Sweating It Out: Exercise versus Toxic Exposures

As the foremost experts on the effects of chemicals, biological substances, and more, toxicologists are key contributors to health regulation and laws. Law Professor and lawyer Claudia Polsky, University of California Berkeley, discusses how science can influence environmental health law, as well as environmental justice, with co-hosts Anne Chappelle and David Faulkner and reveals legal gaps in protecting public health.

About the Guest
Claudia Polsky, JD, MAS, is a Clinical Professor of Law and the founding Director of the Environmental Law Clinic.

Before launching the Clinic, Ms. Polsky spent 18 years as a public sector and public interest environmental litigator: 14 as a Deputy Attorney General in the Environment Section of the California Department of Justice and four at Earthjustice and Public Citizen Litigation Group. She has litigated cases in trial and appellate courts, including the US Supreme Court; testified before Congress and the California legislature; and drafted and successfully defended environmental regulations.

Ms. Polsky also served as Deputy Director for Pollution Prevention and Green Technology at California’s Department of Toxic Substances Control. There, she managed a program that addressed an area of ongoing professional focus: reducing exposure to toxic chemicals throughout the supply chain, from workers to consumers and communities impacted by toxic waste.  The Environmental Law Clinic handles many toxics-reduction matters, ranging from pesticide exposure cases to the regulation of hazardous ingredients in consumer products. It also addresses other issues of environmental health and environmental justice, including climate justice and access to safe drinking water for all.

Ms. Polsky’s past environmental advocacy work has encompassed negotiating conservation easements for The Nature Conservancy; protecting threatened Pacific salmon populations through dam removal; obtaining an injunction to save 50 million national forest acres from logging and roadbuilding; and serving as a volunteer park ranger in Yosemite, Grand Canyon, and Great Smoky Mountains National Parks.

While pharmaceuticals provide positive benefits for patients, what about workers that may be exposed during production? Elizabeth M. Vancza, Merck & Co. Inc., reveals to co-hosts Anne Chappelle and David Faulkner the role of occupational toxicologists in understanding the exposure risks of pharmaceuticals, chemicals, and other substances that may affect worker health, as well as how to protect them from these exposures.

About the Guest
Elizabeth M. Vancza, PhD, DABT, is currently an Associate Director of Occupational Toxicology at Merck & Co. Inc., where she assists business operations in the areas of occupational toxicology, potent compound safety evaluation and awareness, product quality/safety, and hazard/risk assessment. Before joining Merck in 2021, she worked as an occupational toxicologist for SafeBridge Consultants for over 10 years, serving clients worldwide, primarily from the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries.

Dr. Vancza earned her PhD and MS degrees from New York University, with respective concentrations in inhalation toxicology and immunotoxicology, and she remains a guest lecturer for the graduate program in the areas of risk assessment and genomics. She also is an Associate Member of the Occupational Alliance for Risk Science (OARS) Workplace Environmental Exposure Level (WEEL) Committee.  

Dr. Vancza joined the Society of Toxicology (SOT) in 2004 and has remained an active member through her involvement on various committees and student outreach efforts for several Specialty Sections, Regional Chapters, and Special Interest Groups. She most recently completed a three-year term as Vice President (year one), President (year two), and Past President (year three) for the SOT Northeast Regional Chapter in 2021.

Nanoparticles are manmade fibers, particulates, and other objects that are so small that when inhaled, they can escape the lungs and enter other body systems. Timothy Nurkiewicz, West Virginia University, studies the effects of these and other particulars. He discusses his inhalation and nanotoxicology research, as well as work with the National Guard on developing facemasks to protect against airborne diseases, with co-hosts Anne Chappelle and David Faulkner.

About the Guest
Timothy R. Nurkiewicz, PhD, is the E.J. Van Liere Medicine Professor and Chair of the Department of Physiology and Pharmacology at the West Virginia University (WVU) School of Medicine. He is also the Director of the WVU Inhalation Facilities and Center for Inhalation Toxicology (iTOX) and has been a guest researcher with the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health since 2008.

Dr. Nurkiewicz’s research is in the fields of microvascular physiology and toxicology, with specific focus on pulmonary exposure to particulate matter and engineered nanomaterials. His research program pioneered novel investigations in the field of maternal nanomaterial exposures and fetal microvascular ramifications. Through iTOX, his lab and team are able to replicate the atmospheres that humans are exposed to in order to advance understanding of their acute and chronic toxicities.

Dr. Nurkiewicz earned a BS in exercise and sport science from Pennsylvania State University, a MS in exercise physiology from WVU, and a PhD in physiology from WVU. He completed postdocs at Texas A&M University and WVU. Currently, Dr. Nurkiewicz serves as an Associate Editor for Frontiers—Vascular Physiology and Particle and Fibre Toxicology and is a founding member and Past President of the SOT Cardiovascular Toxicology Specialty Section.

Blood samples and health records for 15,000 pregnancies provides a wealth of scientific data. Add samples and records from the resultant children and grandchildren, and you have an invaluable cohort with which you can study the long-term results of events that occur during pregnancy. Barbara Cohn with the Public Health Institute is the Director of such a cohort and discusses it with co-hosts Anne Chappelle and David Faulkner, including what she and colleagues have discovered about the generational effects of exposure to DDT and other substances.

About the Guest
Barbara A. Cohn, PhD, is Director of the Child Health and Development Studies (CHDS) at the Public Health Institute. CHDS is home to a groundbreaking study, which originated in 1959, designed to shed light on the various factors impacting health during pregnancy and early childhood. Between 1959 and 1967, 15,000 pregnant women and their families were enrolled. Researchers continue to study these rich data and conduct important follow-up studies to further examine how events during pregnancy impact the subsequent health of fathers, mothers, and their children and grandchildren. Dr. Cohn consults with researchers around the world on the use of the CHDS data for health research.

In addition, Dr. Cohn directs research examining how pregnancy protects against breast cancer and influences other health problems in mothers and their children in order to identify natural protective mechanisms that can be used for prevention. She also investigates whether early life exposure to environmental chemicals during pregnancy affects obesity, immune function, reproductive health, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, neurodevelopment, cancer, and health disparities in mothers and their children across the life span.

Dr. Cohn holds a doctorate in epidemiology, a master’s degree in city and regional planning, a master’s degree in public health planning, and a bachelor’s degree in zoology, all from the University of California, Berkeley.

The fields of epidemiology and toxicology sometimes find themselves at odds, but Gradient’s Julie Goodman, an epidemiologist and toxicologist, shares how the two disciplines can complement each other to evaluate public health risks. Dr. Goodman also dives into the finer points of systemic reviews and meta-analyses in her conversation with co-hosts Anne Chappelle and David Faulkner.

About the Guest
Julie E. Goodman, PhD, DABT, FACE, ATS, is an epidemiologist and board-certified toxicologist with over 20 years of experience.  She is a Principal with Gradient and applies her multidisciplinary expertise to evaluate human health risks associated with chemical exposures in a variety of contexts, including products, foods, and medical applications, as well occupational and environmental exposures.  

Dr. Goodman is a fellow of both the American College of Epidemiology and the Academy of Toxicological Sciences.  She was also an adjunct faculty member in the Department of Epidemiology at the Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health, where she taught a class on meta-analysis for several years.  Before joining Gradient, she was a Cancer Prevention Fellow at the National Cancer Institute.  

Dr. Goodman has authored numerous original peer-reviewed research articles, review articles (including systematic reviews, meta-analyses, and weight-of-evidence evaluations), and book chapters on a wide variety of chemicals and health outcomes. She has presented her work to a wide variety of audiences.

Dr. Goodman obtained her master's in epidemiology and PhD in toxicology from Johns Hopkins University.

When it comes to hormones, everyone has them all, but their levels are where things get interesting. How chemicals affect estrogen signaling in the brain is the research focus of Troy Roepke, Rutgers, who talks to co-hosts Anne Chappelle and David Faulkner about how gender is not easily defined biologically, what it is like to be a “fabulously queer” professor, and how science can better serve the LGBTQ+ and other marginalized communities.

About the Guest
Troy Roepke, PhD, is an Associate Professor in the Rutgers School of Environmental and Biological Sciences Department of Animal Sciences, where their research goal is for a greater understanding of the interaction between novel steroid (estrogen) signaling pathways, neuroendocrine functions, maternal and adult diets, and endocrine-disrupting chemicals on homeostatic functions controlled by the hypothalamus, as well as the long-term consequences of maternal exposures to low doses of endocrine-disrupting chemicals in model species and how these maternal exposures may affect normal adult offspring physiological functions.

In addition to their teaching and lab duties, Dr. Roepke serves as Associate Dean of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion for the Rutgers School of Environmental and Biological Sciences. Dr. Roepke believes one of the most important aspects of being an openly queer professor is to create a lab environment that is supportive of all historically excluded students and trainees, especially LGBTQ+ students. They believe that great science happens when one creates a supportive, diverse, and inclusive environment that prioritizes teamwork, positivity, and respect wherein each team member feels welcomed and encouraged to bring their true authentic selves to the lab.

Dr. Roepke received a doctorate in physiology with a designated emphasis in reproductive biology from the University of California Davis in 2005. Their postdoctoral training was at Oregon Health & Science University, studying the neuroendocrinology of estrogens from 2005 to 2011 where they were the recipient of a K99/R00 Pathways to Independence Award from the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases to study how endocrine disruptors influence metabolism. 

Since the discovery of cannabinoid receptors in the mid-1990s, researchers have been trying to determine their role and how they affect the immune system. Barbara Kaplan, Mississippi State University, discusses research in this area with co-hosts Anne Chappelle and David Faulkner and also shares what scientists are discovering about CBD, vaping, THC, and more.

About the Guest
Barbara Kaplan, PhD, is an Associate Professor in the Center for Environmental Health Sciences in the College of Veterinary Medicine at Mississippi State University. She got her BS in environmental toxicology at University of California Davis and her PhD in pharmacology and toxicology from Michigan State University. Before starting her own lab at Mississippi State, she conducted postdoctoral research at the University of Chicago and worked as a Research Assistant Professor at Michigan State. Her transition from MSU to MSU was easy!

The focus of her lab is trying to understand effects and mechanisms by which drugs and chemicals affect the immune system. She has National Institutes of Health (NIH) funding to study aryl hydrocarbon receptor ligands on antibody signaling and also has been studying the immune effects of marijuana chemicals for more than 20 years. Her work was some of the first to suggest that cannabidiol (CBD) exhibited immune suppressive effects through a mechanism similar to other well-known drugs, such as cyclosporin.

With the passage of the Farm Bill that legalized CBD from hemp and US Food and Drug Administration approval of a CBD-containing therapy for epilepsy, information—and misinformation—about CBD and other marijuana chemicals has exploded. Therefore, she has been active in obtaining and practicing her science communication skills. She attended the Alan Alda Center for Communicating Science bootcamp at Stony Brook University in 2017 and got to meet with Mr. Alda when he gave a presentation at Mississippi State University in 2018. She has been involved with many workshops and other training sessions since then, including a recent interactive Continuing Education course for SOT in which attendees learned some basic science communication skills, presented an aspect of their science in small groups, and then received constructive feedback in real time.

Because of natural exposure to wildfire smoke, nonhuman primates have provided an increased understanding of the long-term effects of smoke inhalation during infancy, shares Lisa Miller, University of California Davis (UC Davis). Dr. Miller also discusses with co-hosts Anne Chappelle and David Faulkner the importance of animal models in human health research and how nonhuman primates can be good models for vaccine testing, as was the case with COVID-19.

About the Guest
Lisa A. Miller, PhD, is a Professor for the UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine and serves as the Respiratory Diseases Unit Leader for the California National Primate Research Center. She also is the principal investigator or co-investigator for 15 active research grants.

Dr. Miller’s research focuses on investigating the impact of environmental exposures (air pollution, allergens, microbes) on pulmonary and immune system development during the first year of life. She uses both cell culture approaches and animal models to address questions related to mucosal immune mechanisms in pediatric populations, with an emphasis on understanding the etiology of childhood asthma and susceptibility to infectious disease.

Dr. Miller earned her BS and PhD from UC Davis and was a postdoctoral fellow in the Stanford University School of Medicine.

With nonalcoholic fatty liver disease affecting nearly a third of the US population, Luma Melo, University of Pittsburgh, describes how mouse studies have shown that low-impact exercise can help reverse liver damage. Dr. Melo also shares with co-hosts Anne Chappelle and David Faulkner how research funding works in her native Brazil and the role of Brazilian women in toxicology.

About the Guest
Luma Melo, PhD, University of Pittsburgh, started her scientific career in her native Brazil, earning a master’s degree in physics from the University of São Paulo, where she also served as an Associated Instructor. She then earned a master’s degree in the philosophy of science and medicine and a PhD in environmental health from Indiana University in the United States.

Dr. Melo’s research focuses on liver disease (both alcoholic and nonalcoholic fatty liver disease) and exercise. She is exploring mode of action and genetic expression related to how exercise and environmental chemicals modulate the development of nonalcoholic fatty liver diseases, as well as liver fibrosis and the mechanisms and determinants of mortality of alcoholic liver disease through translational studies including human samples and experimental models of liver disease. She also has conducted research involving aerobic exercise and breast cancer and published a book on quantum physics for laypeople titled But After All … What Is Quantum Physics?

Dr. Melo is currently a Postdoctoral Associate at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center and an Adjunct Professor with Ball State University.

While no longer national news, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill is still impacting the ecological health of the Gulf of Mexico and the livelihoods of the communities that rely upon the gulf’s aquatic life, as Robert “Joe” Griffitt of the University of Southern Mississippi reveals. Dr. Griffitt and co-hosts Anne Chappelle and David Faulkner discuss how ecotoxicology is both an applied and a basic science, as well as how scientific discovery is not always a linear process.

About the Guest
Robert “Joe” Griffitt, PhD, is a Professor at and Director of the University of Southern Mississippi School of Ocean Science and Engineering. 

Ecotoxicology, toxicogenomics, and bioinformatics are the focus of Dr. Griffitt’s research. Specifically, his lab investigates the impacts of metallic nanoparticles in aquatic and marine ecosystems and the effects of the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill on the northern Gulf of Mexico. In both cases, his lab uses a combination of molecular and whole-animal endpoints to try to assess toxicological impacts at both cellular and organism levels. 

Dr. Griffitt earned a BS in marine biology from the University of North Carolina Wilmington and an MS in marine science and a PhD in environmental science from the University of South Carolina. He completed his postdoctoral research at the University of Florida.