News Archive
New Project 1 Research Suggests Associations Between Maternal Bioactive Lipid Levels and Early Child Development
PROTECT research published in Pediatric Research shows associations between maternal bioactive lipids and children’s neurodevelopment problems and emotional and behavioral problems. Led by Project 1 Postdoctoral Research Fellow Seonyoung (Shannon) Park, this recent...
El Planeta de los Productos: Inspiring Curiosity Through Science and Storytelling
In October, members of the Community Engagement Core (CEC) visited Ramón Torres Rivera School in San Lorenzo, Morovis, a rural community in the mountainous area of the archipelago. During their visit, which was coordinated by the Centro 2 Generaciones Early Childhood...
Project 4 PhD Students Attend Northeastern University SOURCE Event
In October, Project 4 PhD candidates Nima Sakhaee and Amanda Thomas took part in Northeastern University’s 2025 Showcase of Opportunities for Undergraduate Research and Creative Endeavor (SOURCE). Over two hours, Nima and Amanda spoke to undergraduate students about...
PROTECT-ECHO Puerto Rico Cohort Highlighted by NIH ECHO Program
In September, the PROTECT-ECHO cohort site was spotlighted by the ECHO program for its significant contributions to knowledge of maternal and child health across Puerto Rico. The NIH introduced the Environmental influences on Child Health Outcomes (ECHO) program in...
Researchers Address Environmental Health Data Harmonization Challenges and Benefits in New Paper
In a new publication co-authored by DMAC Lead Dave Kaeli, researchers utilized the NIEHS Environmental Health Language Collaborative’s Data Harmonization Use Case to better understand how harmonization strategies can enhance data used for environmental health science...
PROTECT Researchers Address Lead and Public Health with Educational Materials and Collaborations
Lead exposure has been a major public health issue for decades. Lead is a naturally occurring element that can frequently be found at Superfund sites and is known to cause several adverse human health effects. In children, lead exposure can damage the brain and...
New Project 1 Research Finds Negative Associations between Multiple Prenatal Phthalate Exposure and Early Child Neurodevelopment
A recent PROTECT Project 1 paper published in the International Journal of Hygiene and Environmental Health assesses potential associations between prenatal exposure to phthalate mixtures and major child neurodevelopment outcomes. The paper, led by Project 1 trainee...
Former ROUTES Scholar Receives PEAK Experience Award to Continue Work with Project 4
In February, Northeastern College of Engineering undergraduate Alena Alexander was announced as a recipient of a PEAK Experience Summit Award from Northeastern University. With this award, she has been able to work with PROTECT’s Project 4 team as they research and...
Project 4 Trainee Kyla Drewry Reflects on KC Donnelly Externship Experience
This past fall, Northeastern PhD candidate and PROTECT trainee Kyla Drewry contributed to Hurricane Helene disaster response through her NIEHS KC Donnelly externship. Over two months, Kyla worked with organizations and agencies like the North Carolina Department of...
PROTECT Researchers Discuss Progress and Collaboration at 2025 Annual Retreat
On January 10th and 11th, PROTECT hosted its 2025 Annual Retreat in Dorado, Puerto Rico. More than 80 investigators, staff, advisory committee members, university leaders, and trainees met over two days at the Embassy Suites Dorado to discuss the center’s past year of...
PROTECT Holds Family Day for Participants
On November 16th, the PROTECT Community Engagement and Human Subjects and Sampling Cores hosted the first ever PROTECT Family Day. The event, held the weekend before Thanksgiving, gave the PROTECT team the chance to show their appreciation for participants and the...
RETCC Lead and 2024 KC Donnelly Recipient Contribute to Hurricane Helene Recovery Efforts in North Carolina
In September, Hurricane Helene hit North Carolina, causing unprecedented flooding and devastation in the state. Following the hurricane’s impact, RETCC Leader Kelsey Pieper engaged in relief efforts and worked with state health officials to assess the status of lead...
PROTECT Study Examining the Long-Term Impact of Hurricane Maria on Water Quality and Human Health in Puerto Rico Selected as NIEHS Paper of the Month
A study led by former Project 4 trainee Dr. Yishan Lin using PROTECT data assessed the long-term changes in tap water quality in Puerto Rico following Hurricane Maria. This 14-month study integrated two effect-based quantitative toxicity assays with a targeted...
Dr. Gredia Huerta-Montañez Selected for CDC Committee and White House Summit
This summer, PROTECT Researcher Dr. Gredia Huerta-Montañez was invited to take part in two major federal environmental health initiatives: the CDC’s Lead Exposure Prevention Advisory Committee (LEPAC) and the first-ever White House Extreme Heat Summit. The CDC formed...
PROTECT Researchers Awarded During ISEE 2024
During the last week of August, PROTECT researchers, trainees, and staff from across projects and cores participated in the 36th Annual Conference of the International Society for Environmental Epidemiology (ISEE) in Santiago, Chile. The event, held from August...
New PROTECT Paper Finds that Common Chemicals in Popular Consumer Products Can Impact Blood Pressure During Pregnancy
A new paper led by Project 1 researcher Julia Varshavsky found that higher levels of phenols and parabens exposure during pregnancy may impact maternal blood pressure and increase the risk of people developing hypertension during pregnancy. Phenols and parabens are...
Project 4 Paper Analyzing a Combined EAOP-Pyrite Water Remediation System Highlighted by NIEHS
A new paper by Project 4 researchers investigates the effectiveness of a combined electrochemical advanced oxidation process (EAOP) and pyrite water remediation system to clean contaminated groundwater. The paper, which was published in the Journal of Hazardous...
Project 1 Paper Led by Trainee Haley Jenkins Selected as NIEHS Extramural Paper of the Month
A new paper about glyphosate exposure and child brain development led by Project 1 trainee Haley Jenkins was selected as a June NIEHS extramural paper of the month and featured in the June Environmental Factor newsletter. This paper, co-written with Project 1 trainee...
DMAC and Project 4 Welcome Summer Research Students
Data Management and Analysis Core (DMAC) and Project 4 researchers and trainees are excited to be working with several Massachusetts community college and high school students this summer through Northeastern’s research experience programs.The DMAC has brought on two...
PROTECT Celebrates Graduating Trainees
In May, seven PROTECT trainees completed their degrees and graduated from their academic programs. Meaghan Rea, Ellie Holmes, Tiffany Russell, Krisyalie Morales, Chloe Burjak, and Darshan Chudasama completed their Master of Public Health degrees, and Lysmarie Santos...
PROTECT Highlighted During Special Session at VI Puerto Rican Public Health Conference
Several Community Engagement Core researchers and staff members attended and presented during the VI Puerto Rican Public Health Conference on May 2nd and 3rd. The two-day event, coordinated by the Graduate School of Public Health of the University of Puerto Rico,...
New Project 2 Publication Gives Insight to Relationship between GBS, Oxidative Stress Pathways, and Reactive Oxygen Species
Group B Streptococcus, or Streptococcus agalactiae (GBS), is a species of bacterium that has been identified as a significant bacterial cause of adverse birth outcomes, including neonatal morbidity and mortality. During pregnancy, GBS infections can cause ascending...
New Northeastern and UCD Seed-Funded Projects to Include Collaboration between PROTECT and UCD Researchers
Northeastern University and University College Dublin (UCD) recently announced seed funding for a project with the PROTECT and AI_PREMie teams to develop machine learning methods that identify and prioritize biological samples to train and test AI algorithms for...
PROTECT Holds 2024 Annual Retreat in San Juan
On January 26th and 27th, more than 80 PROTECT investigators, staff, trainees, collaborators, and Advisory Committee members participated in PROTECT’s Annual Retreat in San Juan, Puerto Rico. The event marked the first time since 2022 that the entire PROTECT community...
PROTECT Investigator Featured in CBS News Report on Phthalates
Project 1 Lead John Meeker was interviewed as part of a recent CBS News story about the risks of phthalate exposure to human health after a January Consumer Reports study found the chemicals in multiple popular food products.Phthalates are a class of chemicals...
PROTECT Team Participates in 2023 Annual SRP Meeting
Over 30 PROTECT researchers and trainees attended the 36th Annual Superfund Research Program Meeting from December 4th-6th, 2023. The meeting was held in Albuquerque, New Mexico and hosted by the University of New Mexico METALS SRP program team. Every year,...
PROTECT and ECHO Teams Participate in San Juan’s 2023 March for Babies
On November 10th, Community Engagement Core (CEC) and Human Subjects and Sampling Core (HSSC) team members participated in March of Dimes 27th March for Babies event in San Juan. March of Dimes is a nonprofit organization that was initially founded by President...
PROTECT Team Awarded Patent for New Water Treatment Process
PROTECT Director and Project 4 Leader Akram Alshawabkeh alongside co-inventor and former PROTECT Postdoc Long Chen were awarded a “Robust Flow-Through Platform for Organic Contaminants Removal” patent in September. The patented invention puts forth an electrochemical...
The NIEHS Highlights PROTECT’s Translational Research Efforts
As part of a drive to show the benefits of environmental health research translation, the NIEHS developed and released stories about NIEHS-funded research projects that utilize a translational research framework. PROTECT was one of the centers highlighted, with the...
Analyzing the Importance of Community Engagement During Emergencies in Puerto Rico
A recent paper led by Community Engagement Core (CEC) trainee Irene Lafarga Previdi in collaboration with other members of the CEC illustrates and analyzes how PROTECT and the Center for Collaborative Research in Health Disparities (CCRHD) – RCMI Program (RCMI) were...
Ex Aprendiz e Investigadora Nancy Cardona Comienza a Trabajar en el Centro Comprensivo de Cáncer de la Universidad de Puerto Rico
Click here to read this story in English.En agosto, la Dra. Nancy Cardona aceptó un puesto en el Centro Comprensivo de Cáncer de la Universidad de Puerto Rico como Investigadora Auxiliar. Ella dirigirá los esfuerzos de Investigación colaborativa sobre Salud Ambiental...
Former Trainee and Researcher Nancy Cardona Begins Job at Puerto Rico’s Comprehensive Cancer Center
Haga clic aquÍ para leer esta historia en español.In August, Dr. Nancy Cardona accepted a position at Puerto Rico’s Comprehensive Cancer Center as an Assistant Investigator. She will lead Environmental Health Research in the Division of Cancer Control and Population...
Project 4 Trainee Amir Taqieddin Completes Ph.D.
In June, Project 4 Ph.D. student Amir Taqieddin defended his dissertation to complete his degree. His dissertation was focused on applying multiscale computations to investigate and develop carbon and iron materials for electrochemical applications. “The target is to...
New Project 4 Publications Evaluate Cost-Efficient Water Treatments Using Banana Peels
Two new publications by Project 4 researchers present experiments that used banana peel-derived cathodes to test cost-effective water treatments that remove organic contaminants. The findings from these studies can be used to inform large-scale, practical application...
CEC Trainee Nobel Hernández-Otero Receives NIEHS KC Donnelly Award
PROTECT trainee and doctoral student Nobel Hernández-Otero was named one of the recipients of the NIEHS SRP KC Donnelly Externship Award, which provides SRP-funded graduate students and postdoc researchers with opportunities to work with other SRP-funded centers,...
CEC Trainee Sofia Contreras Fernandez Receives Mount Sinai Fellowship
PROTECT trainee Sofia Contreras Fernandez has been accepted as an international fellow in the Mount Sinai Global Health Disparities Research Training Program for the summer semester. She will be spending the next few months conducting research on climate change and...
PROTECT Researchers Meet in Boston for Progress and Planning Meeting
On March 9th and 10th, PROTECT investigators and staff gathered at Northeastern University to discuss the project’s progression, major research updates, and future goals. On the second day of discussions, the team was joined by NIEHS SRP Program Administrator Heather...
CEC Leader Carmen Vélez Vega Honored by the National Library of Medicine’s EnHIP
Community Engagement Core Leader Carmen Vélez Vega was recognized by the National Library of Medicine’s (NLM) Environmental Health Information Partnership (EnHIP) for her contribution to health disparity and equity research. She was honored with the recognition during...
Students Participate in the First PROTECT Trainee Trip
From February 22-26, a group of PROTECT trainees from different projects, cores, and institutions took part in the first ever PROTECT trainee trip to Puerto Rico. The trip was organized by the Training (RETCC), Community Engagement (CEC), and Human Subjects and...
PROTECT Team Hosts Site Visits for ECHO and RECOVER Studies in Puerto Rico
In January, the PROTECT team hosted ECHO and RECOVER site visits in their research facilities and health centers in Puerto Rico. The visits gave the research teams the chance to meet in person to discuss study progress and future goals. The ECHO site visit was held on...
Mi PROTECT Report Back Platform Pilot Test Shows the Importance of Research Right to Know and Participant Feedback
A paper in January’s PLOS Digital Health reports on the results of a pilot test of PROTECT’s mobile-based report back application Mi PROTECT. PROTECT developed the platform to provide participants with tailored, culturally relevant information about personal...
PROTECT Participates in the 35th Annual NIEHS SRP Meeting
More than 30 PROTECT researchers, staff, and trainees attended the 35th Anniversary Annual Superfund Research Program Meeting held from December 14th to 16th. The 2022 meeting was held in Raleigh, North Carolina, and co-hosted by the SRP programs at the University of...
PROTECT Investigator Gredia Huerta-Montañez Discusses the Intersection of Children’s Health and Climate Change in Editorial for JAMA Pediatrics
An editorial written by ECHO and PROTECT investigator Dr. Gredia Huerta-Montañez and Dr. Aaron Bernstein was published in JAMA Pediatrics in November 2022. The editorial analyzes the intersection of children’s health and climate change, describes experiences from...
Nancy Cardona Presents at Annual American Public Health Association Conference
In November 2022, PROTECT researcher and former trainee Nancy Cardona presented at the Annual American Public Health Association (APHA) Conference in Boston, MA. Dr. Cardona presented her research evaluating phthalate exposure in personal care products, and their...
Project 3 Leader Ingrid Padilla Elected a Fellow of the Geological Society of America
In May 2022, Project 3 leader Ingrid Paidilla was elected a Fellow of the Geological Society of American (GSA).The GSA is a professional society that supports and provides resources for the growth of earth scientists from various expertise and industries. The Society...
New Publication Co-Authored by PROTECT Researchers Establishes Approach to Identify PFAS Contamination
A new paper published in Environmental Science & Technology Letters talks about a conceptual approach to map per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) contamination sites throughout the US. The paper was co-authored by PROTECT Research Translation Coordinator...
Two Former PROTECT Trainees Awarded Harvard JPB Environmental Health Fellowships
Former PROTECT Trainees Dr. Max Aung and Dr. Stephanie Eick are among the 14 new scholars to be awarded Harvard JPB Environmental Health Fellowships this year. They are part of just the third cohort to join the program, which now supports 41 Fellows from institutions...
PROTECT Publication Analyzes the Impacts of Hurricanes Irma and Maria on Maternal Health
A new paper published in the Children journal of pediatrics and led by PROTECT trainee Irene Lafarga Previdi looks at the experiences of pregnant and post-partum women during and after hurricanes Irma and Maria. Irene, who is also the RCMI Center for Collaborative...
Community Engagement Core Members Visit Vega Baja as Part of Post-Hurricane Fiona Support
On September 22, Community Engagement Core (CEC) members Nobel Hernández Otero and Chrystal Galán Rivera took part in Hurricane Fiona recovery efforts in a visit to the Sabana community in Vega Baja. The visit was organized by PryMed Medical Care, a health nonprofit...
PROTECT Trainees Awarded in SRP’s Scientific Short Video Challenge
PROTECT is excited to announce that each of the three videos submitted by PROTECT trainees to this summer’s SRP Scientific Short Video Challenge was awarded! Community Engagement Core (CEC) trainee Nobel Hernández came in first place overall, Ricardo Berrios and...
Project 3 Leader Ingrid Padilla Presents at Inaugural UN Spanish-Language Forum
On September 9, Project 3 leader Ingrid Padilla took part in the Science and Society for Sustainable Development World Initiative’s “Beyond Language Boundaries: Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion: Bringing Everyone Forward” event. The one-day, Spanish language forum was...
Kelsey Pieper y Aidsa I. Santiago Román Para Liderar el PROTECT RETCC
Click here to read this story in English.Durante este verano, el Núcleo de Coordinación de Capacitación y Experiencia en Investigación (RETCC) tiene un nuevo liderato. Tom Sheahan y Kristin Hicks pasarán sus roles de liderazgo a la Dra. Kelsey Pieper y la Dra. Aidsa...
Kelsey Pieper and Aidsa I. Santiago Román to Lead the PROTECT RETCC
Haga clic aquÍ para leer esta historia en español.This Research Experience and Training Coordination Core (RETCC) transitioned to new leadership this summer. Tom Sheahan and Kristin Hicks will pass their leadership roles to Dr. Kelsey Pieper and Dr. Aidsa I. Santiago...
PROTECT Launches New Center Website
Welcome to the new PROTECT website! This will be the new home of everything PROTECT related for everyone from researchers to students to participants and beyond.Important research information, like details about PROTECT’s different projects and cores, how projects...
Project 3 Trainee Rebekah Nicholas Takes Butler Cave Sampling Trip
On June 18th, PROTECT Project 3 trainee Rebekah Nicholas took a trip to Butler Cave in Burnsville Cove, Virginia, with the purpose of collecting samples for research for her master’s thesis. Two Butler Cave Conservation Society members and one student grotto member...
PROTECT Trainee and Wetterhahn Award Recipient Elana Elkin Begins New Position at San Diego State University
PROTECT Project 2 postdoc Elana Elkin will transition to a new position as an Assistant Professor of Environmental Health at San Diego State University’s School of Public Health. Dr. Elkin’s new role will involve both teaching and research. She will teach and mentor...
PROTECT Researchers Participate in First AGU Frontiers in Hydrology Meeting
The first biennial Frontiers in Hydrology Meeting was held at the Puerto Rico Convention Center in San Juan from June 19th to June 24th. Organized by the American Geophysical Union (AGU) in collaboration with the Consortium of Universities for the Advancement of...
PROTECT to Begin Enrollment in RECOVER Pediatric Study
On June 10, 2022, Northeastern University and PROTECT SRP Center received approval to begin enrollment in the Researching COVID to Enhance Recovery (RECOVER) Initiative study “A Multi-Center Observational Study: The RECOVER Post-Acute Sequelae of SARS-CoV-2 (PASC)...
Multi-Cohort Study Including PROTECT Finds Link Between Phthalate Exposure and Preterm Birth
A National Institutes of Health (NIH) study published today in JAMA Pediatrics provides further evidence for a link between multiple phthalate exposure and an increased risk of preterm birth. This is a multi-cohort study led by National Institute of Environmental...
PROTECT Holds Annual Retreat in Puerto Rico for the First Time Since the COVID-19 Outbreak
On June 3rd and 4th, PROTECT held its annual retreat in San Juan, Puerto Rico for the first time since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic over two years ago. More than 70 PROTECT investigators, staff, and trainees gathered with PROTECT’s external advisory committee at...
PROTECT’s Puerto Rico Team Receives Outstanding Staff Teamwork Award from Northeastern
On April 13th, PROTECT’s Puerto Rico Team was awarded the Outstanding Staff Teamwork Award by Northeastern’s College of Engineering. The award was presented during the College of Engineering Awards Ceremony, with team members joining over Zoom. Those awarded were...
NIEHS PEPH Newsletter Highlights Community Engagement Core Leader Carmen Vélez-Vega
PROTECT Community Engagement Core (CEC) leader Carmen Vélez-Vega is featured as the Grantee Highlight in April’s NIEHS Partnership for Environmental Public Health (PEPH) Newsletter. PEPH is a network organized by the NIEHS and made up of scientists, community members,...
PROTECT Signs New Memorandum of Understanding with Manatí Medical Center
PROTECT recently signed a new Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Manatí Medical Center (MMC) in Manatí, Puerto Rico. The MOU sets the terms for the collaboration between MMC and PROTECT, and applies to both PROTECT and associated research projects, including ECHO,...
PROTECT Researchers Find that Chemicals Detected at Higher Levels in Non-Hispanic Black Women Impact Preterm Birth Genes
The disproportionate rate of preterm birth in non-Hispanic Black women is well-documented. The exposure to certain environmental chemicals that non-Hispanic Black women face compared to non-Hispanic White women is also well-documented. A recent publication lead by...
PROTECT Reports Significant Associations between Heavy Metals and Matrix Metalloproteinases
New Project 1 findings suggest that there are significant associations between certain heavy metals and matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs), with several associations differing by fetal sex. This research was reported in a paper by lead author Christine Kim...
PROTECT Trainee Yuwei Zhao Graduates Northeastern and Enters Industry
After completing her PhD at the end of 2021, PROTECT Project 4 Trainee Yuwei Zhao is entering industry to work as a field engineer in environmental consulting. Yuwei graduated from Northeastern University with her PhD in Civil and Environmental Engineering in December...
Former PROTECT Trainee Max Aung Joins University of South California as an Assistant Professor
Former PROTECT Trainee Max Aung is joining the University of Southern California as a tenure-track Assistant Professor. Dr. Aung will be a faculty member at the Keck School of Medicine in the Department of Population and Public Health Sciences. This position comes...
An Interview with PROTECT Trainee Nobel Hernández
This interview was conducted for Nobel’s Trainee Spotlight article. To read the full story in English, click here.1. ¿Cuál es tu Grado Mayor o Disciplina? Tengo un Maestría en Educación en Salud Pública de la Universidad de Puerto Rico, Recinto de Ciencias Médicas...
Trainee Spotlight: Nobel Hernández
Haga clic aquÍ para leer una entrevista con Nobel en español.Nobel Hernández is a doctoral student studying Public Health with a specialty in Social Determinants of Health at the University of Puerto Rico Medical Sciences Campus. He is expected to graduate in May...
PROTECT Researchers Develop Robust Flow-Through Platform for Contaminant Removal
PROTECT Project 4 researchers focus on development of treatment platforms that effectively remove organic pollutants in water at a low-cost. Toxic organic chemicals from Superfund sites have long been a threat to drinking water resources and human health. The Fenton...
PROTECT Researchers Participate in a Pilot-Scale Assessment of Puerto Rico Tap Water Contamination and Human-Health Impacts
PROTECT studies health outcomes in pregnant women in the Puerto Rico birth cohort. The home of PROTECT’s cohort is in the northern karst region of Puerto Rico, which is also the home of two of the island’s most extensive and productive drinking-water aquifers. This...
Project 1 Researchers Find that Exposure to Phthalate Mixtures is Associated with Oxidative Stress Biomarker
PROTECT Project 1 researchers have found that exposure to a mixture of phthalate metabolites has a strong positive association with oxidative stress. This work, published in a paper in Environment International in September 2021, contributes to a better understanding...
Trainee Spotlight: Amber Cathey
Amber Cathey is a postdoctoral research fellow in the Environmental Health Sciences department at the University of Michigan who has been working with PROTECT for five years under the mentorship of John Meeker. She earned her Master’s in 2017 and her PhD in 2021. She...
PROTECT and SRP Researchers Investigate How to Make Data More FAIR
The projects funded by NIEHS’s Superfund Basic Research and Training Program (SRP) produce large amounts of data. Many of the projects cover multiple disciplines, spanning the fields of environmental science, health science, and more. Due to the transdisciplinary...
PROTECT’s Data Management and Analytics Core Receives Supplement to Make Data AI Ready
This September, PROTECT’s Data Management and Analytics Core (DMAC) received supplemental funding from the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) to develop a suite of methods to prepare data for large-scale artificial intelligence (AI) and...
November 2021 Webinar: Environmental Justice in the Federal Government: Roots and Opportunities with Charles Lee
On Friday, November 12th from 1:00pm to 2:00pm EST, PROTECT hosted its November 2021 webinar. This webinar featured Charles Lee, a Senior Policy Advisor for Environmental Justice at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Lee spoke about some of the emerging federal...
PROTECT Co-Director José Cordero Receives 2021 Arnold J. Capute Award
PROTECT co-director and Human Subjects and Sampling Core Leader José Cordero has been awarded the 2021 Arnold J. Capute Award by the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) Council on Children with Disabilities. Dr. Cordero was honored in a ceremony held by the AAP...
Former PROTECT Trainee Stephanie Eick Joins Emory University as an Assistant Professor
Former PROTECT Trainee Stephanie Eick has joined the Emory University Rollins School of Public Health as an Assistant Professor in the Gangarosa Department of Environmental Health. Dr. Eick began her work with Emory in September and is on the tenure track. Dr. Eick is...
October Webinar: Engaging Native American Communities in Environmental Health with Dr. Karletta Chief
On Monday, October 25th from 3:30pm to 4:30pm EDT, PROTECT hosted its October 2021 webinar. This webinar featured Dr. Karletta Chief, member of the Community Engagement Core and Associate Professor and Extension Specialist in the Department of Environmental Science at...
PROTECT Community Engagement Core Shares PROTECT Responde Kit with Recruitment Clinics
Over the past few months, the PROTECT Community Engagement Core (CEC) Team in Puerto Rico has created and shared educational materials and resources on environmental contaminants and their public health impacts with the cohort community through the social media...
PROTECT Community Engagement Team Participates in Health Centers Week in Puerto Rico
On Thursday, August 12th, members of the PROTECT Community Engagement Core (CEC) presented educational materials at two of the center’s recruitment clinic sites, Camuy Health Services and Morovis Community Health Center. Both sites are Federally Qualified Health...
Current and Former PROTECT Postdocs Receive ECHO OIF Awards
This August, the NIH Environmental influences on Child Health Outcomes (ECHO) program announced the recipients of the most recent cycles of the Opportunities and Infrastructure Fund (OIF) grants. Two PROTECT researchers, Dr. Max Aung and Dr. Chieh Wu, each received...
PROTECT Community Engagement Core Launches Social Media Campaign #PROTECTResponde
Whether addressing Superfund contamination, chemical exposures, the Zika virus, a devastating hurricane, or a global pandemic, the PROTECT Community Engagement Core (CEC) is always ready to respond with education, supplies, and support for the cohort and the greater...
PROTECT Trainees Luisa Feliciano and Skarlet Velasquez Receive KC Donnelly Externship Awards
PROTECT is excited to announce that two of our trainees, Luisa Feliciano and Skarlet Velasquez, have received Superfund Research Program (SRP) 2021 KC Donnelly Externship Awards. The KC Donnelly Award funds SRP trainees in translational/transdisciplinary research at...
PROTECT Researcher Dr. Nancy Cardona to Appear on Weekly Radio Show
As part of the Community Engagement Core’s social media campaign #ProtectResponde, postdoctoral researcher Dr. Nancy Cardona will be making weekly appearances on the Puerto Rican radio show Radar Noticioso (News Radar). With host Professor Ramón Santana, Dr. Cardona...
Glyphosate, Widely-Used Herbicide, is Linked with Increased Rate of Preterm Births
Glyphosate, the chemical used in Roundup and other popular weed killers, is the most-used herbicide in the world—and new PROTECT research suggests glyphosate exposure may contribute to higher rates of preterm birth. In a paper published in the May 2021 issue of...
Project 4 Researchers Identify Optimal Conditions and Materials for Hydrogen Peroxide Generation in Flow-through Reactor
Advanced Oxidation Processes (AOPs), such as the electro-Fenton (EF) process, are widely used in wastewater treatment to remove environmental contaminants. AOPs eliminate contaminants via oxidation. In the electro-Fenton process, hydrogen peroxide is continuously...
Project 3 Leader Dr. Ingrid Padilla Presents at “Boricuas en el Karso – Puerto Ricans in the Karst”
On March 17th, Dr. Ingrid Padilla, lead investigator on PROTECT Project 3, gave a one-hour virtual talk on “Contaminant Distribution and Potential Exposure of Contaminants in Karst Water.” The Facebook Live event, which was hosted by the University of Puerto Rico –...
PROTECT Trainee Elana Elkin Receives First Place Poster Award at SOT 2021
This March, PROTECT Project 2 trainee Dr. Elana Elkin received First Place for her poster at the Society of Toxicology (SOT) 2021 Annual Meeting. The Reproductive and Developmental Toxicology Specialty Section Student/Postdoc Award recognizes the top 3 poster...
PROTECT Researchers Identify Environmental Chemicals Targeting Miscarriage Genes
PROTECT studies the impacts of environmental contamination on birth outcomes by following a cohort of pregnant women in Puerto Rico, where contamination is extensive and adverse birth outcomes such as preterm birth occur at high rates. Miscarriage, or early pregnancy...
PROTECT Researcher Dorothy Vesper Testifies Before West Virginia House Energy and Manufacturing Committee
Dr. Dorothy Vesper, co-investigator for PROTECT Project 3, recently provided expert testimony to the West Virginia House Energy and Manufacturing Committee, during discussion on a new bill that would provide additional exemptions to certain sites covered by the 2014...
PROTECT Study Finds Associations Between Metals Contamination, Poor Psychosocial Status, and Risk of Preterm Birth
Research has previously shown that exposure to metals and a mother’s experience of psychosocial stress during pregnancy can both increase the odds of adverse birth outcomes, including preterm birth. But these studies looked at metals exposure and psychosocial stress...
Trainee Spotlight: Yuwei Zhao
Yuwei Zhao is a senior PhD candidate in Civil and Environmental Engineering at Northeastern University, where she works in Prof. Akram Alshawabkeh’s lab (Project 4). Since 2015, she has worked on the development of an in-situ groundwater remediation device, including...
PROTECT Participates in 2020 Annual SRP Meeting
More than 30 PROTECT researchers, trainees, and staff attended the 2020 Annual Superfund Research Program Meeting, which was held virtually on December 14th and 15th. The meeting was hosted by Texas A&M SRP Center, and embraced the themes “Addressing Hazardous...
February 2021 Webinar: Dr. Paula Braveman, “Race or racism? The Black-White disparity in preterm birth”
On Monday, February 22nd, from 1:00 pm to 2:00 pm EST / 2:00 pm to 3:00 pm AST, PROTECT hosted its spring webinar of the 2020-2021 academic year. This webinar, “Race or racism? The Black-White disparity in preterm birth,” was presented by Dr. Paula Braveman,...
PROTECT Biostatisticians develop a statistical tool to reduce Limits of Detection (LOD) challenges in environmental exposure models
Scientific studies that investigate the effects of environmental exposures on human health often must rely on imperfect measurement processes to quantify the concentration of environmental contaminants in biosamples. These imperfect measurement processes can result in...
Trainee Spotlight: Pahriya Ashrap
Pahriya Ashrap is a PhD candidate from the University of Michigan working in the discipline of Environmental Health Sciences under the mentorship of Project 1 Investigator John D. Meeker. Pahriya has been a trainee in PROTECT since the Fall of 2017, and her...
December Webinar: A Conversation on New Jersey’s Historic Environmental Justice Bill with Maria Lopez-Nuñez of the Ironbound Community Corporation
On Friday, December 11th from 1:00 pm to 2:00 pm EST, PROTECT will host its fall webinar of the 2020 – 2021 academic year. This webinar will feature a discussion with Maria Lopez-Nuñez, Deputy Director of Advocacy and Organizing for the Ironbound Community...
PROTECT Study finds predictors of metals exposures which contribute to higher toxicity levels amongst Puerto Rican Women compared to US Population.
In a recent publication, PROTECT researchers found that toxic and essential metals are present at higher levels in pregnant Puerto Rican women compared to those from the general US population. Researchers identified that diet, water sources, and smoking were...
Protect Trainee Jill Riddell visits Butler Cave to study Karst Sediment Chemical Characteristics
Recently, PROTECT trainee Jill Riddell (Ph.D. candidate, West Virginia University) visited Butler Cave to study and characterize its karst sediments in terms of organic carbon, grain size, and elemental/mineralogical composition. The Butler Cave-Sinking Creek System...
La investigadora, Dra. Nancy Raquel Cardona recibe el suplemento de diversidad ECHO
La colaboradora de PROTECT, la Dra. Nancy Cardona, recibió recientemente el suplemento de diversidad en “Environmental influences on Child Health Outcomes ”(ECHO) que usará para estudiar cómo los niveles de exposición a los ftalatos relacionados con los factores del...
PROTECT Researcher Nancy Raquel Cardona receives ECHO Diversity Supplement
PROTECT Collaborator Nancy Cardona was recently awarded the ECHO Diversity Supplement which she will use to study how phthalate exposure levels related to lifestyle factors during the gestational period affect infancy and childhood in Latina Women. Cardona will...
PROTECT Welcomes the 2020 Class of Student Researchers at Trainee Orientation
On Monday, September 21st, the PROTECT team kicked off the 2020-2021 academic year with the annual Trainee Orientation and Welcome. This year, more than 60 members of the PROTECT Community attended which includes trainees, postdocs, investigators, and staff. This...
PROTECT Study exposes how severe hurricanes can lead to adverse birth outcomes
In a recent study published in Population and Environment, PROTECT researchers found that women in Northern Puerto Rico who were pregnant during Hurricane Maria were exposed to higher levels of phthalates, chemicals shown to be related to preterm birth after Maria...
Superfund Researchers Brown and Schaider collaborate on award-winning publication in the Journal Of Exposure Science And Environmental Epidemiology
PROTECT’s Phil Brown and STEEP‘s/Silent Spring Institute’s Laurel Schaider collaborated with other authors to write the recent publication “PFAS Drinking Water Guideline Levels: The Role of Scientific Uncertainty, Risk Assessment Decisions, and Social Factors,” in...
Former PROTECT Trainee Stephanie Eick receives award from ECHO Opportunities and Infrastructure Fund
The ECHO program of NIH recently announced that former Human Subjects & Sampling Core Trainee Stephanie Eick is among 9 others who received an award for the ECHO Opportunities and Infrastructure Fund (OIF). The OIF is an NIH-funded grants mechanism for early...
PROTECT Study shows increased levels of toxic chemicals in drinking water as a result of Hurricanes Maria & Irma
In a recent study evaluating the degradation of drinking water quality after Hurricanes Maria & Irma, PROTECT researchers found that strong winds and flooding caused increased levels of metals and organic micropollutants contamination in drinking water. Drinking...
Recent PROTECT Study uses Computational Modeling of Bubbles to improve electrochemical removal of chemical pollutants in water
A recent Project 4 study reveals efficient ways of exploiting the generated hydrogen and oxygen bubbles by electrochemical methods to enhance removal of contaminants from water. Access to clean water is a global challenge. One method for cleaning contaminated water is...
Project 3 Trainee Luisa Feliciano gives outstanding presentation on “Visual Design Consideration when Preparing Media” at recent Trainee Coffee Hour
On Wednesday, June 17th Project 3 Trainee and 2019 PROTECT Trainee Development Award Winner Luisa Feliciano gave fellow PROTECT Trainees, Faculty, and Staff a virtual presentation on “Visual Design Consideration When Preparing Media.” This presentation was positively...
Trainee Spotlight: Shayan Hojabri
Shayan Hojabri is a PhD Candidate in the discipline of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Northeastern University working within Project 4 under the mentorship of Akram Alshawabkeh. He has been working in Akram’s lab since 2014 throughout his masters and PhD...
PROTECT Responds to the 2020 Puerto Rico Earthquakes
Since December 28th of last year the island of Puerto Rico has been rattled by a series of hundreds of earthquakes, the most powerful of which occurred on January 7th in the Southwest Region where shock waves from a 6.4-magnitude earthquake were felt across the...
PROTECT RETCC hosts Trainee Virtual Coffee Hour with NIEHS Staff & Researchers
On the morning of Wednesday, June 24th the PROTECT Research Experience and Training Coordination Core hosted a Trainee Coffee Hour with NIEHS Health Science administration staff members Dr. Heather Henry, Dr. Michelle Heacock, Dr. Danielle Carlin, and Brittany...
PROTECT responds to the COVID-19 Pandemic in Puerto Rico
In the last few years, Puerto Rico has faced numerous catastrophic events, including the Zika virus outbreak in 2016, Hurricanes Maria and Irma in September 2017, ongoing droughts, and a series of ongoing, destructive earthquakes in 2020. Now, and like much of the US,...
PROTECT Project 2 Collaborator Kelly Bakulski Presents at SRP “Metals & Epigenetics” Mini-Symposium
New Project 2 Collaborator Kelly Bakulski recently participated in the mini-symposium on “Metals and Epigenetics” from the Columbia and Berkeley SRP Centers. We are proud of Kelly’s inclusion in this presentation and are pleased she was recognized for being a rising...
Huerta-Montañez elected to Executive Committee of the Council on Environmental Health of the American Academy of Pediatrics
Earlier this month, PROTECT, ECHO, & CRECE pediatrician and scientist Gredia Huerta-Montañez was elected to the National Executive Committee of the Council on Environmental Health (COEH) of the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP). Gredia currently serves as the...
EPA Appoints PROTECT’s Cordero and Veléz Vega to Children’s Health Protection Advisory Committee
On May 20th, the EPA announced the appointment of PROTECT Researchers José Cordero and Carmen (Mili) VelézVega among 26 other members to the Children’s Health Protection AdvisoryCommittee (CHPAC), out of a pool of 60 highly qualified candidates. The CHPACis a body of...
Project 2 Post Doc Elana Elkin awarded the Edward W. Carney Trainee Award at the Annual Society of Toxicology Meeting
This April, Project 2 Post-Doctoral Researcher Elana Elkin received the Edward W. Carney Trainee Award at the 2020 Annual Society of Toxicology (SOT) Meeting for the scientific quality of her abstracts and overall impact to the fields of reproductive and developmental...
Project 2 Trainee Anthony Su receives the Eugene Feingold Excellence in Diversity Award
On Wednesday, April 22nd it was announced that Project 2 Trainee Anthony Su was awarded the Eugene Feingold Excellence in Diversity Student Award for his commitment to expanding diversity and inclusion at the University of Michigan. Anthony is a doctoral student in...
PROTECT Study finds that among metals, maternal blood lead concentrations were strongly associated with increased risk of preterm birth
PROTECT explores how environmental exposures during pregnancy may impact preterm birth risk, specifically studying a Puerto Rican cohort due to higher levels of preterm birth compared to the U.S. mainland. In this instance, pregnant women in this cohort had relatively...
PROTECT Study finds further evidence that exposure to metals, phthalates, pesticides, among other chemicals contribute to negative birth outcomes such as miscarriage
A recent PROTECT study from Project 2 provides the scientific community with further evidence that exposure to chemicals such as metals (cadmium, arsenic, lead and chromium), phthalates (dibutyl phthalate, diethylhexyl phthalate), volatile organic compounds...