Current Research Trainees

Project: Assessing the Impact of Chemical Hair Straightener and Relaxer Use on Cancer and Reproductive Outcomes in Women

The environmental injustice of beauty spaces outlines the intersection between chemical exposures and the systemic oppression of women of color in the form of retailer redlining and racism. This summer, I worked on a systematic literature review of the potential relationship between chemical hair straightener and relaxer use and reproductive health outcomes in women across the United States. Through PubMed and Google Scholar, 16 studies were reviewed, and the varying frequency of hair relaxer use was discussed in terms of the likelihood of cancer and fertility outcomes. Using this review, I will begin a data analysis project focused on quantifying the relationship between chemical exposures from hair relaxers on expecting mothers and their fetuses. In addition, through Agents of Change in Environmental Justice, I had the opportunity to host a podcast episode with activist Neeshad Shafi highlighting Arabic voices in climate change spaces. Alongside the podcast, I conducted and presented my analysis of the 2023 AoC Fellows survey responses, building my qualitative analysis skillset and science communication.

Project: Gene-Environment Interaction and Metal Exposure in Neurodegenerative Diseases

Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) and Parkinson’s disease (PD) are two neurodegenerative diseases, mostly sporadic and that are believed to involve gene-environment interactions. Among environmental factors potentially implicated in their etiology, exposure to neurotoxic metals is a prime suspect. This summer I was involved in two projects: 1) a continuation of a gene-metal interaction ALS modeling project in mice looking into biomarkers of disease progression; 2) a new project investigating whether chronic exposure to metals from electronic cigarette (e-cig) aerosol trigger neurotoxicity and increase the risk of developing PD in mice. In the ALS project, ionized calcium-binding adapter molecule 1 (IBA1) and glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) were quantified for their presence and density in the spinal cord and brain of mice exposed to manganese via drinking water and carrying or not a mutation in TDP-43 increasing their risk of developing ALS. A pathological feature common to most cases of ALS is the accumulation of the protein TDP-43 and its pathogenic phosphorylated form (pTDP-43) in the patient's central nervous system. A major portion of this summer was set in contributing to the second project on e-cig-derived metal exposures and PD in which I was given the privilege of measuring metals in brain samples, including the ventral midbrain, hippocampus, striatum, frontal cortex, and olfactory bulb of mice carrying or not a LRRK2 mutation linked to PD and exposed for 6 months to e-cig aerosols. The next step will be to carry out the same pathological investigations I did in ALS in the e-cig exposed mice and taking images of the brain staining's for GFAP and IBA1. The project's goal is to contribute to advancing our understanding on the etiology of ALS and PD in relation to chronic metal exposure. I will be working on these projects throughout the year.

Project: Metal Exposures and Indigenous Health: Theory and Approaches for Reporting Research Results

Isabella (Izzy) Pacenza is a first-year PrIMER trainee and senior at Barnard College studying Environment and Sustainability as well as Sociology. Izzy is committed to advancing research at the intersection of environmental science and Indigenous health. She works closely with Drs. Yoshira Ornelas Van Horne and Ana Navas-Acien as part of the ongoing Columbia University Northern Plains Superfund Research Program (CUNP-SRP), which seeks to generate new knowledge and advance solutions to metal exposures using systems science and local expertise. Izzy focuses on balancing urgency, clear communication, and culturally relevant recommendations to understand the best ways to report back individual metal sample results to study participants. She is leading a literature review on the theory vs. application of approaches in the report back of research results, identifying novel dissemination techniques, and strategizing implementation solutions.