The mission of the Environmental Health Science Department is to conduct innovative research to improve human health, well being, and quality of natural and working environments, and to provide exemplary education and training for future Environmental Health professionals.
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The Aquatic Toxicology laboratory is 700 ft2 in size and is well-equipped for conducting biomarker analyses on fish and mussel tissues, analyzing water quality parameters in water and wastewater samples and for and conducting toxicity assessments with zooplankton and juvenile mussels. The lab is equipped with a 20 ft2 explosion-proof refrigerator, -80°C freezer; two liquid nitrogen storage dewars (10 and 40 L), 25 ft2 incubator with adjustable photoperiod; water-jacketed CO2 incubator; large vacuum oven, top-loading and analytical balances, refrigerated and micro-centrifuges, Shimadzu 1600 UV-Visible spectrophotometer, BioRad FIGE Mapper system and auxillary power supply with three submarine electrophoresis cells; transilluminator, gel photography system and densitometer. A SigmaScan Pro digital analysis system is available for use with three different microscopes: Olympus SZX9 research-grade stereo microscope, Olympus BX40 compound microscope and Olympus IX50 inverted microscope with fluorescence capability.
Environmental Toxicology Laboratory
The Environmental Toxicology laboratory has approximately 800 ft2 that is fully equipped to perform toxicological studies with soil nematodes. The lab is equipped with a computer tracking system used to monitor the behavioral effects of toxicants on the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans, incubators and refrigerators for nematode culturing and media preparation, a centrifuge, computers for data analysis and reporting, and dissecting microscopes for observation of the nematodes. This laboratory has been performing toxicological studies with C. elegans for many years and has trained numerous graduate students and published many papers within this area. This group is the leading laboratory in developing soil bioassays with C. elegans and the researchers have collectively authored the "Standard Guide for Conducting Laboratory Soil Toxicity Tests With the Nematode Caenorhabditis elegans" recently accepted by the American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM). The laboratory also is examining ways that nematodes can be used as alternative test organisms for traditional toxicological testing.
The Air Quality Laboratory is used to stage field studies, process air quality samples, and maintain and store air sampling equipment. The lab includes a dedicated and climate-controlled room for high-precision gravimetric analysis of fine particle samples. Specialized equipment for conducting research in air quality include a variety of particle and gas sampling systems such as the Federal Reference Method samplers for PM2.5, inertial impactors, and cyclones, as well as a host of absorption samplers for gases and aerosols.
Developmental Toxicology Laboratory and Tissue Culture Facility
Developmental Toxicology Laboratory and Tissue Culture Facility is equipped with a laminar flow hood and water-jacketed CO2 incubator that are used to maintain cells for the study of reproductive and developmental effects of environmental contaminants.
Environmental Microbiology Laboratory
The Environmental Microbiology Laboratory is equipped for running routine microbiological examinations as well as more sophisticated assays using molecular tools. Equipment includes a class two biological safety hood, water baths, low temperature, shaking and standard incubators, and a -80°C freezer for detection, culture and maintenance of microorganisms. A research grade Olympus compound microscope with epifluorescence is also available. An M.J. Research temp cycler with dual alpha blocks and a 96-well gradient block is on-hand for PCR (polymerase chain reaction) and RT (reverse transcription)-PCR. Standard horizontal electrophoresis and a CHEF DR II (Bio-Rad) pulsed field gel electrophoresis system are used for physical separation of nucleic acid fragments. Phylogenetic software for analysis of DNA sequences (Phydit) and DNA fingerprinting (GelCompar II) are loaded on laboratory computers.
Another laboratory is involved in the development of physiologically based pharmacokinetic (PBPK) models for both individual toxicants (i.e., trichloroethylene) and complex mixtures (i.e., JP8 jet fuel). The primary focus of the PBPK Modeling Laboratory is the collection of data used for the validation of these models including the dose-response, disposition in the body, and metabolism and excretion of the toxicants. These models are then used elucidate the differences in the response of various mammalian models to that of humans. Major equipment in the laboratory includes Agilent Technologies 6890 GC system with FID and ECD Detectors; inhalation chambers for rats and mice, and Spectrum Equilibrium Dialysis system for tissue binding experiments
Environmental Chemistry Laboratory
The Environmental Chemistry Laboratory occupies 620 ft2 on the third floor of the Environmental Health Science Building. The lab contains instrumentation used to assay environmental samples for a variety of chemical contaminants including non-persistent and persistent insecticides, volatile organic compounds, and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons. Two gas chromatographs equipped with electron capture, flame ionization, nitrogen-phosphorous, and a mass selective detector are operated by faculty, research staff, and graduate students. The lab also contains a high performance liquid chromatograph with a UV-vis detector. Equipment used for sample extraction, clean-up, and storage are also in the laboratory.
