News Archive
PROTECT Project 3 Featured in December NIEHS SRP Research Brief
On December 7th, 2016, the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) released their Superfund Research Program (SRP) Research Brief, a monthly newsletter which shares “innovative research outcomes from projects supported by the NIEHS SRP.” The brief...
Dr. Caroline Rouse Presents on Puerto Rico Preterm Birth for PROTECT Webinar Series
On Monday, November 28th, PROTECT hosted the second webinar of the 2016-2017 academic year. This webinar, “Preterm Birth in Puerto Rico – A Changing Landscape,” was presented by Dr. Caroline Rouse, board certified OB/GYN and fellow in Maternal-Fetal Medicine at...
December Webinar: Brenda Rivera, “Zika Virus Emerging Disease in Puerto Rico: What Public Health Officers Need to Know”
On Monday, December 12th at 1:00pm EST, PROTECT hosted the third webinar of the 2016-2017 academic schedule. This webinar was presented by Dr. Brenda Rivera-García, the State Epidemiologist for Puerto Rico in the Puerto Rico Department of Health. The title of her...
Seminar by Former PROTECT Trainee Kelly Ferguson Highlighted by NIEHS
PROTECT Project 1 collaborator and former trainee, Kelly Ferguson, Ph.D., was featured in Environmental Factor published by the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) for a seminar she gave in early October at Duke University. During this seminar,...
PROTECT Partner EarthSoft Hosts Office Hours with Data Core Leader Kaeli
On Thursday, December 1st, 2016, EarthSoft, an organization that collaborates with PROTECT and develops innovative environmental database management, hosted Office Hours with Data Management and Modeling Core Leader Dave Kaeli. During his presentation, Professor Kaeli...
November Webinar: Tom McElrath and Caroline Rouse, “Preterm Birth in Puerto Rico – A Changing Landscape”
On Monday, November 28th at 1:00pm EST, PROTECT will host the second webinar of 2016-2017 academic schedule. This webinar will be presented by Dr. Thomas McElrath, Associate Obstetrician and Gynecologist at Brigham & Women's Hospital and Associate Professor of...
Vélez Vega and Cordero Present at American Public Health Association’s Annual Conference
Several leaders of PROTECT and CRECE presented at the American Public Health Association’s Annual Conference in Denver, Colorado on the 1st and 2nd of November, 2016. The theme of this five day conference was, "Creating the Healthiest Nation: Ensuring the Right to...
March of Dimes 2016 Report Card Shows Preterm Birth Increasing Nationally while Decreasing in Puerto Rico
On November 1st, the March of Dimes kicked off Prematurity Awareness Month by releasing their eighth annual Premature Birth Report Card for the US and Puerto Rico. The report brought promising news for Puerto Rico, awarding the region a grade improvement for the...
PROTECT Trainees Vilda Rivera and Norma Torres Present at IAH Conference in Montpellier, France
On September 27th, 2016, PROTECT Project 4 trainees Vilda Rivera and Norma Torres presented at the 43rd International Association of Hydrogeologists (IAH) Congress in Montpellier, France. The talk by Rivera and Torres, "Monitoring and Assessment of Anthropogenic...
PROTECT Team Members Publish on Phenol, Paraben Relation to Hormonal Changes in Pregnant Women
A November publication released by Environmental Research and authored by Project 1 trainee Amira Aker and multiple researchers revealed interesting findings on the relation contaminants such as phenols and parabens have on hormone changes during pregnancy....
Geary Schindel Presents on Karst for Fall PROTECT Webinar Series
On Monday, October 31st, Geary Schindel presented a talk titled “Karst Aquifers – Water Quality, Vulnerability, and Public Health in a Complex Groundwater System” for the PROTECT webinar series. The annual string of presentations aims to educate the National Institute...
Brown and Brody Serve as Guest Editors for Special Issue of New Solutions Journal
In late October, New Solutions, a journal known for its focus on Environmental and Occupational Health Policy, published a special issue on “Social Science-Environmental Health Collaborations.” Professor and PROTECT researcher Dr. Phil Brown and Silent Spring...
PROTECT Researchers Loch-Caruso and Cordero Present at NIEHS SRP Webinar
On October 17th, 2016, PROTECT researchers Dr. Rita Loch-Caruso and Dr. José Cordero each presented during the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) Superfund Research Program Webinar The Interplay between Environmental Exposures and Infectious...
PROTECT and CRECE to Take Part in National Study on Children’s Health
PROTECT and CRECE will be taking part in a new national study led by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) which aims to investigate the ways in which early exposure to a range of environmental factors influence the short- and long-term health of children. The study...
PROTECT Kicks off Academic Year with 2016 Trainee Orientation
On Monday, September 19th, The PROTECT team kicked off the 2016-2017 academic year with the annual Trainee Orientation. This multi-institutional meeting hosted by the Training Core is held every fall as a means of introducing new student trainees to PROTECT. The event...
PROTECT and CRECE Members Conduct Training and Survey at Environmental Health Symposium for Speech-Language Pathologists
On Saturday, September 24th, PROTECT and CRECE leaders Dr. Emily Zimmerman and Dr. Phil Brown presented at the Early Intervention Speech-Language Pathologist Continuing Education Symposium. The event was held at Northeastern University and was attended by more than...
PROTECT and CRECE members attend ISEE Conference in Rome, Italy
In early September, PROTECT and CRECE members attended the 28th Annual Conference for the International Society for Environmental Epidemiology (ISEE) held in Rome, Italy. The main theme of the conference was “Old and new risks: challenges for environmental...
PROTECT Trainee Reneé Wurth Receives KC Donnelly Externship
Reneé Wurth, PROTECT trainee at Northeastern, has been honored with a K.C. Donnelly Externship Award Supplement, which provides funding to Superfund Research Program trainees to expand their research experience at another institution. Wurth will spend her externship...
Karst Conference Mentioned in September Issue of Eos
Featured in the September 1st issue of Eos: Earth and Space Science News was the PROTECT-sponsored conference “Karst, Groundwater Contamination, & Public Health: Moving Beyond Case Studies,” an event held in late January in San Juan, Puerto Rico. In addition to...
October Webinar: Geary Schindel, “Karst Aquifers – Water Quality, Vulnerability, and Public Health in a Complex Groundwater System”
On Monday, October 31st, PROTECT hosted the first webinar of the 2016-2017 academic schedule. This webinar featured Geary M. Schindel, P.G., Chief Technical Officer and Director of Aquifer Science for the Edwards Aquifer Authority, and President of Karst Works, Inc.,...
Dr. Huerta-Montañez Presents at Children’s Environmental U.S.-MX Border Symposium
On Thursday, August 25th, Dr. Gredia Huerta-Montañez (CEC, CRECE) spoke at The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley in Brownsville, Texas for the 2016 Children's Environmental U.S.-MX Border Symposium, an event organized by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency...
Puerto Rico Is Challenged by the Zika Epidemic
In late March of this year, PROTECT posted an article describing some of the steps that were being taken in Puerto Rico to prepare for the inevitable spread of the Zika virus on the island. Five months later, Zika transmission in Puerto Rico is no longer an emerging...
Members of PROTECT and CRECE meet with Caribbean EPA Director
On Wednesday, August 24th, PROTECT and CRECE team members in Puerto Rico met with Carmen Guerrero Pérez, the Director of the EPA’s Caribbean Environmental Protection Division–a department covering all of Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. In addition to...
PROTECT Hosts Local High School Students through Young Scholars Program
This summer, PROTECT Principal Investigator and co-Director Akram Alshawabkeh hosted two local high school seniors as part of the Young Scholars Program (YSP) organized by Northeastern University’s Center for STEM Education. The program was created to provide...
Prof. Dave Kaeli Presents at NIEHS Spring Workshop
On July 20th, Data Management and Modeling Core Leader David Kaeli participated in the NIEHS WTP Spring 2016 Workshop/Awardee Meeting, held in Boston, MA. The meeting, titled “Responding to Emerging Health Threats Through Research and Training,” was part of the...
Winners Selected for PROTECT Trainee Individual Development Plan Awards
Congratulations to our 2016 PROTECT Trainee Individual Development Plan (IDP) Award winners for their successful efforts in enhancing their extracurricular experiences and increasing their professional skills. Winners will be provided with a $1,500 stipend to be used...
PROTECT and CRECE Participate in March of Dimes March for Babies Event in San Juan
On Sunday, June 26th, members of the PROTECT and CRECE Team participated in the March of Dimes March for Babies in San Juan, Puerto Rico. The Puerto Rico Chapter of the March of Dimes works to reduce the rate of preterm birth on the island, which in 2014 was 12% of...
PROTECT and CRECE Celebrate New Clinic Opening
On June 23rd and 24th, PROTECT and CRECE team members met in Puerto Rico for an in-person meeting and celebration of the opening of the new clinic in Manatí, Puerto Rico. For the first day, the group joined in a technical discussion with a strong focus on recruitment...
NIEHS Director Visits Northeastern University
On Monday, July 18th, National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) Director Dr. Linda Birnbaum visited Northeastern University. Northeastern has been working in partnership with NIEHS on a number of projects related to Environmental Health, a field...
PROTECT and CRECE to Study Zika in Pregnancy
On Friday, July 15th, PROTECT and CRECE received funding from the NIEHS to study the Zika virus in Puerto Rico. This funding is part of the Zika Infants and Pregnancy (ZIP) study, which aims to enroll 10,000 women from 15 different countries in a study to assess the...
Dr. Huerta-Montañez Meets with CDC to Discuss Zika
On June 11, Dr. Gredia Huerta-Montañez met with Dr. Tom Frieden, Director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), during his visit to Puerto Rico. The meeting was attended by Dr. Stephen Waterman (Chief of the CDC’s Dengue Branch), Dr. Francisco...
Dr. Gredia Huerta-Montanez Presents on Zika at CHPAC Meeting
On May 24-25, Dr. Gredia Huerta-Montanez (CEC, CRECE) attended the Children’s Health Protection Advisory Committee (CHPAC) meeting in Washington, DC, where she presented on the Zika virus. The CHPAC is an advisory board to the EPA that is composed of external...
PROTECT Trainee Arshley Rey To Intern with EPA Region 2
PROTECT Project 4 Trainee Arshley Rey has been selected for a summer internship with the U.S. EPA Region 2 lab at the Edison Environmental Center, located in Edison, NJ. Under the supervision of John Bourbon, she will work primarily in the Metals lab to analyze...
Trainee Nerida de Jesus Presents at 10th National Monitoring Conference
Trainee Nerida de Jesus presented research at the 10th National Monitoring Conference in Tampa, FL, on May 2-6, 2016. The conference, sponsored by the National Water Quality Monitoring Council, brought together over 700 attendees from academia, federal and local...
Dr. Ingrid Padilla Appointed Member of Navy Research Advisory Committee
Dr. Ingrid Padilla, Project 4 Leader, has been appointed a member of the Navy Research Advisory Committee (NRAC), a civilian scientific advisory group that provides objective scientific analyses to the U.S. Navy. The NRAC advises and provides recommendations to the...
PROTECT Trainees Participate in Water Quality Monitoring Day
PROTECT Trainees and EPA-GRO Team MembersWater Quality Monitoring Day is an educational activity of the San Juan Bay Estuary Program that began 8 years ago in an effort to create awareness of the local water bodies’ conditions. The event presents an opportunity to...
Curt Spalding, EPA Region 1 Administrator, Presents Webinar: “Innovation & Collaboration”
On Monday, May 9th, EPA Region 1 Administrator Curt Spalding visited Northeastern’s campus and presented a talk as part of PROTECT’s “Collaboration for Innovation” Webinar series. Curt’s talk focused on innovation and collaboration within the EPA Region 1 Superfund...
PROTECT and CRECE Open New Clinic in Puerto Rico
In mid-April, PROTECT and CRECE (Center for Research on Early Childhood Exposure and Development in Puerto Rico) began seeing participants at a new clinic located in Manatí, Puerto Rico. The clinic is designed to create a safe, welcoming environment for our...
Dr. Carmen Vélez Vega and Trainee Colleen Murphy Collaborate with Undergraduate Students from University of Puerto Rico—Mayaguez
On March 1, 2016, Community Engagement Core (CEC) Co-Leader Dr. Vélez Vega and trainee Colleen Murphy joined three undergraduate civil engineering students from the University of Puerto Rico—Mayaguez to discuss community engagement for a project the students have been...
PROTECT Co-Hosts Northeast Superfund Research Program (NE SRP) Training Workshop
From April 26th – 27th, 2016, PROTECT and the SRPs from Boston University and Dartmouth College co-hosted the second annual Northeast Superfund Research Program (NE SRP) Training Workshop. This year’s workshop was held at Northeastern University in Boston, and was...
PROTECT and CRECE Provide Education on Zika Prevention
As peak mosquito season approaches, PROTECT and CRECE have continued to reach out to local communities to provide education on Zika virus prevention. Community Engagement Core members Dr. Carmen Vélez Vega, Dr. Gredia Huertas, Abigail Figueroa, and trainee Colleen...
Dr. Vélez Vega and Trainee Colleen Murphy Present at 2nd Annual Rochester Global Health Symposium and UNYTE Scientific Session
Dr. Vélez Vega, Co-Leader of the Community Engagement Core, and trainee Colleen Murphy represented PROTECT at the 2nd Annual Rochester Global Health Symposium and UNYTE Scientific Session on April 21st, 2016. The theme of the conference was “Innovative Solutions to...
Dr. Vélez Vega Presents at the 2016 Consortium of Universities for Global Health
Dr. Carmen M. Vélez Vega, Community Engagement Core Co-Leader, presented research findings at the 2016 Annual Consortium of Universities for Global Health Conference. The Conference, held from April 9th to 11th in San Francisco, focused on sustainable solutions to...
May Webinar: Curt Spalding, EPA Region 1 Administrator, to Present “EPA New England Update: Innovation and Collaboration on Hazardous Waste Clean-up” – Recording Now Available
On Monday, May 9th, PROTECT hosted the fourth installment in our webinar series, Collaboration for Innovation. This webinar featured Curt Spalding, EPA Region 1 Administrator, who presented “EPA New England Update: Innovation and Collaboration on Hazardous Waste...
Dr. José Cordero and March of Dimes Push for Fortified Corn Masa Flour
On April 14th, the Food and Drug Administration approved the addition of folic acid—a B vitamin known to prevent birth defects—to corn masa flour. The announcement comes after four years of efforts by the March of Dimes and PROTECT’s Co-Director Dr. José Cordero. For...
EPA Proposes New Superfund Site in Dorado, Puerto Rico
On April 6th, 2016, the US EPA proposed the addition of the Dorado Groundwater Contamination Site to the Superfund National Priorities List (NPL). Recent sampling at this site has found contamination from tetrachloroethylene (also called perchloroethylene, or PCE) and...
CDC Recommends DEET to Control Zika
The CDC recommends the use of DEET to protect people against the mosquito that carries the Zika virus, especially pregnant women. But there are very few published studies looking at the possible effects of DEET on unborn children, and none of the existing studies...
PROTECT Trainees Offer Water Quality Workshop to Children in Puerto Rico
On March 15th, 2016, the EPA-GRO TEAM and PROTECT Trainees offered a workshop to middle school children about the importance of water quality and commonly measured parameters. The workshop reached about 50 students from the school Dr. Francisco Vázquez Colón del Bo....
PROTECT and CRECE Release New Reproductive Health Bulletin for Healthcare Professionals
PROTECT Project 1 and Research Translation Core along with the CRECE Community Outreach Core have collaborated to produce a Reproductive Health and the Environment Bulletin, which presents up-to-date research about environmental exposures and preterm birth. With over...
Puerto Rico Prepares for Zika Epidemic
By the end of 2016, 25% of Puerto Rico’s 3.5 million inhabitants are expected to become infected with the Zika virus, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. To help prevent the spread of the mosquito that carries Zika, local governments -- along...
PROTECT Project 5 Researchers Present at Boston Public School Science Fair
On March 5th, 2016, Project 5 researchers Ljiljana Rajic, David Berroa and Savannah Gregor participated in the 70th Annual Boston Public Schools’ Citywide Science and Engineering Fair that was held at Northeastern University. The Fair was organized by Boston Public...
PROTECT Trainees Win Individual Development Plan (IDP) Awards
We would like to congratulate our 2015 PROTECT Trainee Individual Development Plan (IDP) Award winners for their successful efforts in enhancing their extracurricular experiences and increasing their professional skills. The PROTECT Trainee IDP Award provides winners...
MassDEP to Revisit 200 TCE Sites to Assess Risk of Birth Defects
The Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection will be returning to 200 previously-closed trichloroethylene (TCE) contamination sites to determine if TCE poses an imminent hazard in those locations. The selected sites were closed for further cleanup prior to...
PROTECT Identifies Biological Mechanisms Linking Exposure to Toxic Chemicals and Preterm Birth
Project 2 investigators are conducting innovative studies with human placenta and extraplacental membranes (which form the fetal compartment) to better understand the relationship between exposure to toxicants and preterm birth. Because immune cells such as...
PROTECT’s Dr. José Cordero Appears on NPR to Discuss Puerto Rico’s Efforts Against the Zika Virus
Dr. José Cordero, PROTECT Co-Director and leader of the Human Subjects and Sampling Core, appeared on NPR’s “Here & Now” on February 3rd to discuss Puerto Rico’s efforts against the spread of the Zika virus. Listen to the segment below, or visit this website to...
PROTECT and KWI Conference: Karst, Groundwater Contamination, & Public Health
The Karst, Groundwater Contamination, & Public Health: Moving Beyond Case Studies Conference was held in San Juan, Puerto Rico from January 27-30th. The conference was supported by the non-profit organization Karst Waters Institute (KWI), National Institute of...
PROTECT and CRECE Work With Local Physicians to Inform Participants About the Zika Virus in Puerto Rico
With the arrival of the Zika virus in Puerto Rico, both PROTECT and CRECE (Center for Research on Early Childhood Exposure and Development in Puerto Rico) have begun reaching out to participants, healthcare professionals, and local communities to provide education and...
April Webinar: Dr. Shashi Murthy and Dr. Sean Kevlahan to present “From Lab Bench to Commercial Product: A Case Study of Quad Technologies & A Discussion of Commercializing Academic Discoveries”
On Monday, February 8th, PROTECT co-hosted its third installment in the Collaboration for Innovation webinar series with the Michael J. and Ann Sherman Center for Engineering Entrepreneurship Education at Northeastern University. This webinar featured Dr. Shashi...
PROTECT Co-sponsors Reproductive Health and the Environment Symposium at Northeastern University
On Friday, December 11th, 2015, PROTECT co-sponsored the Reproductive Health and the Environment Symposium at Northeastern University. The Symposium, which was open to the public, featured keynote speakers and panelists from local universities and organizations in the...
December Webinar: Prof. Susan Schantz to present Novel Methods to Assess the Impact of Prenatal Chemical Exposures on Infant Cognition – Recording Now Available
Date: Monday, December 14, 2015 Time: 1:00 – 2:00pm EST (2:00 - 3:00 PM AST) Webinar Title: “Novel Methods to Assess the Impact of Prenatal Chemical Exposures on Infant Cognition" Presenter: Susan L. Schantz, Ph.D., University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign On...
Over 350 Participants Gathered for the 2015 Annual NIEHS SRP Meeting Hosted by PROTECT
PROTECT would like to thank everyone for their hard work and participation in this year’s annual SRP meeting! The theme of this year’s meeting was “SRP Collaboration for Innovation”, and took place from November 18-20th at the Caribe Hilton in San Juan, Puerto...
PROTECT Presents at EPA Region 1 Superfund Research Program Meeting
Drs. Lily Rajic (Project 5) and Rachel Grashow (Core A) represented PROTECT at the Superfund Research Program meeting held on November 10th at the EPA Region 1 office in Boston, MA. Along with five other Region 1 universities (Boston...
November Webinar: Prof. Daniel Aldrich to present Networks in Crisis: Data on Social Capital and Resilience – recording now available
Date: Monday, November 30th Time: 1:00 – 2:00pm EST (2:00 - 3:00 PM AST) Webinar Title: “Networks in Crisis: Data on Social Capital and Resilience" Presenter: Prof. Daniel Aldrich, Northeastern University On Monday, November 30th, PROTECT hosted its first installment...
Giese receives $100K grant to improve testing for carcinogens in food
As a spin-off of technology developed in the PROTECT program, Roger Giese (Project 3 Leader) has received funding from the Exploratory Grant Program of the National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA), which is part of the Department of Agriculture. The idea...
PROTECT adopts Equivalent Porous Media (EPM) approach to Model Groundwater Hydraulics and Contaminant Transport in Karst Aquifers
Predicting hydraulic behavior of karst aquifers is difficult because of their high degree of heterogeneity and anisotropy. In a new study to address these challenges, PROTECT trainees Reza Ghasemizadeh and Xue Yu, implemented Equivalent Porous Media (EPM) Simulation...
PROTECT Project 5 presents at UMass Amherst, MA
PROTECT Project 5 Associate Research Scientist Lily Rajic and trainee Shirin Hojabri presented their work at the 30th Annual International Conference on Soils, Sediments, Water, and Energy October 19-22, 2015, in Amherst, Massachusetts. This is a national conference...
EPA Prepares a Plan to Cleanup Pesticide Contamination in Manati, PR
In Manati, Puerto Rico, a legacy of pollution has an end in sight. On October 1, 2015 the EPA proposed a plan of action to address the detrimental community impacts from the Pesticide Warehouse III Superfund Site. For years, pesticides and dioxins from the former...
PROTECT recruitment surpasses 1000 pregnant women!
This week, PROTECT is pleased to announce that recruitment figures for the PROTECT study have reached over 1,000 women! Thanks to the hard work on behalf of the nursing, administrative and medical staff in the Human Subjects and Sampling Core, 1,012 women have...
PROTECT Co-Director José Cordero named Patel Distinguished Professor in Public Health at the University of Georgia
PROTECT is proud to announce that Co-Director and Core C Leader Cordero has been named the first Patel Distinguished Professor in Public Health at the University of Georgia in Atlanta, GA where he will head its Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics. The Patel...
PROTECT Project 1 Leader Meeker and Colleagues Receive $9.5M Grant to Advance Research on Child Health
PROTECT is proud to announce that the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) has awarded to a University of Michigan team led by John Meeker (Project 1 Leader) $9.5M to establish a large-scale interdisciplinary research hub at the University of...
PROTECT RTC-CEC Leader Phil Brown Presents at the EPA’s Environmental Justice Technology Integration and Information Branch Webinar
On September 16th, 2015, Phil Brown (RTC-CEC Leader) presented at an environmental justice webinar on how socioeconomic status, contamination and housing policy can affect health in lower income communities. This event was hosted by the EPA’s Technology Integration...
PROTECT Researchers Receive Big Data Grant from the National Science Foundation
Along with the PI Jennifer Dy (PI), PROTECT Core D Leader Dave Kaeli (Co-PI) and PROTECT researcher April Gu (Co-PI) have been awarded funding from the National Science Foundation (NSF) for a project entitled "BIGDATA: IA: Exploring Analysis of Environment and Health...
PROTECT Participates in NIEHS and EPA CLU-IN Webinar
PROTECT was pleased to participate in the NIEHS SRP and EPA’s Contaminated Site Clean-Up Information (CLU-IN) webinar on August 24th, 2015 entitled “TCE, PCBs, and Phthalates - Exposure, Mechanisms of Disease, and Clean-Up Remedies.” Attended by 450 people, the...
Puerto Rico Faces Many Challenges
Puerto Rico continues to face many challenges including a severe water drought, a crisis in health care, and worsening financial conditions. The recent record-breaking drought has affected 2.5 million residents living on the eastern side of the island, where water...
PROTECT Wins the People’s Choice Award at the EPA Community Involvement Training Conference
We are proud to announce that PROTECT has won The People’s Choice Award at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) 14th Community Involvement Training Conference, held on August 4 – 6, 2015, in Atlanta, Georgia. This dynamic conference brought together more...
PROTECT Study Participants Get Involved
PROTECT is excited to announce the incorporation of former cohort participants Abril Burgos, Jayrin Rosa and Joanabeth Maisonet as support staff in Core C. Abril, Joana and Jayrin live in the northern karst area of Puerto Rico and participated in PROTECT during their...
PROTECT Researchers Visit Health Clinic PRYMed
On June 8, 2015 PROTECT researchers Dr. Carmen Vélez and Dr. Liza Anzalota visited PROTECT-affiliated health clinic PRYMed in the municipality of Ciales, Puerto Rico. During...
PROTECT Researchers Partner with March of Dimes in San Juan
On June 28, 2015, PROTECT partnered with the March of Dimes Puerto Rico chapter for the “March for Babies” in San Juan, Puerto Rico to raise awareness of preterm birth on the island. PROTECT Co-Director, Dr. José F. Cordero and Core C Director, Dr. Liza...
Introducing PROTECT’s first ROUTES scholar, David Berroa!
The “Research Opportunities for Undergraduates: Training in Environmental Health Sciences”(ROUTES) is a new program at Northeastern University designed to increase the number of underrepresented minority undergraduate students participating in environmental health...
Phil Brown Wins NIEHS Training Grant for Transdisciplinary Training at the Intersection of Environmental Health and Social Science
Dr. Phil Brown, Director of the Research Translation Core and Co-Director of the Community Engagement Core, has received a highly competitive T32 training grant from National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences for Transdisciplinary Training at the Intersection...
PROTECT Core D Leader David Kaeli Presents at NIEHS SRP Webinar
On June 24, 2015, PROTECT Core D Leader David Kaeli, Ph.D., presented his work during the NIEHS SRP webinar Integrating Data from Multidisciplinary Research, Session I: Introducing the Big Picture, hosted by the EPA. The focus of the webinar was to present the concept...
PROTECT Trainee Xiangyu Li Presents at ALLDATA 2015
On April 19-24th, 2015, Northeastern University Ph.D. PROTECT trainee, Xiangyu Li, presented his paper Big Data Analysis on Puerto Rico Testsite for Exploring Contamination Threats at the ALLDATA 2015 Conference in Barcelona, Spain. His presentation with Prof. David...
Landmark Conference on Social Science-Environmental Health Collaborations
On May 21-22, 2015, the Social Science Environmental Health Research Institute (SSEHRI), in partnership with the Puerto Rico Testsite for Exploring Contamination Threats (PROTECT) and Silent Spring Institute hosted the first ever Social Science-Environmental Health...
PROTECT Project 5 Trainees Present at SWIM 2015
On May 20th 2015, PROTECT trainees Shirin Hojabri, Roya Nazari, Noushin Fallahpour and Dr. Ljiljana Rajic attended the Symposium on Water Innovation in Massachusetts (SWIM), held at Northeastern University. SWIM, organized by the New England Water Innovation Network...
Padilla Receives Distinguished Professor Award in Civil Engineering at UPRM
Dr. Ingrid Padilla, PROTECT Project 4 Leader, has received the 2014 Distinguished Professor Award in Civil Engineering at the University of Puerto Rico. The award honors her outstanding teaching, research, and service contribution to the institution. At PROTECT, Dr....
PROTECT Researcher Publishes Study Assessing Toxicity Risk of WV Chemical Spill
The 2014 Freedom Industrial chemical spill affected the drinking water supply of 300,000 people in Charleston, West Virginia metropolitan area. In the wake of the spill, one of the most pressing concerns was understanding the impact of the chemical spill, as the main...
Phil Brown Wins NSF Grant to Study Perfluorinated Chemicals
Phil Brown, Director of the Research Translation Core and Co-Director of the Community Engagement Core, has received a $343,163 grant from the National Science Foundation to study “Perfluorinated Chemicals: The Social Discovery of a Class of Emerging Contaminants.”...
Trainee González starts K.C. Donnelly Externship at the CDC
Human Subjects Core trainee Andrea L. González (Advisor: Jose Cordero) started her externship at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in Atlanta, Georgia with Victor De Jesus, Ph.D., Chief of the Biochemical Mass Spectrometry Laboratory in the Newborn...
PROTECT Trainee Kelly Ferguson Presents at COW2015 and Meets Policy Makers at the EPA
On April 29, trainee Kelly Ferguson gave a talk at the 8th Copenhagen Workshop on Endocrine Disrupters. Her talk, entitled "Developmental effects of phthalates: what are the mechanisms?" introduced the PROTECT cohort and summarized preliminary findings on the...
Trainee Carmona de Jesus Receives K.C. Donnelly Externship
PROTECT is proud to announce that Marvic Carmona de Jesus has been awarded a K.C. Donnelly externship! Mr. Carmona is a graduate student at the University of Puerto Rico, Mayagüez, working towards his Masters of Science in Civil Engineering with a concentration in...
PROTECT RTC-CEC Leader Phil Brown Receives Prestigious ASA Practice and Outreach Award
PROTECT is proud to announce that Dr. Phil Brown, sociologist and environmental justice advocate and PROTECT Community Engagement and Research Translation Core leader, will be the 2015 recipient of the American Sociological Association’s Environment and Technology...
PROTECT Represented at RISE2015
Six members of PROTECT presented at this year’s Research, Innovation, and Scholarship Expo. RISE is an annual exhibit of exciting new research at Northeastern University that can be translated into real-world applications. Below are descriptions of their posters. ...
PROTECT Researchers Study Sociodemographic Patterns of Household Water-Use Costs in Puerto Rico
PROTECT Postdoctoral fellow Dr. Xue Yu published a paper on “Sociodemographic patterns of household water-use costs in Puerto Rico” in Science of The Total Environment. The variability of household water-use costs across different sociodemographic groups in Puerto...
First Time Mom with Kelsey Nixon – One Mom’s Story of Delivering a Preemie
This 4:15 video of “One Mom’s Story of Delivering a Preemie” chronicles first time mom Kelsey Nixon’s journey through the birth of her son Oliver at 28 weeks gestation. In this video, Kelsey describes the “pure shock” of learning that she would be delivering her baby...
PROTECT trainees attend tricholorethylene (TCE) vapor intrusion workshop
PhD students Reza Ghasemizadeh, Shirin Hojabri and Roya Nazari together with Postdoctoral Fellow Xue Yu and Associate Research Scientist Lily Rajic attended the TCE Vapor Intrusion: State of the Science, Regulations, & Technical Options workshop on Tuesday, April...
PROTECT participates in the Northeast SRP Training Workshop
The Northeast Superfund Research Program (SRP) Training Workshop was held on April 2nd and April 3rd, 2015, at Boston University Medical Campus in Boston, MA. The workshop was jointly organized by the SRP Centers at Boston University, Dartmouth College, and...
Alshawabkeh and Suh receive a grant to increase participation of underrepresented minority undergraduates in environmental health research
Dr. Akram Alshawabkeh (PROTECT PI/PD and Project 5 Leader) together with Dr. Helen Suh of Bouvé College of Health Sciences at Northeastern University received a prestigious National Institute for Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) R25 program training grant to...
USGS briefs congress about groundwater vulnerability to contamination
Groundwater is a valuable source of drinking water for approximately 130 million people in United States. However, natural and human activities have been resulting in high concentrations of certain chemicals in groundwater that can affect human health. The United...
March Webinar: NIEHS Director Birnbaum to present on Environmental Health Issues – recording now available
Date: Wednesday, March 4th Time: 1:00 – 2:00pm EST (2:00 - 3:00 PM AST) Webinar Title: “Winding Roads: My Career in Science" Presenter: Linda S. Birnbaum, PhD On Wednesday, March 4th, PROTECT hosted its fourth installment of its webinar series, Careers in...
PROTECT research findings suggest toxicant exposure may inhibit tissue resistance to microbial infections during pregnancy
PROTECT investigators are conducting innovative studies using in vitro models of human gestational tissues to better understand relationships between toxicant exposures and preterm birth. Microbial infection of the maternal reproductive tract is one of the most common...
PROTECT researcher Gu talks toxicogenomics at Harvard School of Public Health
On January 23rd, Professor April Gu, Project 5 investigator, gave a talk to an audience from clinical and environmental disciplines at the Harvard School of Public Health entitled, “Develop a Quantitative Toxicogenomics Technology Platform For Toxicity Assessment and...
February Webinar: “EPA/ORD Contaminated Site Project and Ground Water Research” – recording now available
Date: Monday, February 23rd Time: 1:00 – 2:00pm EST (2:00 - 3:00 PM AST) Webinar Title: “EPA/ORD Sustainable & Healthy Communities Research Program's Contaminated Site Project (SHC 3.61) and Contaminated Ground Water Research” Presenter: David G. Jewett, PhD On...
Over 60 attend 5th annual PROTECT retreat in Dorado, Puerto Rico
On January 16th and 17th, PROTECT researchers, trainees, administrators, advisers, colleagues and guests gathered at the Embassy Suites Dorado del Mar in Dorado, Puerto Rico for the 5th annual PROTECT retreat to discuss research progress. This year's theme focused on...
Prof. Phil Brown appointed to NIEHS Council
Professor Phil Brown, Research Translation Core Leader and Community Engagement Core Co-Leader, has been appointed to the National Advisory Environmental Health Sciences Council through 2018. The NAEHSC is a Congressionally mandated body that advises the secretary of...
Prof. Kaeli, Core D Leader, named ACM Distinguished Scientist
Professor Dave Kaeli, Data Management and Modeling Core Leader, was recently named Distinguished Scientist by the Association for Computer Machinery. ACM is the world’s largest educational and scientific computing society and delivers resources that advance computing...
PROTECT researcher Anzalota gives talk at Minority Health & Health Disparities conference
Dr. Liza Anzalota, Human Subjects Core Director and Community Engagement Core Liaison at the University of Puerto Rico-Medical Sciences Campus, gave a talk at the 2014 Minority Health & Health Disparities conference in December entitled, “Transdisciplinary...
December Webinar – Camp Lejune: A Case Study, presented by Frank Bove, ScD (now available to download)
Monday, Dec. 1st 1:00 – 2:00pm EST Webinar Title: “Camp Lejeune: A Case Study” Presenter: Frank Bove, Sc.D. On Monday, December 1, 2014, PROTECT hosted the second installment of its webinar series, Careers in Environmental Health Sciences, during which guest speaker...
Community Engagement Core Advisory Committee convenes at the Manatí Medical Center
On Monday, November 24, 2014, the PROTECT Community Engagement Core and Human Subjects and Sampling Cores convened a meeting of the Community Engagement Advisory Committee at the Manatí Medical Center. This meeting was organized with the support of the Manatí...
Phil Brown joins Scientific Advisory Panel of the Breast Cancer Fund
Phil Brown, Research Translation Core Leader and Community Engagement Core Co-Leader, recently accepted an invitation to join the Scientific Advisory Panel of the Breast Cancer Fund, a leading environmental health organization. The Breast Cancer Fund's mission is to...
PROTECT researchers and trainees gather at annual Superfund Research Program conference
The 2014 Superfund Research Program (SRP) annual meeting was held on November 12-14 in San Jose, California. Over 300 researchers, trainees, and administrators attended the conference from all of the SRP Centers as well as federal stakeholders, including...
PROTECT at the 2014 SACNAS Conference in Los Angeles
PROTECT Project 4's Professor Ingrid Padilla and trainees recently participated in the 2014 annual meeting of the Society for Advancement of Hispanics/Chicanos and Native Americans in Science (SACNAS) in Los Angeles, California on October 15-18. Professor Padilla was...
Premature birth now #1 killer of children under 5 years old
A new study the in The Lancet reports that preterm birth has surpassed infection as the #1 cause of death for children under the age of five. The study, which was funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, found that complications due to preterm birth result in...
PROTECT at NU’s Pop-Up Open Lab Experience
On October 27th, Professor Dave Kaeli and trainees from Core D and Project 5 presented at the 6th annual Northeastern Pop-Up Open Lab Experience and Reception entitled, "Aha! Making Sense from Big Data." Through posters and software demonstrations, the group on...
PROTECT partner EarthSoft to host Office Hours with data core leader Kaeli
EarthSoft, an organization that develops innovative environmental database management software and PROTECT Center collaborator, will be hosting Office Hours with Data Management and Modeling Core Leader Dave Kaeli on Thursday, October 30, 2014 at 11:00 AM ET. During...
PROTECT trainees present their work in Amherst, MA
PROTECT Project 5 trainees presented their work at the 30th Annual International Conference on Soils, Sediments, Water, and Energy October 20-23, 2014, in Amherst, Massachusetts. Presentation titles: Noushin Fallahpour: Hydrochlorination of TCE by Pd and H2 produced...
PROTECT researcher Vesper presents to Pittsburgh Geological Society
PROTECT researcher Dorothy Vesper of West Virginia University presented to 88 scientists at a dinner hosted by the Pittsburgh Geological Society on October 15, 2014. Her talk, entitled "Contaminant Movement in Karst: What We Think We Know," highlighted the PROTECT...
PROTECT Trainee de Jesus Receives EPA GRO Undergraduate Fellowship
PROTECT trainee Nerida de Jesus (Project 4) recently received an EPA GRO Undergraduate Fellowship. Her proposal, "Identifying Sanitation Systems Ramifications on Water Quality for Rural Non-PRASA Communities in Puerto Rico," stems from PROTECT and integrates EPA...
Phil Brown and colleagues receive NIEHS Conference Grant
NIEHS has awarded Phil Brown (Co-Leader of PROTECT's Research Translation and Community Engagement Cores) and the Social Science Environmental Health Research Institute at Northeastern University a conference grant for Social Science-Environmental Health...
PROTECT Orientation 2014
The annual PROTECT Orientation was held on Monday, September 15th. This meeting serves as an introduction to PROTECT for new students at all of the research institutions, as well as an update on this past year’s progress for all involved. Each Core and Project gave a...
PROTECT Center well-represented at the EPA Region 2 Caribbean Science Workshop
The PROTECT Center was well-represented at the recent EPA Region 2 Caribbean Science Consortium/Non-PRASA Systems Workshop that was held in San Juan, Puerto Rico on September 11th and 12th, 2014. Afterwards, many people, including from EPA and local agencies,...