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Welcome to the Duke Superfund Basic Research Center

The major theme of this Superfund Hazardous Substances Basic Research Center is the elucidation of mechanisms of exposure and toxicity in humans and ecosystems to particular Superfund chemicals selected based upon their potential significance with respect to developmental effects.

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Duke Superfund News

  • 26 Sep 2008: Fall Integrated Toxicology and Environmental Health Symposium Announced
    The Toxico-Legal Interface: Use of toxicological Science in Regulation and Litigation Friday, September 26, 2008 8:30 AM - 5 PM Searle Center Lecture Hall Toxicology is an important scientific discipline for protection of humans against adverse health consequences of exposure to environmental contaminants and drugs. Essential for the effectiveness of toxicology in performing this function is not only excellent science, but also facile communication of the scientific understanding to the legal and regulatory communities. More than most scientific fields toxicology is called upon to provide light to legal and regulatory decisions. The nature of science is a continual process of discovery. At any given time the understanding of any particular toxicological process is incomplete. In contrast, the legal and regulatory systems need to make well-defined decisions. The interface between toxicological science and legal decision-making is often troubled. Uncertainties of scientific understanding can provide very different outcomes depending on the assumptions of the legal and regulatory process. This symposium will address the toxico-legal interface from the points of view of scientists, government regulators and those regulated, litigation plaintiffs and defendants and general public. The symposium will address how regulatory agencies and courts use toxicology information. The time frames needed by regulators and courts differ as do standards of proof and the ability to wait for improved scientific information. The goal of the symposium is to further the understanding of the needs of the regulatory and legal processes and the information that can be provided by science.
  • 6 Feb 2008: Duke SBRP Research Brief: A Screening Tool to Identify Developmental Neurotoxicants
    Background: Exposure of pregnant women and children to pesticides and other Superfund chemicals represents a major environmental risk for effects on neurodevelopment. Rapid screening techniques are needed to focus resources on chemicals that pose the greatest potential risk. The process of assessing developmental neurotoxicity is complicated not only by the large number of chemicals and mixtures to be tested, but because the presumed mechanisms and nervous system effects seen in adults may be unrelated to developmental neurotoxicity. For example, it was believed that all organophosphates act similarly — through irreversible inhibition of acetylcholinesterase. Research conducted by Dr. Ted Slotkin at the Duke University SBRP demonstrated that organophosphates' adverse effects on brain development actually involve multiple mechanisms, many of which are unrelated to cholinesterase inhibition (see Research Brief 80). More information...
  • 11 Jan 2008: 2008 Spring Seminar Series - Ecological genomics of nematode community responses: Model and non-model approaches
    Michael Herman, Ph.D., Kansas State University More information...
  • 12 Feb 2007: Alicia Timme-Laragy named 2006 Karen Wetterhahn Memorial Award Recipient
    Dr. Karen Wetterhahn was a renowned metals researcher, and a dedicated teacher and mentor. She was also committed to increasing women’s participation in the biological sciences, mathematics and engineering. As a way of honoring the life and scientific accomplishments of Dr. Wetterhahn, the Superfund Basic Research Program (SBRP) has established an award to recognize an outstanding young research scientist. Alicia Timme-Laragy is the 2006 recipient of the award. In December at the SBRP Annual Meeting, Alicia presented her research on Mechanisms of synergistic developmental toxicity of PAH in zebrafish (Danio rerio): Early life stages of fish are sensitive to the toxic effects of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH), which cause pericardial edema, craniofacial malformations, and other developmental abnormalities. We hypothesized that for some PAH, these effects are mediated by the aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AHR), and involve oxidative stress. Previous studies in our laboratory have shown that certain combinations of PAH which reflect environmental conditions result in synergistic rather than additive toxicity when an embryo is exposed to an aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AHR) agonist such as b-naphthoflavone (BNF) and a cytochrome P4501A (CYP1A) inhibitor such as a-naphthoflavone (ANF). We used an antisense morpholino approach to knock down protein translation in zebrafish embryos to investigate the role of AHR2 and CYP1A in this synergistic developmental toxicity. We observed that while knockdown of AHR2 reduced toxicity of BNF+ANF co-exposures, CYP1A knockdown enhanced toxicity of BNF alone and BNF+ANF co-exposures. To address the role of oxidative stress, we used QRT- PCR to show significant increases in mRNA expression of MnSOD, CuZnSOD, GPX1, and glutathione cysteine-ligase, in BNF+ANF co-exposures. Knockdown of these genes with a morpholino against the transcription factor of the antioxidant response element, Nrf2, prevented induction of the redox-responsive genes, and slightly worsened pericardial edema at 72hpf but not 96 or 120hpf. Understanding the mechanisms of toxicity by PAH mixtures will assist risk assessors in developing more robust, mechanistic-based tools. [This research was supported by NIEHS grants P42ES10356, T32 ES07031, and EPA Star grant to A.T-L.] More information...
  • 12 Feb 2007: Spring 2007 Symposium: Developmental Neurobehavioral Disabilities and Toxic Exposure
    Registration is now open for the Spring Symposium on Developmental Neurobehavioral Disabilities and Toxic Exposure. This free Symposium is open to the public and will be held in the Searle Center Lecture Hall on March 23rd. To register, please send an email with your complete contact information to Eve Marion at emarion@duke.edu. For more information call 919-613-8078. More information...
  • 2 Nov 2006: October 27th Symposium on Toxicant Induced Alterations of Sexual Differentiation a Huge Success!
    Thank you to all who participated in the Fall Symposium on Friday, October 27th. It was a rainy, blustery day in Durham but inside the Searle Center on Duke's campus, the enthusiasm was high. A special thanks to our presenters, Humphrey Yao, Tyrone Hayes, Louis Guillette, Glen Van Der Kraak, L. Earl Gray and Shanna Swan. Stay tuned for more inforormation on the Spring Toxicology Symposium planned for March, 2007.
  • 23 Oct 2006: Carrie Fleming Awarded 2006 EPA Star Fellowship
    Third year ITEHP student, Carrie Fleming has been awarded an EPA Star Fellowship for 2006-2009. The fellowship includes support for tuition, research, and a stipend. More information...
  • 10 Feb 2006: March 2006: Cancer and the Environment Conference at Duke
    The focus of this collaboration is to unravel the interplay between genes and the environment. Researchers from each institution have begun to share their knowledge as they examine how environmental factors interact with genes in determining when, or if, a particular disease develops. More information...
  • 8 Sep 2005: Analysis of Katrina's Health, Environmental Effects to be Aided by Website With Layers of Data
    Duke University environmental scientists are amassing large overlays of Geographical Information System (GIS) data for a website that public health and environmental experts will use to assess effects of Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans and elsewhere in the stricken Gulf region. More information...
  • 7 Sep 2005: NIEHS Hurricane Katrina/Rita Response Portal
  • 17 Aug 2005: Alicia Timme-Laragy Receives 2005 EPA STAR Fellowship
    Alicia Timme-Laragy, a doctoral candidate at the Nicholas School's Superfund Basic Research Center, has received a three-year Science to Achieve Results (STAR) Fellowship from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's National Center for Environmental Research. More information...
  • 31 Dec 1969: September 26: FALL ITEHP SYMPOSIUM on The Toxico-Legal Interface: The Use of Toxicological Science in Regulation and Litigation

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