Ziad Naufal, Ph.D.

Superfund Basic Research Program

Ziad Naufal received his Bachelor of Science in Biology and his Master's of Public Health from the American University of Beirut, Lebanon. While working on his master's, Ziad was involved in data entry, coding and analysis of various public health projects namely a project entitled "Psychosocial and Obstetric Factors for Postpartum Depression" funded in part by the United Nations Fund for Population Activities (UNFPA).

At Texas A & M University Dr. Naufal's research focused on measuring biomarkers of exposure in an area of China that has a high risk for birth defects.  Exposure of a fetus to genotoxic chemicals may produce a broad range of adverse outcomes ranging from premature birth and low birth weight to congenital abnormalities.   The frequency of neural tube defects in Shanxi, China is from five to ten times the rate observed in the United States.  Data were collected from birth hospitals in Shanxi, China. For the first six months of 2005, the incidence of neural tube defects in four hospitals in high risk areas of Shanxi ranged from 7.9 to 24 per 1,000 births. Combustion of coal for heating and cooking are believed to result in exposure to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and arsenic in homes.  This genotoxicity study collected data to measure concentrations of PAHs in house dust.  Levels of PAHs in plasma and DNA adducts in placenta have also been quantified. Carcinogenic PAH levels in dust collected from kitchen floors ranged from 5,000 to 56,000 ng/m². Placenta tissues from children born with Neural Tube Defects (NTDs) were found to have significantly higher levels of the less polar bulky DNA adducts when compared to matched controls (3.4 ± 1.3 per 10⁹ nucleotides in case subjects, and 1.1 ± 0.8 per 10⁹ nucleotides in control subjects). The less polar DNA adducts may reflect a genetic sensitivity in selected children.   Measurements of genetic polymorphisms were conducted to investigate gene-environment interactions that may affect the level of DNA adducts.  The existing data indicate that genotoxic compounds in the environment may have an influence on children's health in this region.

Dr. Naufal graduated with a Ph.D. in Toxicology from Texas A&M University in May 2008.  He accepted a position as a post-doctoral research associate at Duke University with the Integrated Toxicology and Environmental Health Program (http://toxicology.geneimprint.com/) .  He is currently working with Dr. Cody Wilson (adjunct faculty) at RJ Reynolds Tobacco in Winston-Salem, NC on quantitative risk assessment of tobacco smoke chemicals.