Post by Nevada Hoya on Dec 15, 2004 16:35:19 GMT -5
Good to hear my alma mater getting of my Agency's Star Grants:
(Washington, D.C. – December 14, 2004)
Dr. Larry Reiter, Director of EPA’s National Health and Environmental Effects
Research Laboratory, today announced $2.25 million in grant awards to three
universities to investigate and characterize the nature of the dose-response
to endocrine disrupting chemicals in animal models. The grants focus on the
possible effects of low levels of cadmium on puberty and the neurodevelopment
effects of chemicals that affect the thyroid. The announcement was made at a
meeting with EPA’s Board of Scientific Counselors in Research Triangle Park,
N.C.The grants were awarded through EPA’s Science to Achieve Results (STAR)
research grants program.
“These researchers will work with doses of endocrine disrupting chemicals
that are below those typically used in standard toxicology tests,”
said Dr. Reiter. “The advantage is that these levels approximate what we
actually find in the environment. This body of research should help us
understand what factors influence how an organism responds to these
exposures.”
The endocrine system in humans and wildlife regulates all biological processes
in the body from conception through adulthood and into old age, including the
development of the brain and nervous system, the growth and function of the
reproductive system, as well as the metabolism and blood sugar levels.
Endocrine disrupting chemicals or endocrine disruptors can disturb the
endocrine system in various ways. Some chemicals mimic a natural hormone,
fooling the body into over-responding to the stimulus or responding at
inappropriate times. Other endocrine disrupting chemicals block the effects
of a hormone from certain receptors. Still others directly stimulate or
inhibit the endocrine system and cause overproduction or underproduction
of hormones.
Because the endocrine system plays a critical role in normal growth,
development, and reproduction, even small disturbances in endocrine function
could have profound and lasting effects. This is especially true during highly
sensitive prenatal periods when small changes in endocrine status could cause
delayed consequences that are evident much later in adult life or in a
subsequent generation.
There is limited scientific information about the nature of the dose-response to
endocrine disrupting chemicals at levels that approximate those in the
environment. The research supported by these grants will seek to characterize
the effects of low-dose exposures following in utero or early postnatal
exposures to endocrine disruptors. The projects focus on the estrogen,
androgen, and thyroid hormone systems, which are two of the areas of focus of
the EPA’s Endocrine Disruptors Screening Program
(http://www.epa.gov/scipoly/oscpendo/) designed to screen and test chemicals
for potential endocrine disruption.
The grants were awarded to the following universities:
Georgetown University, Washington, D.C., $740,000 – Scientists will study the
effectsof in utero exposure to cadmium on puberty.
University of Georgia, Athens, Ga., $750,000 – Researchers will help develop the
methodology to understand the molecular effects of hypothyroidism during
pregnancy on the development of the nervous system in offspring.
University of Massachusetts, Amherst, Mass., $740,000 – Researchers will
identify critical factors that influence dose-response between thyroid hormones
and the health endpoints that rely on normal thyroid function.
For more information about these grants, see:
cfpub.epa.gov/ncer_abstracts/index.cfm/fuseaction/recipients.display/rfa_id/357.
Additional information about the STAR research grants program can be found at:
www.epa.gov/ncer.
(Washington, D.C. – December 14, 2004)
Dr. Larry Reiter, Director of EPA’s National Health and Environmental Effects
Research Laboratory, today announced $2.25 million in grant awards to three
universities to investigate and characterize the nature of the dose-response
to endocrine disrupting chemicals in animal models. The grants focus on the
possible effects of low levels of cadmium on puberty and the neurodevelopment
effects of chemicals that affect the thyroid. The announcement was made at a
meeting with EPA’s Board of Scientific Counselors in Research Triangle Park,
N.C.The grants were awarded through EPA’s Science to Achieve Results (STAR)
research grants program.
“These researchers will work with doses of endocrine disrupting chemicals
that are below those typically used in standard toxicology tests,”
said Dr. Reiter. “The advantage is that these levels approximate what we
actually find in the environment. This body of research should help us
understand what factors influence how an organism responds to these
exposures.”
The endocrine system in humans and wildlife regulates all biological processes
in the body from conception through adulthood and into old age, including the
development of the brain and nervous system, the growth and function of the
reproductive system, as well as the metabolism and blood sugar levels.
Endocrine disrupting chemicals or endocrine disruptors can disturb the
endocrine system in various ways. Some chemicals mimic a natural hormone,
fooling the body into over-responding to the stimulus or responding at
inappropriate times. Other endocrine disrupting chemicals block the effects
of a hormone from certain receptors. Still others directly stimulate or
inhibit the endocrine system and cause overproduction or underproduction
of hormones.
Because the endocrine system plays a critical role in normal growth,
development, and reproduction, even small disturbances in endocrine function
could have profound and lasting effects. This is especially true during highly
sensitive prenatal periods when small changes in endocrine status could cause
delayed consequences that are evident much later in adult life or in a
subsequent generation.
There is limited scientific information about the nature of the dose-response to
endocrine disrupting chemicals at levels that approximate those in the
environment. The research supported by these grants will seek to characterize
the effects of low-dose exposures following in utero or early postnatal
exposures to endocrine disruptors. The projects focus on the estrogen,
androgen, and thyroid hormone systems, which are two of the areas of focus of
the EPA’s Endocrine Disruptors Screening Program
(http://www.epa.gov/scipoly/oscpendo/) designed to screen and test chemicals
for potential endocrine disruption.
The grants were awarded to the following universities:
Georgetown University, Washington, D.C., $740,000 – Scientists will study the
effectsof in utero exposure to cadmium on puberty.
University of Georgia, Athens, Ga., $750,000 – Researchers will help develop the
methodology to understand the molecular effects of hypothyroidism during
pregnancy on the development of the nervous system in offspring.
University of Massachusetts, Amherst, Mass., $740,000 – Researchers will
identify critical factors that influence dose-response between thyroid hormones
and the health endpoints that rely on normal thyroid function.
For more information about these grants, see:
cfpub.epa.gov/ncer_abstracts/index.cfm/fuseaction/recipients.display/rfa_id/357.
Additional information about the STAR research grants program can be found at:
www.epa.gov/ncer.