRC Role(s): Co-Director, Inflammation and Innate Immunity
Defense of all multi-cellular organisms from invading microbes depends on evolutionarily conserved systems that recognize and respond to highly conserved and unique microbial structures. The innate immune systems of the host include a broad array of proteins that together couple microbial recognition to activation of inflammation, killing and elimination of microbes and their remnants, and return of the host to a normal resting state. Our work concerns: 1) the molecular basis of microbial recognition by specific human innate defense proteins; 2) how this recognition is linked to specific cellular outcomes (e.g. activation (or de-activation) of host cells, elimination of viable microbes and their remnants); and 3) how the mobilization and function of these host proteins are regulated to permit an appropriate evolution of host responses to infection. In addition, we make use of the experimental setting of bacterial attack by defined host defense proteins to study the molecular bases of bacterial stress responses to sub-lethal injury and, in particular, repair of membrane damage. We hope these studies will provide new insights on the maintenance and regulation of (bacterial) membrane homeostasis and identify new targets for antibiotic development.
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