CLEAR was well-represented at the 2023 National Brownfields Training Conference in Detroit, MI, from August 8-11, 2023, where they hosted an exhibit featuring a new Storymap highlighting work with partners assessing the hazardous train derailment at East Palestine, Ohio. Three trainees presented posters and Dr. Carol Miller (CLEAR Co-Director) presented recent research results at the conference. 

Dr. Carol Miller was interviewed by WWJ Newsradio 950 for its "Warriors in the Community" segment in September 2023. Later, in December, she delivered a talk, "Loading of PFAS Compounds in Combined Sewerage to a Water Resource Recovery Facility," co-authored by Dr. Tracie Baker (Zebrafish Model), at the Michigan EGLE Great Lakes PFAS Summit.

CLEAR hosts school students and community workshop at 2023 Great Lakes Bioneers Detroit

CLEAR hosted 68 students from Detroit area schools for the 18th annual Great Lakes Bioneers Detroit conference on October 12, 2023, guided by Dr. Judy Westrick (Chemical Analysis Core Co-Lead) and trainees Dr. Brendan O'Leary, Colleen Linn and Halima Salah. The following day, Dr. Lyke T. Thompson (Community Engagement Core Lead), Dr. Jennifer Straughen (Human Population Study) and Dr. Rahul Mitra (Research Translation Lead) joined the trainees to facilitate a community workshop on VOCs and environmental justice. 

CLEAR trainees at Michigan Society of Toxicology meeting

Several CLEAR trainees presented research at the Michigan Society of Toxicology meeting in October 2023, and Sydney Scofield won second place for her talk, "Environmental Exposure to Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) Predisposes Male Mice to Metabolic Disease."

CLEAR researchers presented their work at the 7th annual Sustainable Detroit Forum, organized by the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) Detroit Region, on November 6, 2023. The CLEAR team comprised of Dr. Lyke Thompson, Dr. Rahul Mitra, Dr. Carol Miller, and Dr. Brendan O'Leary.

Dr. Judy Westrick was part of a two-day virtual public workshop on "Public Health Research and Surveillance Priorities from the East Palestine Train Derailment," organized by The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine on November 6-7, 2023.

CLEAR trainee Sarah Black and Dr. Glen Hood (Field Study) recently presented research about using plants and insects to detect VOCs in Detroit at the Entomological Society of America’s Annual Meeting in Washington, D.C., along with other team members.

CLEAR's Michael Petriello, Ph.D. (Placental Mammal Model and Training Core Co-Lead) was featured by the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) in its "Stories of Success" series, for November 2023. In October, he was a featured speaker at the Ohio Valley Society of Toxicology meeting at Purdue University.

Trainee Allison Lucas presents at National Communication Association conference

CLEAR trainee Allison Lucas and Dr. Rahul Mitra presented a paper at the annual conference of the National Communication Association in November 2023, on how the US National Climate Assessment frames risks posed by climate change and adaptation-mitigation responses.

Dr. Tracie Baker chats with 1st grade students about water pollutants

Dr. Tracie Baker and CLEAR trainee Mackenzie Connell talked with first grade students at G.W. Carver Elementary School in Coral Gables FL about all things water in November, 2023 as part of the Scientist in Every Florida School (SEFS) program. Later that month, Dr. Baker delivered a research talk at Clemson University.

Dr. Glen Hood was featured in the Entomological Society of America's Entomology Today for his work detecting VOCs and other environmental pollutants in insect galls on plants. In December 2023, he gave a talk on "The Ecology and Evolutionary Biology of Gall-forming Insects" at the University of New Mexico.

Staffers from the Michigan Congressional delegation visited CLEAR in August 2023, where they received an overview of our work from Dr. Carol Miller, a discussion of legislative opportunities and goals from Dr. Lance Gable (Research Translation), and a tour of laboratories at the Integrated Biological Sciences (IBio) building with assistance from Dr. Marianna Sadagurski (Placental Mammal Model) and Dr. Chris Kassotis.

The Data Management and Analytics Core (DMAC) hosted a workshop on August 23, 2023 to show participants how to develop an efficient data management plan. The workshop was organized and chaired by F. Gianluca Sperone, assistant professor (teaching) in the Environmental Science and Geology Department at Wayne State University and one of the DMAC Co-I's, where he is responsible for Geospatial Visualization and Analysis.

The Research Translation team hosted a science communication workshop for CLEAR researchers and trainees on November 27, 2023, "From Science to Policy," which was facilitated by former Michigan State Senator and current Wayne State teaching professor in Urban Studies and Planning, Adam Hollier. The webinar of his workshop is available here.

The Community Engagement Core (CEC) has been busy this past semester disseminating information about volatile organic compounds to Detroit neighborhoods. Since June 2023, CEC leads Dr. Lyke Thompson and Abbi Coffield have given three presentations to neighborhood residents and local non-profit organizations about the harms VOCs pose.

CLEAR hosted several research seminars over the past year, many in collaboration with the Center for Urban Responses to Environmental Stressors (CURES) at Wayne State University. You can watch the seminar recordings at our YouTube channel HERE.

The International Society for Immunology of Reproduction (ISIR) conferred Dr. Gil Mor (Placental Mammal Model) its Mentor Award, in recognition for his long-term commitment to educate and train new generations of investigators. The award was presented during its international meeting in Hamburg, Germany.

Trainee Mackenzie Connell receives Professional Development Award

CLEAR tranee Mackenzie Connell was selected by the Health and Environmental Sciences Institute (HESI) Developmental and Reproductive Toxicology (DART) Technical Committee for a Professional Development Award. 

Dr. Michael Petriello is Co-Investigator with the Placental Mammal Model team and Co-Lead of the Research Experience and Training Coordination Core at CLEAR. Get to know him by reading the full interview HERE.

"My lab primarily studies how environmental pollutants and nutrition interact to influence health. I have focused primarily on metabolic disorders such as diabetes, obesity, and cardiovascular disease, but my involvement with CLEAR has gotten me extremely interested in early life outcomes such as preterm birth.  I earned a Ph.D. in Toxicology at University of Kentucky and was fortunate to work with the long-standing Superfund Research Center for many years where I learned the importance of interdisciplinary collaborations. One of these collaborations led me to investigate the importance of the gut microbiome in pollutant-induced disease which ultimately led me to receiving a NIEHS Pathway to Independence Award (K99/R00) which helped me secure a faculty position at Wayne State. Personally, I am a diehard sports fan and enjoy visiting all the great breweries Michigan has to offer. My two young children, wife, and I also enjoy the outdoors and can't wait to try Michigan skiing this winter and the lakes this summer." 

Mackenzie Connell is a CLEAR trainee working with Dr. Tracie Baker (Zebrafish Model) at her WATERLab. Get to know her by reading the full interview HERE.

"I first got into biomedical research as an undergraduate student at Wayne State University. I had the opportunity to conduct an undergraduate research experience in the WATER lab under the mentorship of Dr. Tracie Baker during that time. Once I began my public health coursework, I was enthralled by the interconnectedness of environmental health research, toxicology, and maternal child health epidemiology. Once I realized that those research interests intersect in the field of public health, I decided to pursue a Masters degree in public health at Wayne State in the School of Medicine. During that time, I coordinated a maternal child health epidemiology study at Henry Ford Health and met many of the great folks that would later become part of CLEAR. I decided to pursue a Ph.D. in public health at the University of Florida in 2022 – back in Dr. Baker’s research lab! I also became a CLEAR Superfund trainee in 2022 and have enjoyed every second of it so far. In my spare time, you can find me paddleboarding or sailing on the ocean or Great Lakes."

Connell ML, Wu C-C, Blount JR, Haimbaugh A, Kintzele EK, Banerjee D, Baker BB, Baker TR. Adult-Onset Transcriptomic Effects of Developmental Exposure to Benzene in Zebrafish (Danio rerio): Evaluating a Volatile Organic Compound of Concern. International Journal of Molecular Sciences. 2023; 24(22):16212. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms242216212

Alvero AB, Fox A, Madina BR, Krady MM, Gogoi R, Chehade H, Nakaar V, Almassian B, Yarovinsky TO, Rutherford T, Mor G; Immune Modulation of Innate and Adaptive Responses Restores Immune Surveillance and Establishes Antitumor Immunologic Memory. Cancer Immunol Res 2023; https://doi.org/10.1158/2326-6066.CIR-23-0127

Singh A, Rappolee DA, Ruden DM. Epigenetic Reprogramming in Mice and Humans: From Fertilization to Primordial Germ Cell Development. Cells. 2023;12(14):1874. Published 2023 Jul 17. doi:10.3390/cells12141874

Rutkoski R, Debarba LK, Stilgenbauer L, Rosenthal T, Sadagurski M, Nagorny P. Selective (α)-l-Rhamnosylation and Neuroprotective Activity Exploration of Cardiotonic Steroids. ACS Medicinal Chemistry Letters (Online advance publication) DOI: 10.1021/acsmedchemlett.3c00517

Looking forward to 2024...

CLEAR will host its second annual thematic symposium on May 16-17, 2024, on the theme of "Collaboration." The symposium will be hybrid, alllowing both in-person and remote attendees. 

The Research Translation team will host a science communication workshop, on environmental health law and policy in April, 2024.

The Research Experience and Training Coordination Core will facilitate a professional development seminar for CLEAR trainees focused on applying for academic jobs.