News Archive

Concentrations of phenols, parabens and triclocarbans appear in higher levels among Puerto Rico cohort compared to mainland U.S.

Recent environmental articles have increasingly focused on the potential dangers of chemicals that seem ever present and almost unavoidable in many facets of modern life. At CRECE, PROTECT and ECHO, we study many different chemicals which are present in the...

PROTECT Study intermediate report: associations between demographic risk factors and preterm birth in the first 1000 participants

Since PROTECT has started studying the environmental causes of higher levels of preterm birth in Puerto Rico preterm birth rates have dropped significantly; from 18% of all births in 2011 which was considered the highest in the world, to 11% by 2017.[1] However, this...

PROTECT study finds that chemicals found in many household consumer products were widely associated with hormone concentrations in pregnant women

Since plastic became known as the “miracle material that has made modern life possible” in 1950, humanity has produced 9.2 billion tons of plastic. [1] Plastics are produced using a large variety of materials which are often harmful to the environment and have been...

PROTECT Trainees Max Aung and Amber Cathey present at the Society for Reproductive Investigation 66th Annual Scientific Meeting in Paris

Between March 12-16th, 2019, PROTECT Project 1 Trainees Max Aung and Amber Cathey attended the 66th Annual Scientific Meeting hosted by the Society for Reproductive Investigation in Paris, France. This year the meeting focused on a “From Innovation to Impact” theme...

March Webinar: Dr. Leo Trasande, “Sicker Fatter Poorer: The Urgent Threat of Hormone-Disrupting Chemicals to Our Health and Future”

March Webinar: Sicker Fatter Poorer: The Urgent Threat of Hormone-Disrupting Chemicals to Our Health and Future ... and What We Can Do About It, A Conversation with Author and Leader in Children's Environmental Health, Dr. Leo Trasande On Monday, March 11th from...

PROTECT Researchers evaluate Hurricane Maria’s Impact and suggest a ‘Visionary Rebuilding’ plan for Government Institutions

The impact of Hurricanes Irma and Maria on the island is massive, with over a thousand lives lost and over $90 billion dollars in damage, part of which decimated the electric grid and 80% of the agricultural sector. Many Puerto Ricans were left homeless and a total of...

PROTECT and Silent Spring Institute Inaugurate a Mobile App to Provide PROTECT Participants their Research Results

On October 15, 2018, the PROTECT Human Subjects and Sampling Core (HSSC) and the Community Engagement Core (CEC) guided the first group of PROTECT participants in the process of accessing the results and information from their participation in the study. Dr. Carmen M....

Welton granted NIEHS Award to Study Impacts of Traumatic Experiences & Prolonged Recovery due to Hurricane Maria on Preterm Birth Outcomes

Michael Welton is Post-Doctoral Research Fellow & Teaching Associate in the College of Public Health at University of Georgia. Welton works with the Human Subjects & Sampling Core within PROTECT as well as the Human Subjects Core in CRECE, and has been working...

PROTECT Presents at the 2018 International Conference on Children’s Health and the Environment, at the National University of Seoul

PROTECT researchers Dr. Carmen M. Vélez Vega and Zaira Rosario presented in the 2018 International Conference on Children’s Health and the Environment, better known as INCHES 2018. Dr. Vélez Vega presented on the work of PROTECT’s Community Engagement Core, while...

Trichloroethylene metabolite S-(1,2-dichlorovinyl)-L-cysteine (DCVC) stimulates premature death in cell critical to placental development during the first-trimester of pregnancy

Today’s trainee spotlight was written by Elana Elkin on the publication “Trichloroethylene metabolite S-(1,2-dichlorovinyl)-L-cysteine induces lipid peroxidation-associated apoptosis via the intrinsic and extrinsic apoptosis pathways in a first-trimester placental cell...

Cordero Receives APHA’s 2017 Sedgwick Memorial Medal

PROTECT is excited to report that Dr. José F. Cordero, PROTECT Co-Director, was selected by The American Public Health Association (APHA) to receive the 2017 Sedgwick Memorial Medal for Distinguished Service in Public Health in recognition of his public health...

PROTECT Project 5 Researchers Attend EREM2017

On August 6-8, PROTECT Project 5 trainees and researchers attended the 15th International Symposium on Electrokinetic Remediation (EREM2017) organized by the Department of Building Civil and Environmental Engineering (BCEE) at Concordia University, Montreal, Canada....

PROTECT Executive Committee Joins for a Retreat in Boston

On June 12th and 13th, 2017, PROTECT team leaders from around the U.S. and Puerto Rico came together for a mini-retreat on the Northeastern University campus in Boston to discuss progress, integration and plans. On the first day, each executive committee member...

Northeast SRP Centers Meet at Northeastern University

On Tuesday, April 4th and Wednesday, April 5th, PROTECT hosted the annual Northeast Superfund Research Program (SRP) Meeting at Northeastern University. This event was co-sponsored by the Boston University SRP, the Brown University SRP, the Columbia University SRP,...

PROTECT and CRECE Centers Hold Joint Retreat in Puerto Rico

On February 17th and 18th, 2017, over 75 PROTECT and CRECE researchers, trainees, administrators, advisers, colleagues, and guests from across mainland U.S. and Puerto Rico gathered in San Juan, Puerto Rico for the PROTECT/CRECE Annual Retreat. The event was held at...

PROTECT Participates in NIEHS 50th Anniversary Conference

PROTECT team members from across the U.S. and Puerto Rico attended the NIEHS FEST  held from December 5th through 8th, 2016 in Durham, North Carolina. The FEST was hosted by the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) to commemorate the institute’s...