Research

UMRSC Research Projects

  • University of Michigan Dioxin Exposure Study
    Elevated levels of dioxins have been found in the soil of the Tittabawassee River flood plain and nearby areas.  In the fall of 2004, the University of Michigan began conducting a two-year study to find out whether the elevated levels of dioxins in the soil in the city of Midland, and in the Tittabawassee River flood plain between Midland and Saginaw, have also caused elevated levels of dioxins in residents' bodies. For comparison purposes, the investigators will also perform similar measurements among residents in Jackson and Calhoun Counties.
  • Risk and Impact Modeling
    Aims to provide the scientific knowledge for assessing environmental risks and impacts of chemicals and of innovative technologies.
  • University of Michigan Community Perceptions of Dioxins (CPOD) Study
    In 2010-2011, this National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences-funded study will return to the areas of Michigan included in the University of Michigan Dioxin Exposure Study (a) to explore community members' "mental models" of dioxins and dioxin-related risks and (b) to compare the mental models of community members who participated in the exposure assessment study with those who did not.

UMRSC Faculty Notes

  • David Garabrant's current research projects include:
    1. Case-control study of pancreas cancer examining the roles of DDT and other chlorinated pesticides, familial cancer history, Helicobacter species, obesity, and smoking.
    2. Cohort mortality study of automotive manufacturing workers examining the risks related to machining fluids and petroleum oils, welding fumes, and various other exposures.
    3. Case-control study of leukemia and lymphomas in an automobile transmission manufacturing plant examining the roles of machining fluids and petroleum oils, welding fumes, solvents, and various other exposures.
    4. Case-control study of lung cancer in automobile assembly plants examining the roles of machining fluids and petroleum oils, welding fumes, asbestos, and various other exposures.
    5. Prospective cohort study of chlorpyrifos manufacturing workers examining effects on the central and peripheral nervous systems, involving biological monitoring of urinary trichloropyridinol, serum cholinesterase, and PON genetic polymorphisms.
    6. Mesothelioma risks among automotive service workers and brake mechanics.
  • Martin Philbert's active research activities include experimental neuropathology, nitrocompound-induced encephalopathies, mitochondrial mechanisms in non-neuronal cell death, development of Nano-Optical Chemical Systems for in vivo physiology, and nanostructure-based imaging and treatment of tumors of malignant gliomas.
  • Olivier Jolliet's research and teaching programs aims to provide the scientific knowledge for assessing environmental risks and impacts of chemicals, in order: (1) to develop a flexible risk assessment framework, enabling specialist to contribute to an interdisciplinary comparative approach, from chemical emissions to risks & impacts, (2) to model population-based exposure and intake fractions for outdoor and indoor chemical emissions in a consistent way, (3) to assess the life cycle risks, impacts and benefits related to new technologies and materials in order to prevent emissions and guide the development of these technologies.
  • Al Franzblau's research interests focus on various aspects of 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.
  • Gerald Keeler's research interests include the measurement and modeling of hazardous air pollutants (HAPs), air pollution meteorology, whole ecosystem studies of the cycling of trace elements in the environment, exposure assessment for health studies, receptor modeling of environmental contaminants, atmospheric chemistry and deposition, and global change issues pertinent to environmental health.
  • Paula Lantz has investigated the role of risk perceptions in the treatment decisions of breast cancer patients. In addition, with other colleagues at UM SPH, Dr. Lantz plans to use policy simulations to investigate the potential impact of a number of tobacco control and residential radon policies in reducing the burden of lung cancer in the United States.
  • James Vincent's research activities over 20+ years include: electrical conduction and breakdown in gases, electrostatic precipitation of aerosols, air pollution control engineering, air pollution transport near buildings, basic fluid mechanics, basic aerosol mechanics, industrial ventilation, aerosol measurement in workplaces and the ambient atmosphere, dust control in workplaces, assessment of human exposure to aerosols, asbestos problems, animal inhalation research, pharmacokinetic and dosimetric modeling for inhaled aerosols, aspects of epidemiology and toxicology, wider issues in industrial and environmental hygiene, occupational health standards, science and policy.
  • Brian Zikmund-Fisher's risk-related research projects include: (1) testing the value of pictographs (icon arrays) and animated and/or interactive visual displays as more intuitive methods for communicating risk statistics, (2) conducting "mental models" interviews of residents of communities affected by dioxins to understand how they conceptualize the associated risks, and (3) conducting iterative experimental surveys of veterans to explore how best to communicate  genetic test results to predict and manage future cancer risk in primary care clinical consultations. He also teaches a graduate seminar on risk communication.