OSU Superfund Research Program

08/10/2026

Congratulations to Drs Jackson, Morshead, Perone, and Burns!

07/30/2026

The Society of Toxicology named Dr. Robyn Tanguay as Vice President for 2026 - 2027: https://www.toxicology.org/about/lnm/leadership.asp

07/30/2026

Dr. Diana Rohlman and team had a paper come out in the Journal of Exposure Science & Environmental Epidemiology titled “Comparative Analysis of Report-back of Research Results Strategies for Personal Chemical Exposure Data”. https://www.nature.com/articles/s41370-026-00932-0
This first multi-state study compared report-back strategies across three cohorts using silicone wristbands: pregnant people in New York and Detroit, and a post-disaster Houston community. It shows that participants strongly want personal chemical exposure results, and that report-back of research results (RBRR) can deepen understanding of links between environmental exposures and health (even when health benchmarks are unknown). Common requests included plain language, clearer visuals, glossaries, and more color and graphics to aid comprehension and graph literacy. Impacts went beyond individuals, motivating concern for families and communities, and stimulating interest in collective action and policy engagement. This work also shows that effective RBRR must be tailored to life stage, culture, disaster history, and trust levels, with community liaisons crucial to adapting language and framing to avoid blame and to address historical injustices. Overall, it delivers transferable, participant-tested design lessons to make complex exposure reports both ethical and actionable across diverse setting

07/27/2026

Bridging Science, Communities, and Translating Research to Practical Solutions

From October 26–28, scientists, community partners, trainees, administrators, and federal collaborators will gather in Portland, Oregon to share discoveries, build partnerships, and explore how environmental health research can lead to practical solutions for communities.

This year's meeting theme highlights the Superfund Research Program's commitment to moving discoveries beyond the laboratory and into real-world impact.

📍 Sentinel Hotel, Portland, Oregon
🗓️ October 26–28, 2026

Learn more and register today:
2026meeting.superfund.oregonstate.edu

06/29/2026

Registration is now open for the 2026 Superfund Research Program Grantees Annual Meeting, which will take place October 26–28, 2026, in Portland, Oregon. The meeting will feature collaborative sessions, opportunities for trainee engagement, and cross-center interactions. We will be reaching out soon to request your assistance in finalizing the meeting schedule.

Please register and book your hotel accommodations at your earliest convenience.

Register Here:
https://2026meeting.superfund.oregonstate.edu/

06/22/2026

Congratulations Dr. Burns!

Kyle Burns passed his PhD defense with the seminar title: "Mixing it up: Advancing in vitro respiratory models for polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon mixture toxicity assessment".

06/15/2026

Congratulations Dr. Rohlman! Diana is the leader of both our Community Engagement Core and our Research Translation Core.
https://superfund.oregonstate.edu/support-cores/community-engagement-core
https://superfund.oregonstate.edu/support-cores/research-translation-core

The College of Agriculture has awarded Dr. Diana Rohlman and her Co-PI Sunil Knanna (Center for Global Health) with the 2026 CAS Global Seed Initiative Grant for their project: “Community-Engaged Environmental Health Monitoring and mHealth Risk Communication in Botswana: A Pilot for Scalable Global Health Partnership.”

05/01/2026

How do all the exposures we experience over a lifetime shape our health?

Researchers are working to answer that question through the concept of the “exposome”—the total combination of environmental exposures we encounter, from the air we breathe to the chemicals we come into contact with every day.

A new article from our partners at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) highlights how advances in analytical chemistry, computational modeling, and biological testing are helping scientists better understand these complex exposure patterns. By integrating large-scale chemical detection with tools that assess potential biological effects, researchers can begin to identify which exposures may be most relevant to human health.

This type of work reflects a growing shift in environmental health research—from studying individual chemicals to understanding mixtures and real-world exposures—and supports efforts to improve risk assessment and public health decision-making.

Read more from PNNL:

Scientists equipped research subjects with wristbands to measure many factors that contribute to their exposome.

04/27/2026

𝗛𝗼𝘄 𝘀𝗵𝗼𝘂𝗹𝗱 𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗰𝗵𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝘀𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘂𝗹𝘁𝘀 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗽𝗲𝗼𝗽𝗹𝗲 𝘄𝗵𝗼 𝗽𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗶𝗰𝗶𝗽𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗶𝗿 𝘀𝘁𝘂𝗱𝗶𝗲𝘀?

A new publication from Francesca Germano, a trainee in the Community Engagement Core, takes a closer look at this question through a systematic review of 32 studies on reporting research results back to participants. The findings show that approaches using clear language, visual formats, and multiple ways of sharing information can improve understanding, support informed decision-making, and encourage actions that reduce exposure.

In addition to reviewing the literature, the authors curated a set of practical recommendations for researchers, highlighting strategies for designing report-back materials that are clear, useful, and appropriate for different audiences. At the same time, the study underscores the importance of context. Without it, results can be confusing or cause unnecessary concern—emphasizing the need for thoughtful, well-designed communication strategies.

This work was recently published and selected as an Editor’s Choice in Environmental Health and contributes to ongoing efforts to develop consistent, evidence-based approaches for communicating environmental health data.

A blog post by the author:
https://communities.springernature.com/posts/no-standard-path-how-research-results-are-reported-back-and-why-it-matters

Read the publication:
https://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s12940-026-01281-z

Learn more about the work of our Community Engagement Core:
https://superfund.oregonstate.edu/support-cores/community-engagement-core

Reporting back of research results (RBRR) is becoming a recognized component of ethical community-engaged and human subjects research. Scholars emphasize t