Dr. Ian Blair, Professor of Pharmacology, has been appointed the Director of the Centre and CEET Director Dr. Trevor Penning, Professor of Pharmacology, has been Deputy Director of the Center.

Additional investigators on the grant are researchers from the Abramson Cancer Center, the Penn School of Arts and Sciences, and Fox Chase Cancer Center.

According to a press release CEET's community outreach and engagement core participated in bi-directional communication with the Ambler community for the past five years, but this award is powered the first NIEHS Superfund grant, the problems, at a community-academic partnership.

The Ambler community housed a now-closed Asbestos factory since the late 1880s catapulted several studies focusing on the medical and ecological consequences of the factory.

Because residents in the area faced an increased risk for asbestos and possible asbestos-related diseases, experts have tried to find answers to the toxic fiber and its impact on society.

With the help of the CEET community outreach and engagement core, the Pennsylvania Department of health found that an increased rate of mesothelioma cases compared to nearby zip codes area has occurred. She thinks that women a higher risk than men.

The grant is also an interdisciplinary training program for students. It combines environmental science with environmental and health sciences, so that doctoral students and postdoctoral of fellows can receive practical training in these complementary disciplines.

Participation in webinars NIEHS Superfund and internships in technology transfer to CTT and the EPA sponsored will be part of the training.

Focusing on the rehabilitation of asbestos particles are environmental science projects by DRS. Jane Willenbring and Brenda Casper conducted by the school of Arts and Sciences. The two Mycrorrhiza are fungi to break asbestos fibers, a new mineral use non-toxic form.

The studies on mobility and fate of asbestos particles into natural waters such as streams and rivers, performed by Dr. Doug Jerolmack and Willenbring of the school of Arts and Sciences. It monitors the movement of asbestos fibres through floor and replaced with translucent ground water and a Nano Aquarium to detect asbestos in the environment.

Fran Barg and Ted Emmett von Penn Medicine leads a sociological study to identify how asbestos occurs and whether such findings of the cluster of mesothelioma asbestos-induced cases in Ambler, could explain specifically for women.

In addition the biomedical branch of the grant investigate the genetics of susceptibility to mesothelioma and plans to develop a blood test for the early detection with a mouse model of mesothelioma.

DRS. Becky Simmons of Penn Medicine, and Joseph Testa of Fox Chase works with a tumor suppressor knockout mouse, whether susceptibility to mesothelioma is genetic.

The mouse model will also be used to test whether the need to asbestos is less toxic.

DRS. Medicine study Melpo Christofidou-Solomidou and Steve Albelda von Penn as mesothelioma in mice to prevent an antioxidant in flaxseed with asbestos exposure. They will also use the flax seed to treat the mice when they show early symptoms of mesothelioma.

Blair and Anil Vachani develop a blood test do to determine whether subjects were exposed, asbestos and whether they are at risk for developing mesothelioma with blood samples from workers, strongly exposed to the asbestos.

During the projects first and foremost concentrate on Ambler, believes the Centre which could easily translate findings to the 15 additional asbestos Superfund sites in the country.

From legal Newsline: Reach Heather Isringhausen Gvillo on the [email protected]

University of Pennsylvania receives $10 M Superfund Asbestos Site to study