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EHSRC Pilot Grant Program - Funded Applications

1991 - Present

 

  1991      

Investigator(s):   
Robert B. Fick, Associate Professor, Department of Internal Medicine; Peter S. Thorne, Assistant Professor, Preventive Medicine and Environmental Health; David A. Schwartz, Assistant Professor, Department of Internal Medicine
Project Title:    
Neutrophil Activating Cytokines in the Lung Disease of Grain Handlers
Year Funded: 
 1991
Amount Received: 
        
 $10,000

Investigator(s):   
Burton Kross, Assistant Professor, Department of Preventive Medicine and Environmental Health; R. William Field, PhD Candidate, Department of Preventive Medicine and Environmental Health
Project Title:    
A Survey of Radon-222 in Private Well-Water Supplies in Iowa
Year Funded: 
1991
Amount Received: 
$10,000

Investigator(s):   
Jerald L. Schnoor, Professor, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering; Dahileepan R. Nair, PhD Candidate, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering
Project Title:    
Atrazine Metabolites in the Subsurface Environment:  Assessment of Potential Exposure
Year Funded: 
1991
Amount Received: 
$10,000

Investigator(s):   
Elaine Smith, Associate Professor, Preventive Medicine and Environmental Health; Laurence Fuortes, Faculty Associate; Preventive Medicine and Environmental Health; Craig Zwerling, Faculty Associate; Preventive Medicine and Environmental Health; William Popendorf, Professor, Preventive Medicine and Environmental Health
Project Title:    
The Association Between Farm Exposures and Female Reproductive Conditions
Year Funded: 
1991
Amount Received: 
$10,000
  
Investigator(s):   
Michael W. Peterson, Assistant Professor, Department of Internal Medicine
Project Title:    
Effect of Asbestos on Pulmonary Epithelial Cells
Year Funded: 
1991
Amount Received: 
$10,000

Investigator(s):   
Craig Zwerling, Faculty Associate, Department of Preventive Medicine and Environmental Health; Thomas Cook, Assistant Professor; Department of Preventive Medicine and Environmental Health; William F. Blair, Professor, Department of Physical Therapy
Project Title:    
Development of Self-Administered Questionnaires to Assess Psychosocial Factors Associated with Occupational Cumulative Trauma Disorders of the Upper Extremity
Year Funded: 
1991
Amount Received: 
$10,000

Investigator(s):   
Pope L. Moseley, Assistant Professor, Department of Internal Medicine
Project Title:    
Asbestos-Induced Cell Transformation
Year Funded: 
1991
Amount Received: 
$10,000

 

1992

Investigator(s):   
Stephen J. Reynolds, Assistant Professor, Department of Preventive Medicine and Environmental Health; Peter S. Thorne, Assistant Professor; Department of Preventive Medicine and Environmental Health; William Popendorf, Professor; Department of Preventive Medicine and Environmental Health; Mustafa Selim, Assistant Professor, Department of Preventive Medicine and Environmental Health
Project Title:    
Investigation of Vapor/Particulate Phase Distribution of Ammonia in Enclosed Livestock Buildings
Year Funded: 
1992
Amount Received: 
$10,000

Investigator(s):   
Bradley N. Doebbeling, Assistant Professor, Department of Internal Medicine
Project Title:    
Evaluation of Health Care Worker Compliance with Hepatitis B Vaccination Following OSHA’s Mandate
Year Funded: 
1992
Amount Received: 
$10,000

Investigator(s):   
Thomas B. Casale, Associate Professor, Department of Internal Medicine
Project Title:    
Cytokine-Induced Neutrophil and Eosinophil Migration in Environmentally-Induced Lung Disease
Year Funded: 
1992
Amount Received: 
$10,000

Investigator(s):   
Howard R. Knapp, Associate Professor, Department of Internal Medicine
Project Title:    
Fatty Acid Epoxides and Environmentally-Induced Lung Disorders
Year Funded: 
1992
Amount Received: 
$10,000

Investigator(s):   
Thomas J. Gross, Assistant Professor, Department of Internal Medicine; Michael W. Peterson, Associate Professor, Department of Internal Medicine
Project Title:    
Effects of Asbestos on Gene Expression in Human Pulmonary Epithelial Cells
Year Funded: 
1992
Amount Received: 
$10,000

Investigator(s):   
Stephen J. Reynolds, Assistant Professor, Department of Preventive Medicine and Environmental Health; Peter S. Thorne, Associate Professor; Department of Preventive Medicine and Environmental Health; Donald Milton, Assistant Professor, Harvard University
Project Title:    
Endotoxin Assays and Correlates in Agricultural Environments
Year Funded: 
1992
Amount Received: 
$10,000

Investigator(s):   
John I. Gotchall, Fellow Associate, Department of Internal Medicine; David A. Schwartz, Associate Professor, Department of Internal Medicine; Peter S. Thorne, Associate Professor; Department of Preventive Medicine and Environmental Health; Pope L. Moseley, Associate Professor, Department of Internal Medicine
Project Title:    
Heat Shock Protein Response to Inhaled Endotoxin
Year Funded: 
1992
Amount Received: 
$10,000

Investigator(s):   
Burton C. Kross, Associate Professor, Department of Preventive Medicine and Environmental Health; Timothy A. Breon, PhD Candidate, Department of Preventive Medicine and Environmental Health
Project Title:    
Pesticide Exposure Assessment Among Agricultural Workers - An Application Approach
Year Funded: 
1992
Amount Received: 
$10,000

Investigator(s):   
Jeffrey Kern, Associate Professor, Department of Internal Medicine
Project Title:    
Clinical Epidemiology of p185HER2 Expression in Stage I and II Lung Cancer
Year Funded: 
1992
Amount Received: 
$10,000

 

1993

Investigator(s):   
Stephen J. Reynolds, Assistant Professor, Department of Preventive Medicine and Environmental Health; Sean Maher, PhD Candidate, Department of Preventive Medicine and Environmental Health; Peter S. Thorne, Associate Professor, Department of Preventive Medicine and Environmental Health
Project Title:    
Particulate Exposures in Refuse Derived Fuel Plants
Year Funded: 
1993
Amount Received: 
$10,000

Investigator(s):   
Nancy A. Lynch, Faculty Associate, Department of Microbiology; David T. Gibson, Professor, Department of Microbiology
Project Title:    
Detection of Bacterial Degradation Activity by Enzyme Immunoassay
Year Funded: 
1993
Amount Received: 
$10,000

Investigator(s):   
Peter S. Thorne, Associate Professor, Preventive Medicine and Environmental Health; Shari Bleuer, Research Assistant; Preventive Medicine and Environmental Health; David A. Schwartz, Associate Professor, Internal Medicine
Project Title:    
Development of Physiologic Monitoring for a Two Strain Inhalation Toxicology Mouse Model
Year Funded: 
1993
Amount Received: 
$10,000

Investigator(s):   
Pedro J. Alvarez, Assistant Professor, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering; Bradley R. Helland, MS Candidate; Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering; Jerald L. Schnoor, Professor, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering
Project Title:    
The Role of Elemental Iron in Enhanced Reductive Dechlorination of Carbon Tetrachloride
Year Funded: 
1993
Amount Received: 
$10,000

Investigator(s):   
Richard L. Valentine, Associate Professor, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering; Christopher M. Miller, PhD Candidate, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering
Project Title:    
Toxicity Reduction of Pesticide Contaminated Soils Found at Fertilizer and Agrochemical Dealer Sites
Year Funded: 
1993
Amount Received: 
$10,000

 

1994

Investigator(s):   
Mark A. Young, Assistant Professor, Department of Chemistry
Project Title:    
Development of a Selective Sensor for Rural Environmental Contaminants Using Laser Photoionization Techniques
Year Funded: 
1994
Amount Received: 
$10,000
Grant Awards:   
National Science Foundation (NSF): Mark Young, PI, Acquisition of a Tunable Solid-State Laser System for Applications in Atmospheric Chemistry, Aerosol Analysis, Process Monitoring and Reaction Dynamics, $189,469, 9/1/2001 – 8/31/2004.

Investigator(s):   
Pedro J. Alvarez, Assistant Professor, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering; Craig S. Hunt, PhD Candidate, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering
Project Title:    
Enhanced Biodegradation of Trace Levels of Benzene
Year Funded: 
1994
Amount Received: 
$10,000
Publications:
  1. Lovanh N, Alvarez PJ.  Effect of ethanol, acetate, and phenol on toluene degradation activity and tod-lux expression in Pseudomonas putida TOD102: evaluation of the metabolic flux dilution model.  Biotechnol Bioeng. 86(7):801-8, 2004.
  2. Fang J, Lovanh N, Alvarez PJ. The use of isotopic and lipid analysis techniques linking toluene degradation to specific microorganisms: applications and limitations.  Water Res. 38(10):2529-36, 2004.
  3. Rentz JA, Alvarez PJ, Schnoor JL. Repression of Pseudomonas putida phenanthrene-degrading activity by plant root extracts and exudates.  Environ Microbiol. 6(6):574-83, 2004.
  4. Kamath R, Schnoor JL, Alvarez PJ.  Effect of root-derived substrates on the expression of nah-lux genes in Pseudomonas fluorescens HK44: implications for PAH biodegradation in the rhizosphere.  Environ Sci Technol. 15;38(6):1740-5, 2004.
  5. Ruiz-Aguilar GM, Fernandez-Sanchez JM, Kane SR, Kim D, Alvarez PJ.  Effect of ethanol and methyl-tert-butyl ether on monoaromatic hydrocarbon biodegradation: response variability for different aquifer materials under various electron-accepting conditions. Environ Toxicol Chem. 21(12):2631-9, 2002.
  6. Lovanh N, Hunt CS, Alvarez PJ.  Effect of ethanol on BTEX biodegradation kinetics: aerobic continuous culture experiments.  Water Res. 36(15):3739-46, 2002.
  7. Beller HR, Kane SR, Legler TC, Alvarez PJ.        A real-time polymerase chain reaction method for monitoring anaerobic, hydrocarbon-degrading bacteria based on a catabolic gene.  Environ Sci Technol. 15;36(18):3977-84, 2002.
  8. Fernandez-Sanchez JM, Rodriguez-Vazquez R, Ruiz-Aguilar G, Alvarez PJ.  PCB biodegradation in aged contaminated soil: interactions between exogenous Phanerochaete chrysosporium and indigenous microorganisms.  J Environ Sci Health Part A Tox Hazard Subst Environ Eng. 36(7):1145-62, 2001.
  9. Powers SE, Rice D, Dooher B, Alvarez PJ. Will ethanol-blended gasoline affect groundwater quality? Environ Sci Technol. 1;35(1):24A, 26A-30A, 2001.
  10. Gulensoy N, Alvarez PJ.  Diversity and correlation of specific aromatic hydrocarbon biodegradation capabilities.  Biodegradation. 10(5):331-40, 1999.
Grant Awards:
  1. Research Training Grant: Gene Expression in Bioremediation, National Science Foundation (NSF), $1,600,000, 9/1/96-8/31/01
  2. Biostimulation of BTX degradation with environmentally benign aromatic substrates, United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA/OER), $246,342, 10/1/95-9/30/98
  3. Enhancement of bioremediation: Career Award , National Science Foundation (NSF), $285,000, 6/1/95-5/31/99
  4. The role of elemental iron in biotransformations of halogenated xenobiotics , United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA/HSRC), $270,000, 5/1/95-4/30/98

Investigator(s):   
Thomas J. Gross, Assistant Professor, Department of Internal Medicine; Michael W. Peterson, Associate Professor, Department of Internal Medicine
Project Title:    
Fibrin Degradation Products Recruit Neutrophils to Asbestos-Exposed Airways
Year Funded: 
1994
Amount Received: 
$10,000

Investigator(s):   
 Vicki H. Grassian, Assistant Professor, Department of Chemistry
Project Title:    
Thermal and Photochemical Catalytic Destruction of Hazardous Wastes on High Surface Area Oxides
Year Funded: 
1994
Amount Received: 
$10,000
Grant Awards:
  1. National Science Foundation (NSF): V. Grassian, PI. Thermal and Photo-Assisted Reactions on Metal Oxide Particles, $275,000.  11/1/1996 – 10/31/2000.
  2. United States Department of Energy (DOE):Co-Investigator, The Role of Heterogeneous Chemistry in the Photochemical Oxidant Cycle: A Combined Laboratory and Modeling Study, Greg Carmichael, PI, $1,113,864.  3/15/1998 – 3/14/2005.
  3. National Science Foundation (NSF):Principal Investigator, Chemical Reactions of Environmental and Atmospheric Relevance on the Surface of Oxide Particles, $627,500.  7/1/2000 – 6/30/2004.

Investigator(s):    George R. Hallberg, Professor, University Hygienic Laboratory; Lee A. Friell, University Hygienic Lab Manager; Michael D. Wichman, UHL Chemist
Project Title:     The Occurrence of Metals in Iowa Soils: A Baseline for Exposure Assessment
Year Funded:  1994
Amount Received:  $10,000

Investigator(s):    Nancy A. Lynch, Faculty Associate, Department of Preventive Medicine and Environmental Health; Lacy Daniels, Professor, Department of Microbiology
Project Title:     Routes of Transmission of Helicobacter pylori
Year Funded:  1994
Amount Received:  $10,000

Investigator(s):    Thomas B. Casale, Professor, Department of Internal Medicine; Hal B. Richerson, Professor; Department of Internal Medicine; Eric A. Hoffman, Associate Professor; Department of Internal Medicine; Jeffrey R. Galvin, Assistant Professor, Department of Internal Medicine
Project Title:     Assessment of Dynamic Airway Responses in Asthma Using Ultrafast High Resolution CT
Year Funded:  1994
Amount Received:  $10,000
Grant Awards:
  1. R01HL060158-01A2.  E. Hoffman, PI.  Inflammatory Parenchymal Lung Disease Structure/Function, 1999.
  2. R01HL064368-05.  E. Hoffman, PI.  Image and Model Based Analysis of Lung Disease, 1999.

 

1995

Investigator(s):    Annmarie Eldering, Assistant Professor, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering
Project Title:     Demonstration of an Acid Aerosol/Gas Sampler
Year Funded:  1995
Amount Received:  $15,000
Publications:
  1. Eldering A, Glasgow R.  Short term particulate matter mass and aerosol size distribution measurements:  Transient pollution episodes and bimodal aerosol mass distributions.  Atmospheric Environment 1998; 32:2017-2024.
  2. Carolyn Grieves. A study of Denuders for Ambient Ammonia Measurements.  M .S. Thesis, 1995.
  3. Mary Hauner. Coatings for Ammonia Measurements with Denuders.  M. S. Thesis., 1996.
  4. Ronna Glasgow. Atmospheric Aerosols in Pocatello, Idaho.  M. S. Thesis, 1997.
Grant Awards: Atmospheric Aerosols in Polluted, Nonurban, Nonagricultural Settings.  Research  Planning Grant. National Science Foundation.  $18,000.

Investigator(s):    Peter S. Thorne, Associate Professor, Department of Preventive Medicine and Environmental Health; Jeffrey Lange, Ph.D. Candidate, Department of Preventive Medicine and Environmental Health; Peri Subramanian, Research Scientist, Department of Preventive Medicine and Environmental Health
Project Title:     Development of Bioaerosol Sampling Methods Using Molecular Biology and Biochemistry Techniques
Year Funded:  1995
Amount Received:  $15,000
Publications:
  1. Lange JL, Thorne PS, Lynch N.  Application of flow cytometry and fluorescent in situ hybridization for assessment of exposures to airborne bacteria.  Appl Environ Microbiol 1997; 63(4):1557-1563.
  2. Lange JL, Thorne PS,  Kullman GJ.  Determinants of viable bioaerosol Concentrations in dairy barns.  Ann Agric Environ Med 1997; 4:187-194.
  3. Kullman GJ, Thorne PS, Waldron PF, Marx JJ, Ault B, Lewis DM, Siegel PD, Olenchock SA, Merchant JA.  Organic dust exposures from work in dairy barns.  Am Ind Hyg Ass J 1998; 59:403-413.
  4. Jeffrey L. Lange.  Bioaerosols:  molecular techniques for assessment and determinants of exposure in agriculture.  Ph.D. Thesis, 1997.
Grant Awards:
  1. Quantification of Airborne Bacteria by Direct Most Probable Number – Polymerase Chain Reaction Center for Health Effects of Environmental Contamination.  $20,000.
  2. Toxicology Core. CDC/NIOSH:  Great Plains Center for Agricultural Health  CDC U07 CCU  706145  $443,932.

 

Investigator(s):    Virend K. Somers, Assistant Professor, Department of Internal Medicine
Project Title:     Cardiovascular Reflexes Associated with Exposure to Environmental Tobacco Smoke
Year Funded:  1995
Amount Received:  $15,000
Publications:
  1. Hausburg M, Mark AL, Winniford MD, Brown RE, Somers VK. Sympathetic and vascular effects of short term passive smoke exposure in healthy non-smokers.  Circulation 1997; 96:282-287.
  2. Hausberg M, Somers VK.  Neural and Circulatory Responses to Carbon Monoxide. Hypertension 1997; 29:1114-1118.
  3. Narkiewicz K, van de Borne P, Hausburg M, Cooley R,  Winniford MD, Davison DE , Somers VK.  Cigarette Smoking Increases Sympathetic Outflow in Humans.  Circulation 1998; 98:528-534.
Grant Awards:
  1. Mechanisms mediating cardiovascular responses to smoking.  NIH RO1 HL 61560:  $ 920,000.
  2. Effects of smoking and alcohol on sympathetic activity.  NIH  SERCA RO3 TWO1148:   $96,000.

Investigator(s):    Charles T. Lutz, Associate Professor, Department of Pathology; Garvin F. Browne, Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Department of Pathology
Project Title:     Mechanisms of Thymic Involution Caused by 2,3,7,8-Tetrachlorodibenzo-p-Dioxin and Related Hydrocarbons: Specific Thymus Cell Subsets and Apoptosis
Year Funded:  1995
Amount Received:  $15,000
Publications: Lutz CT, Browne GA, Petzold CR.  Methylcholanthrene causes increased thymic apoptosis.  Toxicology 1998; 128:151-168.
Grant Awards: Novel molecular markers in cervical precancerous lesions.  European Union Fifth Framework Multi-centre  Programme Pan European. $40,000.

Investigator(s):    Victor G.J. Rodgers, Assistant Professor, Department of Chemical and Biochemical Engineering; Richard L. Valentine, Associate Professor, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering
Project Title:     The Role of Humic Material in the Removal of Pesticides Using Membrane Technology
Year Funded:  1995
Amount Received:  $15,000
Publications: Jones WF, Valentine RL, Rodgers VGJ.  Removal of suspended clay from water using transmembrane pressure pulsed microfiltration.  J Membrane Science 1999; 157:199-210.

  Environmental Health Sciences Research Center, The University of Iowa, 100 Oakdale Campus, #178 IREH, Iowa City, IA 52242

Tel: (319) 335-4756 / Fax: (319) 335-4225 / E-mail: nancy-newkirk@uiowa.edu