Mt. Sinai Children’s Environmental Health and Disease Prevention Research Center Research Projects
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Original Projects: 1998-2003
Project 1: Growing Up Healthy in East Harlem, Barbara Brenner, DrPH.
This project enrolled 131 Black & Latina families into a study of pesticide and PCB exposure reduction and implementation of Integrated Pest Management (Growing Up Healthy in East Harlem).
Project 2: Exposure to Indoor Pesticides and PCBs and their
effects on Growth and Neurodevelopment in Urban Children, Gertrud Berkowitz,
PhD.
This project enrolled 404 families to study in utero exposoure to pesticides
and infant growth and neurodevelopment.
Project 3: Genetics of Chlorpyrifos Risk in Minority Populations,
James Wetmur, PhD.
This project developed new high-throughput techniques for geno-, pheno-and
haplotyping to assess metabolic capacity for organophosphate pesticides.
Project 4: Prenatal PCB Exposure and Neurodevelopmental
Outcomes in Adolescence and Adulthood, Thomas Matte, MD.
This project evaluated neurologic and development measures through age
17 in relation to prenatal PCB exposure among 152 Black children with prenatal
serum from 1960’s.
Project 5: Neuroendocrine Mechanisms of Environmental Toxicants
During Development, Andrea C. Gore, PhD.
This project examined the effect of certain environmental toxicants on
growth and GnRH neurons in female rats and in the GT1-7 neuronal cell lines.
Current Projects: 2003-2008
Project 1: “Growing Up Healthy in East Harlem.”
Project lead: Barbara Brenner DrPH, Maida Galvez MD
This project is examining the built-environment, or neighborhood characteristics,
associated endocrine disrupting, or ED exposures, and their effects on child
growth and development.
Investigators are characterizing exposures and potential sources of EDs (such as personal care products), including phthalates and alkyl phenols, among 6-8-year-old children in East Harlem. To characterize the built environment, researchers have mapped precise street addresses of parks, supermarkets and fast-food restaurants in the neighborhood and this GIS (Geographic Information Systems) work will be extended. Researchers plan an intervention to test specific products for sources of EDs and to attempt exposure reduction in families with accompanying biomarker measures. Researchers are measuring body size (including percent body fat) and physical activity in a cohort of 300 children. Pedometers have been validated as a tool to measure physical activity.
- Original Abstract
- 2004 Progress Report
- 2005 Progress Report
- 2006 Progress Report
- 2007 Progress Report
Project 2 : Pesticides, Endocrine Disruptors, Childhood
Growth and Development
Project lead: Stephanie Engel PhD
This projectis a prospective epidemiological
study to characterize associations between maternal exposures to EDs during
pregnancy and infant development in a birth cohort.
Researchers began studying an ethnically diverse group of over 400 urban
children from birth onwards during the previous 5-year funding cycle, and
those children are now 4-7 years of age. Mt. Sinai researchers began measuring
pesticide exposure in the past with this group, and investigated gene-environment
interactions and their impact on infant growth and neurodevelopment. Researchers
are continuing to follow 300 of these families, and have modified the research
focus to measure EDs in maternal urine taken in the 3 rd trimester of pregnancy,
studying whether in utero exposures to EDs and other toxicants are
associated with developmental delays. This project includes measurements of
neurodevelopment and behavioral evaluations (together with researcher Rick
Canfield of Cornell) and body size (including percent body fat).
- Original Abstract
- 2004 Progress Report
- 2005 Progress Report
- 2006 Progress Report
- 2007 Progress Report
Project 3: Genetics of Phthalate and Bisphenol A Risk
In Minority Populations. James G. Wetmur PhD, Jia Chen PhD
Investigators are continuing in this project to develop measures of individual
susceptibility, focusing on metabolism of EDs. Studies of susceptibility factors
in concert with environmental exposures and in relation to development are
being undertaken with families in Project 2.
Researchers are assessing individual susceptibility related to various environmental exposures, using genotyping, phenotyping and haplotyping (a group of genes inherited as a unit) of common variants in metabolic pathways for pesticides, lipids and EDs.
- Original Abstract
- 2004 Progress Report
- 2005 Progress Report
- 2006 Progress Report
- 2007 Progress Report
The Mount Sinai Children’s Center is also conducting the World Trade Center Pregnancy Outcome Study, following a cohort of women who were pregnant on 9/11/01 and were directly exposed to airborne toxicants at the WTC site. Among the factors being measured are child development, environmental exposures, maternal and child stress.