Superfund Research Program
Elucidating Risks: From Exposure and Mechanism to Outcome
Center Director: Rebecca C. Fry
Grant Number: P42ES005948
Funding Period: 1992-2018
Program Links
News Items List
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SRP Researchers Reflect on Sharing Research Results at PEPH Network Meeting
SRP News Page - February 2019
Environmental health science professionals came together to discuss reporting back research results at the annual NIEHS Partnerships for Environmental Public Health (PEPH) meeting, held Dec 13-14. Among the participants, members of several Superfund Research Program (SRP)-funded Centers shared their experiences and tools focused on reporting research results back to study participants. According to an NIEHS story, the meeting reflected a critical need to ensure that individuals and communities that are part of a research study have access to their data and information on what it means for their health.
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Pregnant moms' response to arsenic linked to sex of fetus
Environmental Factor - September 2017
How a pregnant woman metabolizes arsenic may be affected by the sex of her fetus, and a male child may be at increased risk for adverse health outcomes. These and other findings were presented Aug. 8 by Elizabeth Martin, Ph.D., at the annual NIEHS Karen Wetterhahn Memorial Award lecture. Martin is a postdoctoral fellow at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC).
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Using cutting-edge epigenetic research to inform decision making
Environmental Factor - June 2017
Data from epigenetic research can be incorporated into the risk assessment process and used to inform regulatory decisions, according to Rebecca Fry, Ph.D., from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC). Fry presented her research on inorganic arsenic as a case study during the May 4 U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Cutting Edge Speaker Series in Research Triangle Park (RTP).
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Prenatal Arsenic Exposure Alters Newborn Metabolite Profiles
Research Brief - April 2017
Researchers at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Superfund Research Program (UNC SRP) Center have identified metabolites in umbilical cord blood that are associated with exposure to arsenic in the womb. The findings also show that differences in a mother's metabolism of arsenic may influence the metabolite profile of her baby. Assessing changes in the newborn's metabolite profile by looking at the full range of metabolites, or metabolome, may provide insight into how prenatal arsenic exposure could affect important pathways responsible for maintaining normal cell processes in the body.
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SRP Brings Solution-Oriented Science to SOT
SRP News Page - March 2017
Superfund Research Program (SRP) grantees from all over the country gathered in Baltimore, Maryland for the 2017 Society of Toxicology (SOT) Annual Meeting March 12 - 16. Grantees and staff gave talks and presented posters highlighting SRP-funded research advances in toxicology. The meeting also provided a forum to share information and to learn about new findings.
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UNC Team Meets with WIC Program to Enhance Communication of Fish Advisories to Vulnerable Populations
SRP News Page - February 2017
On January 18, members of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC) Superfund Research Program (SRP) Center presented information on contaminants in fish in local waterways to a group of 22 nutritionists and case managers with the Lincoln Community Health Center WIC Program in Durham, North Carolina. UNC SRP Research Translation Core (RTC) leader Kathleen Gray described local fish consumption advisories (FCAs) and effective ways to communicate them to the general public, focusing on key messaging and how communication can be improved.
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Using Surfactants to Enhance Bioremediation of PAHs in Soil
Research Brief - February 2017
A second-stage treatment using low levels of surfactants, which are commonly used as dispersing agents, may be a promising method to maximize removal of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) at hazardous waste sites, according to findings from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Superfund Research Program (UNC SRP) Center. Researchers identified specific surfactants that enhanced the removal of PAHs from previously treated soil by making the chemicals more accessible for degradation by bacteria.
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2016 Annual Meeting Celebrates Trainees
SRP News Page - December 2016
The Superfund Research Program (SRP) Annual Meeting on December 5 in Durham, North Carolina highlighted trainee accomplishments and provided a forum for presentations and discussion in areas critical to the Program's mission to address human and environmental health challenges related to hazardous waste sites. At the meeting, Elizabeth Martin, a graduate student at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, received the 2016 Karen Wetterhahn Memorial Award. Martin discussed her cutting-edge research to understand the epigenetic mechanisms underlying the negative health effects associated with exposure to metals.
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New method for evaluating chemical alternatives
Paper of the Month - November 2016
An NIEHS grantee and colleagues developed and demonstrated a new method for quickly evaluating the health impacts of existing complex substances. The new approach could help minimize toxicity testing in animals, especially when assessing chemical alternatives.
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Fry leads community talk on metals exposure and health
Environmental Factor - November 2016
Rebecca Fry, Ph.D., from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC), presented the first Tarheel Tox Talk, a new public outreach program from the UNC Curriculum in Toxicology. The informal, community presentation at a Chapel Hill restaurant Oct. 4 focused on metal contamination, especially that caused by inorganic arsenic, in drinking water.
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Six promising Superfund trainees receive K.C. Donnelly awards
Environmental Factor - September 2016
Six promising NIEHS-funded Superfund Research Program (SRP) trainees were awarded K.C. Donnelly Externship Award Supplements to fund their research at other institutions. The annual award, now in its sixth year, honors the memory of longtime SRP grantee and environmental health researcher Kirby (K.C.) Donnelly, Ph.D.
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Bioavailability Fact Sheet Now Available
SRP News Page - August 2016
An educational fact sheet on bioavailability of arsenic and lead in soils at Superfund sites is available for use, thanks to a partnership between the University of Arizona (UA) and the University of North Carolina (UNC) Superfund Research Program (SRP) Centers.
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Community guide for eating fish from North Carolinas Triangle area
Environmental Factor - August 2016
A new guide will help local anglers identify fish that are safe to eat, thanks to researchers at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC) Superfund Research Program (SRP) Center. The new website and brochure provide health advisories on consumption of fish caught in the North Carolina Triangle area.
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New Breakthrough in Understanding Gene Regulation
Research Brief - June 2016
A team of researchers at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill Superfund Research Program (UNC SRP) Center and Yale University developed a new method to study DNA modifications that led them to a paradigm-shifting discovery of a new mechanism of gene regulation in mouse cells.
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Summit addresses safe drinking water from private wells
Environmental Factor - December 2015
NIEHS staff and grantees joined the Research Triangle Environmental Health Collaborative (EHC) Oct. 26-27 for its 2015 Environmental Health Summit, Safe Water from Every Tap, which examined the quality of drinking water from private wells in North Carolina.
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Commercializing Passive Sampling Technology to Enhance the Risk Analysis Process
SRP News Page - December 2015
Damian Shea, Ph.D., and his team at North Carolina State University have developed a new passive sampling technology that provides more accurate estimates of chronic exposure to hundreds of bioavailable chemicals in water.
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Placental cadmium linked to increased risk of preeclampsia
Environmental Factor - November 2015
Cadmium levels in the placenta during pregnancy are associated with the risk of developing preeclampsia, according to a recent NIEHS-funded study from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC) Superfund Research Program (SRP) Center.
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SRP Grantees Share Cutting Edge Research at EMGS
SRP News Page - October 2015
At the 46th Annual Environmental Mutagenesis and Genomics Society (EMGS) meeting September 26-30, Superfund Research Program (SRP) grantees and staff gathered to discuss research aimed at understanding and mitigating environmental threats to the genome and to the epigenome.
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Fry Welcomed as New UNC SRP Center Director
SRP News Page - September 2015
Rebecca Fry, Ph.D., associate professor of environmental sciences and engineering at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill's (UNC) Gillings School of Global Public Health, has been named director of the UNC Superfund Research Program (SRP).
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SRP Researchers Come Together to Review Early-life Exposure to Arsenic and Health Effects
SRP News Page - July 2015
Evidence is mounting that relates early-life arsenic exposure with development of cancer later in life, according to a recent review from a collaborative group of Superfund Research Program (SRP) scientists.
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UNC Environmental Resource Program recognized for partnerships and community service
Environmental Factor - May 2015
The NIEHS-funded Environmental Resource Program (ERP) at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC) was honored for its partnerships with North Carolina organizations and its project to communicate fish consumption advisories to people who may eat fish caught in contaminated waterways.
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SRP Research Shines at Battelle Conference
SRP News Page - March 2015
Superfund Research Program (SRP) staff and grantees were well represented at the Eighth International Conference on Remediation and Management of Contaminated Sediments, January 12-15, 2015, organized and presented by Battelle and other sponsors.
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SRP network helps parents understand vapor intrusion in schools
Environmental Factor - March 2015
NIEHS-funded experts on vapor intrusion joined a meeting Feb. 9 in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, to educate communities in two schools located over contaminated groundwater about potential health effects of chemical exposures.
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Chemical Leveraging Resources to Better Understand Chemical Exposures
SRP News Page - January 2015
A joint effort has led to the creation of theSoutheast Global Change Monitoring Portal(GCMP), a database that provides a centralized, comprehensive catalog of monitoring sites associated with aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems in the southeastern United States.
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Investigating the Newborn Proteome: Prenatal Arsenic Exposure and Altered Protein Expression
Research Brief - May 2014
Scientists have identified changes in biological pathways that are associated with prenatal arsenic exposure. This research, led by Rebecca Fry, Ph.D., at the University of North Carolina Superfund Research Program (UNC SRP), is the largest protein-based study of an arsenic pregnancy cohort to date.
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UNC Superfund scientists study effects of Dan River coal ash spill
Environmental Factor - April 2014
n response toone of the largest coal ash spills in the nation's history, a team of NIEHS-funded scientists led by Damian Shea, Ph.D., joined forces with state and federal regulatory agencies to help answer important questions about the toxic chemicals present in the coal ash.
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Duke and UNC SRP scientists connect with journalists
Environmental Factor - April 2014
To help the public better understand the real-world applications of their research, the NIEHS-funded Duke University and University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC) Superfund Research Program (SRP) Research Translation Cores (RTC) co-hosted a workshop March 5-6, focused on communicating science to the media.
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UNC SRP trainee develops chemical risk assessment interface
Environmental Factor - March 2014
Andy Shapiro, a Master of Science in Public Health student at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC), recently presented a series of webinars on the Health Assessment Workplace Collaborative (HAWC), an online workspace designed to simplify the complex process of conducting chemical risk assessments.
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Abdo Describes Innovative 1000 Genomes Toxicity Screening Project at NIEHS
SRP News Page - January 2014
Superfund Research Program (SRP) toxicology student Nour Abdo visited the NIEHS main campus in December to present her work on the largest-ever population-based in vitro cell toxicity study.