The Environmental Toxicology Laboratory of the Great Lakes Center maintains state of the art facilities to study a variety of problems affecting the water quality of the Great Lakes and contributing waters. The mission of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry of Great Lakes Center is to assess the health risk presented by various classes of environmental carcinogens/toxicants and to develop various strategies in the prevention of cancer and related diseases. We accomplish this by combining state of the art research with a commitment to improve the understanding of the mechanism of action of carcinogenic and toxicological pollutants ubiquitously present in our environment including Great Lakes ecosystem. Please explore the details of any or all of these opportunities on the following pages.
One research focus is on study of the metabolism and mechanism of carcinogenesis of polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), disposition and metabolism of toxic chemicals in fish microbial degradation of hazardous chemicals, and on monitoring the levels of environmental contaminants. PAHs are a pernicious problem in Great Lakes waters, and our research has focused on the not only their toxic effects but also of their metabolites, those toxic compounds that are produced as an organism metabolizes the original PAH.
The lab, along with biologists in the Great Lakes Center, also has begun a research effort into the effects of emerging contaminants, such as endocrine disruptors, on ecosystem health in the Great Lakes. Endocrine disruptors are byproduct of plastic manufacture that mimic the effects of endocrine hormones in the body. They are known to affect the reproductive process in humans, and they may have equally adverse effects on fish in the lakes.
Research Themes
-
Carcinogenesis
-
Emerging Toxins
