Superfund Research Program

Training Core

Project Leader: Isaac I. Wirgin
Grant Number: P42ES010344
Funding Period: 2000 - 2006

Project-Specific Links

Final Progress Reports

Year:   2005 

NYU’s SBRP training core has emphasized a multidisciplinary approach to train students on the bioavailability, bioremediation, and the mechanistic bases of toxicities of Superfund chemicals on affected human populations and ecosystems.  The focus of this program has been on understanding the mechanistic basis of inter-individual variability in susceptibility to Superfund chemicals resulting from genetic and epigenetic factors.  Activities of the training core have also addressed the management of Superfund sites from the perspective of the USEPA and other federal and state agencies that are the stewards of natural resources at Superfund sites.  The training core has used three distinct approaches to support the education of students in this area.  First, they have provided stipends annually to graduate students enrolled in the Ph.D. program in Environmental Health Sciences at New York University.  Traditionally, SBRP Training Core supported students have been active participants with poster presentations at the annual SBRP national meetings, which will include this year's event in NYC.  Second, the core has supported a summer internship program for undergraduate students from a variety of institutions.  Each summer, 4-6 undergraduate students intern in the laboratories of the Core’s SBRP investigators.  These internships are widely advertised and competition for these positions is usually quite intense.  Each student conducts independent research on mutually agreed upon projects in one of these laboratories.  Slots are reserved for summer positions at Rutgers and Manhattan College to ensure that their investigators are active participants in the training program.  Finally, the support of the SBRP training core has allowed for the development of two new graduate level courses at NYU.  These include, “Ecotoxicology: A Hudson River Case Study,” and “Genetic Susceptibility to Toxicant Induced Disease.”  Both courses are taught by SBRP investigators and other experts at the Washington Square Campus of NYU and are open to qualified students from the entire NYU undergraduate and graduate community.  These courses, which are very well subscribed, have allowed for the education on the effects of Superfund chemicals way beyond the normal audience of graduate students in toxicology.