News Items: Duke University

Superfund Research Program

Duke University Superfund Research Center - Developmental Co-Exposures: Mechanisms, Outcomes, and Remediation

Center Director: Heather M. Stapleton
Grant Number: P42ES010356
Funding Period: 2000-2027

Program Links

News Items List

• SRP Centers Share Science With Students
  SRP News Page - May 2023
  A key goal of the NIEHS Superfund Research Program (SRP) is to train future generations of scientists - in the lab and in the community. SRP Centers across the country have been doing just that, participating in community events to teach school-aged children about science.
  

• SRP Highlighted at SOT
  SRP News Page - April 2023
  NIEHS Superfund Research Program (SRP)-funded scientists from across the country gathered in person for the 2023 Society of Toxicology (SOT) Annual Meeting to share their research and exchange ideas. Held March 19 - 23 in Nashville, Tennessee, the 62nd SOT meeting and ToxExpo drew more than 5,000 attendees who gave more than 2,000 presentations and participated in more than 70 sessions.
  

• SRP Shines at SOT
  SRP News Page - April 2022
  NIEHS Superfund Research Program (SRP) grantees from across the country gathered in person and virtually for the 2022 Society of Toxicology (SOT) Annual Meeting, held March 27-31 in San Diego. The meeting highlighted diverse, cutting-edge research.
  

• Duke Campaign Promotes Safe Fish Consumption
  SRP News Page - January 2022
  New fish consumption advisories in North Carolina were developed using data collected through the NIEHS Superfund SRP Center at Duke University. The goal is to better protect the health of people who collect and eat fish from the Cape Fear River.
  

• Uncovering a Link Between Chemicals in Dust and Disease
  SRP News Page - December 2021
  Duke SRP Center Co-Director Heather Stapleton, Ph.D., described her research to understand the harmful chemical exposures that people may encounter in their homes and how they affect health.
  

• Scientific art competition showcases trainees' research, imagination
  Environmental Factor - September 2021
  When the COVID-19 pandemic forced university laboratories to shut down or go remote, the NIEHS Superfund Research Program (SRP) created an opportunity for trainees to celebrate their research efforts and the stories behind them. Led by SRP Health Scientist Administrator Danielle Carlin, Ph.D., SRP hosted a scientific art competition for trainees.
  

• SRP Trainee Event Highlights New Approaches to Engage with Communities
  SRP News Page - August 2021
  NIEHS Superfund Research Program (SRP) trainees from institutions across the Southeastern U.S. gathered virtually for a two-day event, Aug. 2 and 4, to discuss best practices for partnering with communities vulnerable to environmental exposures. The event was organized by the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC), North Carolina State University, Duke University, University of Kentucky (UK), University of Louisville, and University of Alabama at Birmingham SRP centers.
  

• Data sharing key to environmental health research, experts say
  Environmental Factor - June 2021
  Three NIEHS Superfund Research Program events focus on how data science can be harnessed to better study contaminants.
  

• Using Fungi to Clean up Contaminated Soil
  Research Brief - August 2020
  Native fungal communities point to a new way of cleaning up contaminated soil. After conducting a study to characterize fungi found in soil contaminated with polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), researchers at the NIEHS-funded Superfund Research Program at Duke University discovered a group of fungi that may be promising for remediation.
  

• K.C. Donnelly Externships awarded to outstanding Superfund trainees
  Environmental Factor - August 2020
  Eleven outstanding trainees in the NIEHS Superfund Research Program (SRP) have won K.C. Donnelly Externship Award Supplements. The annual awards allow trainees to work side-by-side with experts at an outside institution to learn new methods and techniques to enrich their research.
  

• SRP Centers Combat COVID-19
  SRP News Page - June 2020
  NIEHS SRP Centers across the country are contributing their expertise to respond to the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. From increasing testing capacity and improving personal protective equipment to creating online tools and outreach materials, SRP researchers are fighting COVID-19 from the local to the global level.
  

• PAH and Hypoxia Exposure Result in Mitochondrial Dysfunction in Fish
  Research Brief - February 2020
  Zebrafish exposed to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in water with inadequate oxygen, or hypoxia, can experience a broad range of effects on the mitochondria, according to an NIEHS Superfund Research Program (SRP)-funded study. Changes to the function and integrity of mitochondria, which are organelles that make energy for the cell, can disrupt metabolism and reduce organism fitness and performance.
  

• Supplements Expand SRP's Capacity for Data Sharing
  SRP News Page - October 2019
  The Superfund Research Program (SRP) awarded administrative supplements to its Multiproject Center (P42) and Individual Research (R01) grantees to expand data integration, interoperability, and reuse. The SRP encourages data sharing among its grantees to accelerate new discoveries, stimulate new collaborations, and increase scientific transparency and rigor.
  

• Modifying Microbes to Reduce Soil Contamination
  SRP News Page - September 2019
  Microbes in soil can break down just about anything from fallen leaves to harmful contaminants, with the right combination of species. The Duke University Superfund Research Program (SRP) Center identifies which microbial communities in soils can enhance degradation of contaminants.
  

• North Carolina Coastal Community Enjoys Fish Smart Celebration
  SRP News Page - July 2019
  At the Fish Smart Celebration, the Duke Superfund Research Program (SRP) Center team worked to protect the health of subsistence fishers who cast their lines in the Cape Fear River in Wilmington, North Carolina. The May event, held in partnership with Cape Fear River Watch, was part of the Center's "Stop, Check, Enjoy" campaign.
  

• NC Fish Forum Brings Partners Together to Improve Fish Consumption Advisories
  SRP News Page - May 2019
  On March 21, the Duke University Superfund Research Program (SRP) Center convened stakeholders from across North Carolina in Raleigh to discuss fish consumption advisories and how to improve the process to best protect public health. NC Fish Forum attendees focused on known risks like mercury, as well as emerging contaminants such as per- and polyfluorinated compounds.
  

• Alternative Flame Retardants May Lead to Neurobehavioral Effects
  Research Brief - December 2018
  Organophosphate flame retardant (OPFR) exposure early in life may be linked to behavioral impacts into adulthood, according to a new study in zebrafish. The results provide evidence that OPFRs, which have been introduced in commercial products in the past decade, may not be a safe alternative to brominated flame retardants, which were phased out because they were found to be harmful to normal development.
  

• Researchers respond quickly after Hurricane Florence
  Environmental Factor - November 2018
  After Hurricane Florence devastated parts of North and South Carolina in September, current and former NIEHS Superfund Research Program (SRP) grantees hit the ground running to test for pollution. As soon as they could reach areas affected by severe flooding, SRP researchers teamed up to take air, soil, and water samples in an effort to characterize contaminants that might be present, including concentrations and likely sources.
  

• PFAS contamination spurs university research collaboration
  Environmental Factor - November 2018
  Researchers from across North Carolina gathered at Duke University Sept. 28 for a symposium on an emerging class of contaminants called PFAS. Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances, or PFAS, are persistent compounds that have been found in the environment, including drinking water. NIEHS and the National Toxicology Program currently support several research studies related to PFAS.
  

• SRP Trainee Explores Intersection of Art and Science
  SRP News Page - August 2018
  Duke University Superfund Research Program (SRP) Center trainee Casey Lindberg helped organized an exhibit highlighting the intersection of science and art called The Art of a Scientist. Featuring visuals of lab work by 22 scientists, including photographs, micrographs, botanical prints, watercolors, and videos, the exhibit provided an opportunity for the public to explore scientific concepts in an accessible and engaging format.
  

• Environmental chemistry goes high-tech
  Environmental Factor - August 2018
  P. Lee Ferguson, Ph.D., from Duke University, develops sophisticated methods to answer important questions like, What chemicals are in your drinking water? What about inside your home?
  

• Ferguson Presents Tools to Assess Unknown Environmental Chemicals
  SRP News Page - July 2018
  At the July 10 Keystone Science Lecture, Duke University SRP Center researcher Lee Ferguson, Ph.D., discussed his work using non-targeted approaches to identify contaminants in water, dust, and other environmental media. His talk drew a wide audience from across the Institute.
  

• Breast cancer link to environment highlighted at symposium
  Environmental Factor - April 2018
  Researchers supported by NIEHS are working to gain a deeper understanding of environmental factors with potential links to breast cancer. They and others spoke March 9 during "Breast Cancer and the Environment", a symposium sponsored by the Duke University Program in Environmental Health and Toxicology and the Duke Superfund Research Center
  

• SRP in the Spotlight at Fall Duke Symposium
  SRP News Page - October 2017
  Superfund Research Program (SRP) grantees and staff gathered on September 22 in Durham, North Carolina for the Duke University Program in Environmental Health Fall Symposium. The symposium, which provided an overview of the new Duke University SRP Center, included historical and research highlights from Duke SRP Center project leaders and trainees.
  

• Risk e-Learning Web Seminar Series on Analytical Tools and Methods a Big Success
  SRP News Page - July 2017
  In a spring 2017 three-part Risk e-Learning Web seminar series titled 'Analytical Tools and Methods,' the Superfund Research Program (SRP) highlighted groundbreaking chemical detection, measurement, and fate and transport modeling techniques developed by grantees. In total, this series attracted 1,209 live participants, 6,543 online archive views, 1,419 audio podcast downloads, and 14,596 video podcast downloads.
  

• SRP Researchers Shine at American Chemical Society Meeting
  SRP News Page - May 2017
  Superfund Research Program (SRP) grantees from all over the country gathered for the 2017 American Chemical Society (ACS) meeting in San Francisco this April. Presentations and posters by SRP grantees highlighted innovative SRP-funded research including technologies to detect and remediate potentially harmful chemicals in the environment.
  

• 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.
  

• Duke SRP Center Project Leader Featured in NSF Science Video
  SRP News Page - March 2017
  Duke University Superfund Research Program (SRP) Center project leader Mark Wiesner, Ph.D., members of his lab, and other Duke SRP Center collaborators were recently featured in a National Science Foundation (NSF) Science360 Video about nanomaterials.
  

• Cell-Based Models Reveal Differences in How PAH Mixtures Affect Neurodevelopment
  Research Brief - March 2017
  Exposure to a mixture of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) may produce different neurodevelopmental effects from those of exposure to individual PAHs, and the developing brain may be sensitive to these contaminants over a wide window of development, according to a Duke University Superfund Research Program (SRP) Center study.
  

• Adaptations to polluted environments come at a cost
  Environmental Factor - January 2017
  Some fish have adapted to survive high levels of pollution, but these adaptations may lead to other effects in the fish population, according to Nishad Jayasundara, Ph.D., winner of the 2015 Karen Wetterhahn Award, in a Nov. 28 lecture at NIEHS.
  

• Alumni Duke SRP Trainees Present at ITEHP Career Symposium
  SRP News Page - October 2016
  On September 30, Duke University alumni, including former Superfund Research Program (SRP) Center trainees, presented at the Duke University Integrated Toxicology and Environmental Health Program (ITEHP) Career Symposium.
  

• Killifish adapt to PAH exposure, but at what cost?
  Environmental Factor - February 2016
  Rich Digiulio published the finding that generations of exposure to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons appears to lead to adaptation in killifish, accompanied by higher mortality rates.
  

• SRP Scientists Cited Among the World's Most Influential Scientific Minds
  SRP News Page - February 2016
  Eight Superfund Research Program scientists are among the 2015 listing of The World's Most Influential Scientific Minds, an annual compendium of Highly Cited Researchers by Thomson Reuters, a multinational mass-media and information company.
  

• Wetterhahn Award honors Superfund Research Program trainee
  Environmental Factor - January 2016
  Nishad Jayasundara, Ph.D., postdoctoral researcher at Duke University, received theKaren Wetterhahn Memorial Award at the 2015 annual meeting Nov. 18-20 of the NIEHS Superfund Research Program (SRP) in San Juan, Puerto Rico.
  

• Duke symposium addresses toxicity of energy production
  Environmental Factor - December 2015
  Several scientists and grantees from NIEHS participated in the Duke University Integrated Toxicology and Environmental Health Program 2015 fall symposium Nov. 13 in Durham, North Carolina.
  

• Cellulose Nanomaterials in Environmental Cleanup Technologies
  Research Brief - August 2015
  Nanomaterials made of cellulose – a natural polymer used mainly to produce paper – hold great promise in environmental remediation applications and water filtration membranes, according to Duke University Superfund Research Program (Duke SRP) researchers. 
  

• Duke SRP Center Visits ATSDR
  SRP News Page - May 2015
  On April 23, Duke University Superfund Research Program (Duke SRP) Center researcher Joel Meyer, Ph.D., and Duke SRP Research Translation Core coordinator Gretchen Kroeger took a trip down to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) campus outside of Atlanta to provide information about Duke SRP Center research and foster collaborations between Duke SRP and ATSDR.
  

• SRP Well Represented at 2015 SOT Meeting
  SRP News Page - April 2015
  Superfund Research Program (SRP) grantees from all over the country gathered in San Diego, California, for the Society of Toxicology Annual Meeting (SOT) March 23-27.
  

• The SOT Recognizes Slotkin for Excellence in Teaching
  SRP News Page - January 2015
  Duke University Superfund Research Program (Duke SRP) Center project leader Theodore Slotkin, Ph.D., was chosen to receive the 2015 Society of Toxicology (SOT) Education Award.
  

• Duke SRP Scientists Attend Furniture Flammability and Human Health Summit
  SRP News Page - June 2014
  Duke University Superfund Research Program (Duke SRP) grantees Heather Stapleton, Ph.D., and Eileen Thorsos attended the 2014 Furniture Flammability and Human Health Summit in Atlanta, the second such conference about flame retardants, furniture, and human safety.
  

• Lecture highlight flame retardants
  Environmental Factor - April 2014
  Human exposure to flame retardants in household products and their potential endocrine-disrupting effects were the topics of a talk by Heather Stapleton, Ph.D., March 19 at NIEHS, sponsored byGregory Travlos, Ph.D., and the NTP Cellular and Molecular Pathology branch.
  

• 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. 
  

• Discover the Chemicals in your Sofa with New Duke SRP Study
  SRP News Page - April 2014
  Scientists at the Duke University Superfund Research Program (Duke SRP) are testing for flame retardant chemicals in furniture and can help you find out what may be in your furniture at home. Duke SRP is asking the general public be part of a study by submitting foam samples.
  

• Superfund Research Featured in Environmental Health News
  SRP News Page - March 2014
  Two stories on Superfund Research Program (SRP) grantees were published late February in Environmental Health News (EHN). The articles report on innovative SRP research related to contaminants in commonly used products, including paint pigments and tents.
  

• Combined Exposure to Glucocorticoids and Chlorpyrifos Influences Neurobehavioral Development
  Research Brief - February 2014
  Prenatal glucocorticoid treatment, used to speed up the development of a preterm infant's lungs, has the potential to worsen the outcome of later exposures to toxins, according to findings by the Duke University Superfund Research Program (SRP).
  

• Duke brings Superfund research to the Elizabeth River Learning Barge
  Environmental Factor - January 2014
  The end of 2013 marks the first full semester of Duke University Superfund Research Program (SRP) field work and outreach on the Elizabeth River Project (ERP) Dominion Virginia Power Learning Barge.