Cycle 3 - May 2021 OEFC Research Voucher Awards

Small OEFC Research Voucher Award(s): Small research voucher applications support the costs (up to $1,500) associated with OMICs research needed to finish out a project or address questions arising in manuscript revisions or grant resubmissions.

1. Principal Investigator: Banrida Wahlang, Ph.D.
Collaborator: Matthew Cave, M.D.
Title: Sex-dependent effects on gut microbiome associated with PCB exposures
Description: Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) are environmental chemicals or toxicants that have been associated with numerous health effects in people who are exposed to them. These health effects include liver disease, reproductive defects, and cardiovascular diseases. While extensive research has been performed on how PCBs can induce organ damage and toxicity using experimental models, little is known about how PCBs behave with regards to their toxic actions, in the context of sex and gender.  The proposed project seeks to understand how exposures to chemicals such as PCBs can cause changes in the composition of gut bacteria in the body, how these changes can impact liver health, and if these changes are different in males vs. females. Such studies will help to better understand the relationship between these environmental contaminants with sex and gender, and if men or women are more at risk to such PCB-associated health effects.

Medium OEFC Research Voucher Award(s):Medium research voucher applications support the expenses (up to $5,000) associated with critical exploratory research and proof-of-concept studies needed by CIEHS members for hypothesis generation and grant (re)submission. 

1. Principal Investigator: Madhavi Rane, Ph.D.
Collaborator: Lu Cai, M.D., Ph.D., Michael Merchant, Ph.D., Shesh Rai, Ph.D.
Title: Effects of whole life exposure to low-dose cadmium on post weaning high fat diet-induced pathogenesis in the kidney
Description: Obesity and cadmium (Cd) exposure are both independent risk factors for chronic kidney disease (CKD) and end stage renal disease (ESRD) necessitating dialysis or kidney transplantation. Since no current effective therapies exist to prevent progression to CKD, understanding how environmental exposure to Cd and diet-induced obesity simultaneously contribute to the pathogenesis of CKD is urgently needed. The current study, examining the dual effects of obesity (high-fat-diet) and cadmium exposure on kidney damage, is novel and will lead to generation of molecular target-based therapies to slow down progression to ESRD.