Project Summary (2020-2025)

The new Research Support Core (RSC-II) which will serve as an Analytical and Environmental Chemistry Core (AECC). The AECC will directly support the BCM-Rice Superfund Research Program (SRP) and its four projects, ensuring integration with the other cores within the Center. The AECC will provide a wide range of accurate and precise measurements of select organic and heavy metal pollutants, providing reliable data for research and quality control purposes, and implementing robust analytical methods. The AECC will focus on the chemical analysis of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in placenta tissue and soil/sediment. Specifically, the AECC will focus on the analysis of the 16 PAHs, designated as High Priority Pollutants by the U.S. EPA, working with the Investigating the role of PAH exposures associated with superfund site proximity in preterm birth etiology through placental transcriptomics and metagenomics project and the Role of cytochrome P450 (CYP)1A/1B1 enzymes in the potentiation of neonatal lung injury in newborn mice exposed prenatally to PHs, and increased risk of premature infants to chronic lung disease project to measure these levels in tissues.

Additionally, the AECC will assess the presents of PAH metabolites and or degradation products in key samples from soil in collaboration with the Streamlined identification of PAHs/PACs in environmental samples using ultracompact spectroscopy platforms and machine learning strategies project and the Pyrolytic conversion of PAHs in contaminated sediments into char to eliminate toxicity and enhance soil fertility project. The AECC will also quantify the concentration of select organic pollutants (e.g., polychlorinated biphenyls; PCBs) and heavy metals (e.g., arsenic, lead, and cadmium). The AECC will support the study of the impact of PAHs as risk factors for preterm births in women living near Superfund sites, identifying and quantifying pollutants, and developing strategies for remediation and pollution prevention. The AECC will be housed at Baylor University (BU) under the leadership of co-Director Dr. Sascha Usenko, Full Professor at Baylor University, and co-Director Dr. George Cobb, Department Chair and Full Professor at Baylor University. The AECC leadership has decades of experience in high-throughput chemical and elemental analysis using various mass spectrometry techniques and instrumentation.