Superfund at Duke

Congratulations to MEM Students Beatrix Liu and Scout Yokley!

Nicholas School of the Environment at Duke Master's students Liu and Yokley successfully completed the oral presentation for their Master’s Project entitled Identifying and Communicating Health Risks from Subsistence Fish Consumption along the Lower Cape Fear River.

In partnership with the Superfund at Duke Community Engagement Core (CEC) and the CEC-facilitated Subsistence Fish Consumption Working Group (Cape Fear River Watch, NC Coastal Federation, and the Center for Human Health and the Environment at NCSU), the students provided recommendations on how to revise and strengthen the “Stop, Check, Enjoy!” social marketing campaign and provide better communication to the community about PFAS in fish.

Celebrating our Trainees!

Duke Superfund Trainee Dr. Javier Huayta (Meyer Lab) was awarded three honors at the Society of Toxicology 2026 Annual Meeting in San Diego, CA:

Gabriel L. Plaa Education Award;

Sheldon D. Murphy Postdoctoral Endowment Award; and

Hispanic Organization of Toxicologists Postdoctoral Travel Award.

Trainee Dr. Emily Green (Jayasundara Lab) successfully defended her dissertation entitled Host–Microbiome Interactions as Modulators of Embryogenesis and Developmental Toxicity in Teleost Fish: Implications for Evolved Chemical Resistance on Feb 12, 2026 . Committee members included DUSRC faculty Dr. Nishad Jayasundara, Dr. Richard Di Giulio, Dr. Joel Meyer, and Dr. Claudia Gunsch. Dr. Green was also awarded the 2026 Forever Duke Student Leadership Award through Duke Alumni Engagement and Development. The award celebrates students who are serving the Durham and Duke community.

🎣 Last weekend, we had 219 attendees and amost 30 volunteers at our 4th Annual Yacunne (fish) Camp. Over half of the funding was put back into the tribal community and 70 families from our tribal communities attended the event.

🧮 Checkout our graphic! Numbers and Data are important. So awesome that Togetherness was the top experience of everyone who attended.

Waccamaw Siouan Tribe
Waccamaw Siouan STEM Studio
John ManiQ Media / Videography & Photography
North Carolina AISES Professional Chapter(NC AISES)
National Park Foundation
Moores Creek National Battlefield
Superfund at Duke
North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission

Join us tomorrow, March 7, for the next seminar in our main spring series!

Taylor Hoxie, PhD candidate, Duke University, will present “Assessing Exposure to Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances in the Indoor and Ambient Environment Utilizing Silicone Wristbands” on Thursday, March 7, 12:00-1:15 pm Eastern. Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) are a large class of compounds that have been produced since the 1940s. They are commonly used for their water, grease, and stain-repellent properties and as such have widespread use. Due to their use patterns and persistence, human exposure to PFASs is ubiquitous. Research on exposure to PFASs has mostly focused on exposure via contaminated drinking water and food. However, PFASs exposure is not limited to dietary sources. Consumer products and building materials can also serve as sources of PFASs in the indoor and ambient environment. In addition, some occupational exposures, such as firefighting, are thought to lead to elevated exposure to PFASs. First, we will show how silicone wristbands have been successfully implemented as personal passive samplers to evaluate ambient exposure to volatile and non-volatile PFASs. Second, we will investigate PFASs levels in paired samples of indoor air, dust, wristbands, and blood from a midwestern community to determine if wristbands can predict blood levels better than measures of air or dust. Lastly, we will use silicone wristbands to explore PFASs exposure in a NC Firefighter cohort and assess potential exposure associated with the use of firefighter turnout gear and fire calls. Overall, this research demonstrates that silicone wristbands can provide PFASs exposure measurements on an individual level which can aid in the evaluation of ambient PFASs exposure sources and behaviors that influence exposure.

Thursday, March 7, 2024
12:00-1:15 pm Eastern
Field Auditorium, Grainger Hall
Visit the seminar page to learn more & to get a link to the livestream!
https://sites.nicholas.duke.edu/envhealth/seminars-symposia/spring-2024-seminar-series/march-7-2024-assessing-exposure-to-per-and-polyfluoroalkyl-substances-in-the-indoor-and-ambient-environment-utilizing-silicone-wristbands/

Tomorrow at noon! Dr. Liping Feng of Duke University School of Medicine discusses her research on neurobehavioral effects of PFAS exposure from drinking water before and shortly after birth.

Learn something new this leap day!

https://sites.nicholas.duke.edu/envhealth/seminars-symposia/spring-2024-seminar-series/february-29-2024-neurobehavioral-effects-of-prenatal-and-perinatal-per-and-polyfluoroalkyl-substances-pfas-exposure-through-drinking-water/

Tomorrow at noon! Dr. Time Shafer of U.S. EPA Research discusses the state of developmental neurotoxicity research, how it impacts regulation of pesticides and PFAS, and the potential for alternative approaches for the field. https://sites.nicholas.duke.edu/envhealth/seminars-symposia/spring-2024-seminar-series/february-22-2024-new-approach-methodology-for-developmental-neurotoxicity-past-present-and-future/

Tomorrow at noon! Dr. Chris Gennings of Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai will discuss her work to include human relevant exposures in attempting to asses the risk of chemical mixtures.

https://sites.nicholas.duke.edu/envhealth/seminars-symposia/spring-2024-seminar-series/february-15-2024-using-metrics-of-human-relevant-exposures-in-risk-assessment-considerations/

Tomorrow at noon! Dr. Joshua Harrill of U.S. EPA Research will discuss the use of two assays for human-derived in vitro models as a first tier in chemical hazard evaluation. Tune in online or in-person! https://sites.nicholas.duke.edu/envhealth/february-8-2024-applications-for-in-vitro-high-throughput-profiling-assays-in-next-generation-chemical-risk-assessment/

Tomorrow at noon! The first ITEHP seminar of the semester features Dr. Yan Lin of Duke Global Health Institute - DGHI discusses his research on how polyunsaturated fatty acid metabolism affects cardiopulmonary effects of air pollution. https://sites.nicholas.duke.edu/envhealth/seminars-symposia/spring-2024-seminar-series/january-18-2024-polyunsaturated-fatty-acid-derived-lipid-mediators-a-link-between-air-pollution-and-cardiopulmonary-disease-development/