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Kidney disease is typically linked to conditions like diabetes and high blood pressure, which gradually wear down the kidneys’ delicate systems that keep the body in balance. But the communities that 91�������� researchers Nishad Jayasundara , PhD, and nephrologist Anna Strasma , MD, study are facing a different problem.

Meet the Hunt Lab, learn more about its research focus, a lab member's experience in the lab and the opportunities the lab offers Duke students.

Meet the Stapleton Lab, learn more about its research focus, a postdoc's experience in the lab and the opportunities the lab offers Duke students.

Gulf War Illness (GWI), which affects approximately 250,000 U.S. veterans, has been found to significantly reduce the ability of white blood cells to make energy and creates a measurable biochemical difference in veterans who have the disease. The finding comes from a physician who noticed GWI symptoms paralleled those of mitochondrial diseases. Analysis revealed significantly lower levels of extracellular acidification and oxygen consumption in the white blood cells of veterans with GWI.

A new study on the impacts of prenatal exposure to toxic metals linked to artisanal gold mining and other sources in Madre de Dios, Peru, finds that mercury has no direct effect on a newborn’s birth weight or gestational age. It’s a different story, though, for lead, which may also be released by mining operations but more likely is consumed when people eat wild game that inadvertently still contains small bullet fragments.

91�������� scientists have received a five-year, $2.6 million grant from the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) to study molecular mechanisms that can help our bodies fight respiratory inflammation caused by air pollution.

People in areas where drinking water is contaminated with PFAS often want to know their PFAS blood levels but have trouble gaining access to reliable testing, which traditionally involves having their blood drawn by a medical professional.

The five-year grant renewal will support five new or newly refocused research projects investigating the long-term health impacts of early-life exposures to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and toxic metals such as lead, which are two of the most common classes of hazardous contaminants found today in areas with a legacy of industrial pollution.

Researchers at 91�������� have received a $248,000 grant from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to study PFAS exposure risks in the home environment.

Firefighters have a 9 percent higher risk of being diagnosed with cancer and a 14 percent higher risk of dying from the disease than the general adult U.S. population, according to studies by the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health and other agencies.

Kate Hoffman, an assistant research professor at 91��������’s Nicholas School of the Environment, has received a $3.4 million grant from the National Institutes of Health to study the impact of early-life exposures to semi-volatile organic compounds (SVOCs) on neonatal and early childhood immune function.

The anti-fogging sprays and cloths many people use to prevent condensation on their eyeglasses when wearing a mask or face shield may contain high levels of per- and polyfluorinated alkyl substances (PFAS), a new 91��������-led study finds.

Using data gleaned from the spread of COVID, researchers have created a mathematical model that can predict where pandemics or contagious disease outbreaks will most likely spread, in what patterns, and how quickly.

Man’s best friend may also be man’s best bet for figuring out how environmental chemicals could impact our health. Researchers from North Carolina State University and 91��������’s Nicholas School of the Environment used silicone dog tags as passive environmental samplers to collect information about everyday chemical exposures, and found that dogs could be an important sentinel species for the long term effects of environmental chemicals.