Superfund Research Program
October 2024

Rebecca Fry, Ph.D., has dedicated her career to understanding how environmental exposures affect children’s health. Now a professor at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC), Fry directs the UNC Superfund Research Program (SRP) Center, which focuses on the health effects of metals, especially arsenic, in drinking water.
“In this time when chemical and other stressors combine to influence the health of our communities, the researchers within the NIEHS Superfund Research Program are among the best to be able to tackle these challenges,” she said.
Fry’s early research at UNC linked in utero arsenic exposure to adverse birth outcomes, such as low birth weights and shorter gestation periods, and uncovered how arsenic exposure could influence gene expression. She has also investigated how the prevalence of private well use in North Carolina correlated with naturally occurring arsenic in groundwater and concerns about diabetes.
Fry and her lab produced some of the first maps of arsenic contamination in private wells across North Carolina. Under her direction, the UNC SRP Center has also developed tools like NCWELL, a database of well water test results, and NC ENVIROSCAN, a tool for community members, government agencies, and clinicians to learn about local health risks and strategies for addressing them.
Read more about Fry’s work protecting people from arsenic in her NIEHS Story of Success.