CHE Calls

On this call, Deborah Kurrasch, PhD, highlighted key research into its effects on human health, especially some of our recent findings on the role of BPA in brain development. Dr. Kurrasch also discussed recent research about the proposed substitutions to BPA, including bisphenol S.

One this call, Dr. Linda Birnbaum shared her insights from the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences meeting, "25 Years of Endocrine Disruption Research: Past Lessons and Future Directions", which reflected the history of endocrine disruption research, the current state of the science, and future directions for the field.

Presenters Ansje Miller, Mark Mitchell and Eve Gartner discussed the strengths and limitations of the new bill, as well as what we can do as citizens to ensure that the law is implemented in the best way possible in order to protect public health.

On this call Dr. Keith Block, founder and nedical-scientific director of the Block Center for Integrative Cancer Treatment, discussed an overview of the Halifax project. Then the co-founder and president of Getting to Know Cancer, Dr. Leroy Lowe, discussed designing a broad-spectrum integrative approach for therapeutics and cancer prevention.

On this call, Nsedu Obot Witherspoon discussed national initiatives as well as the role of the Children's Environmental Health Network which works to promote the development of sound public health and child-focused national policy, stimulate prevention-oriented research, educate health professionals, policy makers and community members in preventive strategies, and elevate public awareness of environmental hazards to children.

This call explored the nature of bones as dynamic organs, how they are built and repaired, how bone-disrupting chemicals are challenging our ability to continue building healthy bone, and how nutrition can play both positive and negative roles in bone health.

On this call the authors of a new paper titled, "Pathway Network Analyses for Autism Reveal Multisystem Involvement, Major Overlaps with Other Diseases and Convergence upon MAPK and Calcium Signaling" discussed their novel findings using a methodology to focus on functional pathways.

On this call we had a discussion with Project TENDR co-chairs Maureen Swanson, Director, Healthy Children Project, Learning Disabilities Association of America and Dr. Irva Hertz-Picciotto, Professor and Vice Chair for Research, Department of Public Health Sciences, School of Medicine, UC Davis MIND Institute.

On this call, we focused on the role of science in the new regulatory standard for assessing chemical safety, certain aspects of the implementation process, and the implications of the law, particularly for vulnerable communities.

On this call, two leading researchers discussed the TENDR consensus statement.

A report released earlier this year evaluates the possible cumulative health effects of three common pesticides used in the State of California. On this call, speakers discussed the development of this report, its recommendations, and the implications it has for policy.

This month the European Commission announced a set of decisions on how to identify endocrine disrupting chemicals for regulatory purposes. A team of 7 independent researchers from research institutions and universities in the EU and the United States have published a commentary that contributes to the science public policy dialogue. On this call, Dr. Remy Slama, an author of this commentary, discussed new research and recommendations on the criteria to identify endocrine disruptors for European legislation.

On this call, speakers discussed recent Mercury Convention negotiations and the importance of this treaty to the health and human rights of Indigenous communities.

On this call, three leading researchers discussed the most recent studies on acetaminophen’s potential impacts on human health. Using acetaminophen as a case study, they also explored how multifactorial mechanisms can create vulnerabilities to disease as well as what this new research might suggest about a broader spectrum of environmental contributors to different health endpoints.

Learn more about the human microbiome, how environmental exposures influence its health, and how its health might impact a range of diseases and disorders.

On this call, Dr. Cheryl Watson discussed the cellular mechanisms through which xenoestrogen pollutants (estrogen-like chemicals) act to disrupt normal estrogen signaling in the body.

On this call Dr. Shannon Elizabeth Bell discussed the health effects of coal development and how local involvement affects the success or failure of environmental justice efforts. Carly Wier, Coal Campaign director at Cook Inletkeeper gave an update on coal projects in Alaska and threats to the health of fish, wildlife, and people.

On this call international speakers discussed the state of the current research on glyphosate and human health impacts, considerations for revised risk assessment protocols and policy implications in the EU and other countries.

On this call, Dr. Ted Schettler discussed The Ecology of Breast Cancer: Opportunities for Prevention.

On this call, Dr. Skakkebaek presented his concerns about increasing trends in male reproductive disorders, including the significant global increase in incidence of germ cell tumors.

Dr. Alissa Cordner, PhD, discussed her new book, Toxic Safety: Flame Retardants, Chemical Controversies, and Environmental Health.

Elise Miller, MEd, CHE’s director, talked with Dr. Collins about how he came to the field of green chemistry, his work over the past decades, what he saw as pivotal moments in the evolution of the field, and his views on green chemistry's particular role in protecting the public from exposures to toxic chemicals in the future.

On this call, Dr. Calderon from the University of Montana and Dr. Ritz from the UCLA School of Public Health discussed their intriguing research on the mechanisms by which exposures to toxicants might contribute to the onset of Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s respectively.

On this call, Dr. Kim Harley from the Maternal and Child Health Program at UC Berkeley's School of Public Health and Associate Director of the Center for Environmental Research and Children's Health (CERCH) discussed the HERMOSA Study, how teenage girls are exposed to endocrine disruptors in make-up and personal care products, and whether or not they can lower their exposure by using lower chemical products.

Exposures to toxins during fetal and early childhood development are risk factors for learning and behavioral problems in children.

This call discussed how toxic chemicals in everyday products pollute our indoor environments and end up in our bodies.

This call featured two of the remarkable people who helped bring the dire situation in Flint to national attention: Dr. Mona Hanna-Attisha, a pediatrician in Michigan, and Dr. Marc Edwards, a nationally renowned expert on municipal water quality and an engineering professor at Virginia Tech. In addition Dr. Bruce Lanphear, a professor at Simon Fraser University and expert on the health impacts of lead exposure on children, provided an overview of the science on lead and why it continues to be a major public health threat. Finally, Tracy Swinburn, MSc, spoke to the economic impacts of lead exposure.

On this call, Dr. Joel Moskowitz, Director of the Center for Family and Community Health at UC Berkeley School of Public Health, discussed new research related to wireless technology, public health and the implications for policy.

On this call Drs. Leslie Rubin and Dario Longhi discussed the impact of health disparities on children. Dr. Rubin discussed some of the research findings of the Break the Cycle Project, and Dr. Longhi then discussed his work with the Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACE) Study.

Madeleine Scammell DSc, Assistant Professor of Environmental Health at BUSPH, discussed the considerations that might influence a community decision about whether or not to do a health study, and the types of studies to choose from. Sylvia Broude, Executive Director of the Toxics Action Center, a BU SRP community engagement partner who has used the Guide with communities in efforts to organize and educate activists about environmental health issues, also presented. Stephen Lester, MS, Science Director at the Center for Health, Environment and Justice, provided comments following the presentations.

In his new book Chemicals without Harm: Policies for a Sustainable World, professor emeritus and author Ken Geiser proposes a chemicals strategy based on developing and adopting safer alternatives to hazardous chemicals rather than focusing exclusively on controlling them.

On this call, Ted Schettler, MD, MPH, Science Director for both CHE and the Science and Environmental Health Network, and Michael Lerner, PhD, President of Commonweal, explored the implications of the ecological framework of health as it relates to several diseases that are common in our families and communities today.

Dr. Heather Patisaul discussed the capacity of endocrine disrupting chemicals to affect the formation of brain sex differences during gestation, when these differences are being organized.

Silent Spring Institute and their collaborators are designing high throughput toxicity screens using breast cells. Speakers discussed high-throughput toxicity screens on this call.

Concerns over increases in the level of cancers, reproductive problems, and thyroid disease on St. Lawrence Island prompted the Yupik communities of Gambell and Savoonga to engage in research to better understand sources of environmental contaminants that may be linked to health disparities on the island. Since 2000, a number of community-based participatory research (CBPR) exposure-assessment projects have been conducted at the request of communities.

On this call speakers discussed the wealth of new evidence from the second Lancet Commission on Climate Change and health, new WHO resources, and the public health community interest in highlighting the prevention opportunities arising from transitioning to a low carbon economy and tackling climate change.

FIGO, the world’s leading organization of reproductive health specialists, along with UCSF’s Program on Reproductive Health and the Environment, are urging medical professionals to demand stronger government regulation of toxic environmental chemicals in this new opinion. On this call leaders in the environmental health field who contributed to the opinion discussed the science which led to their recommendations, why they chose the four recommendations as priorities, and how the opinion’s recommendations can be incorporated into health care systems.

According to the Executive Summary, "The past 5 years represent a leap forward in our understanding of EDC actions on endocrine health and disease." On this call, the lead author, Professor Andrea Gore, described this landmark statement.

The speakers on this call discussed the health effects of TCE and PCE, particularly their renal toxicological and neurobehavioral effects, within the context of the recently released Institute of Medicine’s Review of VA Clinical Guidance for the Health Conditions Identified by the Camp Lejeune Legislation.

The CHE Cancer Working Group is undertaking a series of teleconferences to explore these theories because of their direct bearing on how environmental contributors to carcinogenesis are perceived and evaluated. On this call, Drs. Richard Clapp and Edward Loechler discuss mutations and cancer.

The Environmental Health Tracking Programs of California, Minnesota, and New Hampshire, among others, have published state reports on the health and economic burden of selected health conditions among children. On this call representatives from several states discussed the findings of the reports in their specific regions.

Elise Miller, MEd, CHE's director, talked with Dr. Landrigan about how he came to the field of children's environmental health, his work over the past decades, what he sees as pivotal moments in the evolution of the children's environmental health movement, and priority actions and opportunities to reduce children's exposures to toxic chemicals in the future.

This fall, researchers from the University of Missouri will publish a new text entitled "The Epigenome and Developmental Origins of Health and Disease." On this call authors presented a preview of the text and discussed its applications for education, clinical care, and directions for future research.

Drs. Pete Myers, Shanna Swann, Fred vom Saal, and Ana Soto, colleagues of Dr. Guillette and co-leaders in scientific inquiry, joined the call to describe the importance of his work and the impact his research continues to have on to decision-makers, researchers, and those concerned about the health of future generations.

The CHE-Alaska Working Group provided an update on herbicide spraying issues in Alaska. This call discussed how the EPA approves herbicides for use and why the process fails to protect public health, plus the latest science on widely used herbicides such as glyphosate and 2,4-D and efforts in Alaska to establish buffer zones and restore public participation.

On this first call in a series, speakers addressed a study released in Carcinogensis by a task force of 174 scientists from 28 countries which has concluded that low-dose exposures to mixtures of chemicals in the environment may have the potential to contribute to cancers and go undetected.

On this call CHE Director, Elise Miller, EdM, spoke with Mr. Fuller and Dr. Landrigan about the plans for the new Commission, including the role toxic chemicals play in environmental pollution, the relationship between human disease and environmental pollution.

On this call CHE will talked with Dr. Glantz about his work, the current state of tobacco environmental health science, and the future of tobacco control strategies and use prevention.

On this call Dr. James Cowles of the EPA’s Environmental Fate and Effects Division presented information on the current status of screening, including the anticipated release of preliminary results. Dr. David Dix of the EPA’s Office of Science Coordination and Policy Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention explored future directions in screening for endocrine disruption.

On this call three experts joined CHE to discuss their research on gestational diabetes and environmental chemicals. Their research includes studies of both humans and animals, and a variety of different chemicals, from BPA to air pollution.