Environmental Health Sciences 
Environmental Toxicology and Epidemiology Training Grant - Faculty
Supported by the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, NIH
 Niladri Basu, PhD
Assistant Professor, Department of Environmental Health Sciences, School of Public Health
Email: niladri@umich.edu
Environmental toxicology, fish and wildlife sentinels, community health, neurochemical biomarkers, ecosystem health, indigenous peoples, water quality and risk assessment of legacy and emerging pollutants, gene-environment interaction..
 Stuart Batterman, PhD
Professor, Department of Environmental Health Sciences, School of Public Health
Professor, Department of Civil Engineering, College of Engineering
Email: stuartb@umich.edu
Exposure assessment, biological monitoring, human health risk and environmental impact assessment, innovative measurement techniques for air pollutants, and environmental policy including indoor and ambient air quality, hazardous waste and drinking water.
 Robert Daniel Brook, MD
Associate Professor, Department of Internal Medicine, Cardiology, Medical School.
Email: robdbrok@umich.edu
Health effects and mechanisms of cardiovascular disease related to air polution; mechanisms of obesity and metabolic syndrome-related vascular dysfunction; ultrasound-based and novel atherosclerosis imaging techniques; human vascular physiology; human blood pressure monitoring; global cardiovascular risk assessment and prevention.
 Robert Denver, PhD
Professor, Department of Cellular & Molecular Biology
Professor, Department of Ecology & Evolutionary Biology
Email: rdenver@umich.edu
Neuroendocrine control of development and hormone action in brain development; environmental stress and its impacts on development; epigenetic modifications caused by stress hormones and activated by changes in the environment.
 Dana Dolinoy, PhD
Assistant Professor, Department of Environmental Health Sciences, School of Public Health
Email: ddolinoy@umich.edu
Environmental epigenetics/epigenomics, developmental origins of adult disease, role of diet and nutrition in modulating chemical exposure and epigenetic events including DNA methylation and chromatin structure.
 John K. Fink, M.D.
Professor, Department of Neurology, Medical School
Email: jkfink@umich.edu
Genetics of neurologic and psychiatric disorders; gene-environment interactions to elucidate gene variations that confer susceptibility to environmental toxins in general and organophosphorous compounds in particular.
 Alfred Franzblau, MD
Professor, Environmental Health Sciences; Associate Professor, Emergency Medicine; Associate Research Scientist, Center for Ergonomics
Email: afranz@umich.edu
Work-related musculoskeletal disorders, biological monitoring of chemical exposures, occupational neurological disease, occupational respiratory disease and environmental exposure assessment for dioxins and other persistent environmental chemicals.
 Ari Gafni, Ph.D.
Professor, Department of Biological Chemistry
Research Professor, Biophysics Research Division
Research Professor, Institute of Gerontology
Email: arigafni@umich.edu
Age related conformational modifications in proteins; structural alterations that occur in transcription factors (e.g., Heat Shock Factor I) in response to aging and/or chemical or other stressors. Advanced methods of structural protein chemistry.
 Craig Harris, PhD
Professor, Department of Environmental Health Sciences, School of Public Health
Email: charris@umich.edu
Mammalian developmental toxicology and biochemical mechanisms of teratogenesis;
the role of biochemical defenses in the developing rat conceptus that
influence the incidence and severity of dysmorphogenesis.
 Paul F. Hollenberg, PhD, DSc
Professor and Chair, Department of Pharmacology, Medical School
Email: hollenberg@umich.edu
Cytochrome P450s; mechanisms by which cells activate environmental
chemicals to reactive forms that cause cancer; development of selective
P450 inactivators for the prevention of human cancers; elucidation of
structures & key catalytic residues of active sites of human P450s.
 Howard Hu, MD, MPH, ScD
NSF Internation Departmnet Chair, Environmental Health Sciences; Professor and Chair, Environmental Health Sciences; Professor of Epidemiology; Professor of Internal Medicine, Medical School
Email: howardhu@umich.edu
Environmental epidemiology, heavy metals, gene-environment and epigenetic-environment interactions; nutrient-toxicant interactions; early life origins of chronic disease; children's environmental health; hypertension, renal dysfunction, cognitive declines, Parkinson's Disease, Alzheimer's Disease, neurodevelopment; environment, chemical sensitivities, global climate change and health.
 Sharon Kardia, PhD
Professor and Chair, Department of Epidemiology, School of Public Health
Email: skardia@umich.edu
Genetic epidemiology of cardiovascular disease and its risk factors; gene-environment and gene-gene interactions; development of novel analytical strategies to understand complex relationships between genetic variation, environmental variation, and risk of common chronic diseases.
 Richard Keep, PhD
Crosby Kahan Professor, Department of Neurosurgery, Medical School
Email: rkeep@umich.edu
Blood-brain and blood-CSF barrier transport of nutrients, hormones
and toxic agents, including identification and characterization of transporters,
how diseases alter these processes, and how altered transport affects
the clearance of endogenous and exogenous neurotoxic substances.
 Raoul Kopelman, PhD
Distinguished University Professor of Chemistry, Department of Chemistry, College of Literature Sciences & Arts
Email: kopelman@umich.edu
Chemical and biochemical live cell imaging with nano-sensors to detect cell changes associated with disease, microbial exposure and environmental toxicant exposure; ultra-rapid detection of antibiotics to match bacterial infection; photodynamic nano-effectors to fight germs and cancer.
 Theodore S. Lawrence, MD, PhD
Professor, Department of Radiation Oncology, Medical School; Professor of Environmental Health Sciences, Department of Environmental Health Sciences, School of Public Health
Email: tsl@umich.edu
Mechanisms of radiosensitization for treatment of cancer; cell cycle changes and the apoptotic pathway; role of the epidermal growth factor receptor family in radiosensitization.
 Mats Ljungman, PhD
Associate Professor, Department of Radiation Oncology, Medical School; Associate Professor of Environmental Health Sciences, Department of Environmental Health Sciences, School of Public Health
Email: ljungman@umich.edu
Cellular detection of DNA damage and activation of DNA damage response pathways, and applications of this knowledge for molecular-targeted sensitization of cancer cells to ionizing radiation and chemotherapy.
 Rita Loch-Caruso, PhD
Professor, Department of Environmental Health Sciences, School of Public Health; Associate Research Scientist, Reproductive Sciences Program
Email: rlc@umich.edu
Reproductive and developmental toxicology; molecular, cellular and pathophysiologic mechanisms of abnormal parturition; toxicant effects on placenta and extraplacental membranes; preterm birth and dysfunctional labor.
 David Lubman, Ph.D.
Professor, Department of Chemistry
Email: dmlubman@umich.edu
Development of new technology for searching for protein markers of cancer.
 Peter Mancuso, PhD, MS
Associate Professor, Environmental Health Sciences
Email: pmancuso@umich.edu
Role of leptin in pulmonary inflammation; macrophage biology; host defense against pneumococcal pneumonia; tobacco smoke exposure; and pulmonary immune suppression.
 Jeffrey Randall Martens, PhD
Assistant Professor, Pharmacology
Email: martensj@umich.edu
Membrane organization of signal transduction pathways including mechanisms of cilia transport in olfactory sensory neurons, olfactory disorders related to cilia, and ion channels in the cardiovascular system; perturbation of these processes by cellular stresses and external toxicants.
 Bhramar Mukherjee, PhD
Associate Professor, Department of Biostatistics, School of Public Health
Email: bhramar@umich.edu
Studies of gene-environment interaction, Bayesian methods, statistical methods for case-control and other outcome dependent sampling schemes, applications in epidemiology.
 Jerome Nriagu, PhD, DSc
Professor, Department of Environmental Health Sciences, School of Public Health
Email: jnriagu@umich.edu
Sources, fate and health effects of toxic metals in the environment; environmental food contamination; water quality issues in the Great Lakes; environmental justice and environmental health in developing countries.
 Marie O'Neill, PhD
Associate Professor, Environmental Health Sciences, School of Public Health
Associate Profess, Epidemiology, School of Public Health
Email: marieo@umich.edu
Health effects of air pollution, temperature extremes and climate change (mortality, asthma, hospital admissions, birth outcomes and cardiovascular endpoints); environmental exposure assessment; and socio-economic influences on health.
 Yoichi Osawa, PhD
Professor, Department of Pharmacology, Medical School
Email: osawa@umich.edu
Mechanisms of chemical pharmacology and xenobiotic toxicology involving free radicals, oxidative stress, metabolism, and regulation of hemoproteins.
 Vasantha Padmanabhan, PhD
Professor, Departmental of Pediatrics & Communicable Diseases, Medical School
Email: vasantha@umich.edu
Prenatal programming of reproductive and metabolic functions; neuroendocrine, pituitary paracrine and ovarian control of reproduction; impact of environmental estrogens on fertility.
 Vincent L. Pecoraro, PhD
Professor, Department of Chemistry, College of Literature, Sciences and the Arts,
Email: vlpec@umich.edu
Study of the molecular basis for heavy metal (Pb)II), Hg(II), Cd(II) and As (III)) uptake, transport, toxicity and detoxification in bacteria and humans. Development of protein based sequestrian agents for these elements.
 Karen Peterson, DSc
Professor, Environmental Health Sciences
Email:karenep@umich.edu
Determinants of intergenerational patterns of growth in mothers and children and the design and evaluation of domestic and international surveillance systems and community-based interventions in low-income, multiethnic populations.
 Martin A. Philbert, PhD
Professor, Department of Environmental Health Sciences, School of Public Health
Email: philbert@umich.edu
Development of safe nanodevices for intracellular imaging and the early detection and treatment of brain tumors; evaluation of the toxicity, pharmacokinetics and toxicokinetics of nanoparticles; mitochondrial dysfunction following exposure to environmental toxicants.
 Bruce C. Richardson, PhD
Professor, Department of Internal Medicine, Medical School
Email: brichard@umich.edu
Chromatin structure in autoimmunity, cancer and aging, with a particular emphasis on the role of altered chromatin structure in the pathogenesis of human lupus; impact of the environment on chromatin structure in lupus; development of new techniques to assess biomarkers for lupus activity; identification of molecular targets for lupus therapeutic interventions.
 Rudy J. Richardson, ScD, DABT
Professor, Department of Environmental Health Sciences, School of Public Health; Associate Professor, Department of Neurology, Medical School
Email: rjrich@umich.edu
Mechanisms of neurotoxicity of environmental chemicals; modulation of neurotoxicity by genetics and age; relationships between neurotoxicity and neurodegenerative disease; and development of biomarkers and biosensors of exposure and disease.
 Thomas G. Robins, MD, MPH
Professor, Department of Environmental Health Sciences, School of Public Health, Assistant Professor, Department of Internal Medicine, Medical School
Email:trobins@umich.edu
Exposure assessment and disease outcomes, epidemiology of inhaled toxins
(coal dust, lead, allergens and ambient air pollutants, metalworking fluid
aerosols, DDT); information transfer.
 Brian D. Ross, PhD
Professor, Department of Radiology, Medical School; Professor, Department of Biological Chemistry, Medical School
Email: bdross@umich.edu
In vivo molecular imaging for monitoring morphological and cellular effects in living subjects using noninvasive imaging modalities that include magnetic resonance imaging, bioluminescence/fluorescence and PET/SPECT/CT; monitoring the impact of toxicological agents as well as effects of therapeutics including chemotherapy and radiation therapy on intracellular signaling pathways.
 Laura Rozek, PhD
Assistant Professor, Environmental Health Sciences, School of Public Health
Email: rozekl@umich.edu
Population studies of genetic and environmental causes of common cancer in humans; the role of epigenetics in the etiology and prognosis of human cancer; the interplay between the environment and epigenome in common diseases.
 Jeanne Stuckey, PhD
Research Assistant Professor, Biological Chemistry Department; Research Assistant Professor, Biophysics Research Division; Research Assistant Professor, Life Sciences Institute
Email: jass@umich.edu
Structure-based drug design to develop new cancer therapies; toxicant modification of structure-function relationships of membrane-modifying enzymes that are involved in a variety of diseases such as cancer, diabetes and neuropathies.
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