The fact that the majority of the population, women, are understudied in biomedical science remains a scientific anomaly, one that the National Institutes of Health has resolved to remedy. Within NIH, NIEHS has a long history of interest in women's health including studies on diethylstilbestrol, estrogens in the environment, cancer, fertility, and reproductive health. Today, NIEHS approaches wom-en's health with a renewed emphasis, with an even greater dedication not only to disease and dysfunction relating to women and their reproductive role, but to those illnesses disproportionately affecting women such as breast cancer, osteoporosis, endometriosis, leiomyoma (fibroid tu-mors), and lupus.
The "NIEHS News" section of this issue focuses on NIEHS initiatives in women's health, highlighting various diseases and dysfunctions disproportionately affecting women and discussing NIEHS research directed at those concerns.
The importance of a women's health agenda is driven by three facts: Over a lifetime, women's health is generally worse than men's, certain health problems are more prevalent in women than in men, and certain health problems are unique to women or affect women differently than men. Knowledge concerning the causes, expression, and treatment of many diseases has frequently been derived from studies of men under the assumption that there are no significant sex-based differences, even though, for example, cardiovascular disease accounts for a higher percentage of deaths among women than men in all stages of life. In regard to death from gender-specific disease, nearly one-third of all cancer deaths in women are due to malignancies of the breast, ovary, uterine cervix, and uterine endometrium. Approximately one in nine women will be diagnosed with breast cancer during her lifetime.
The general health of women is dramatically affected by nonfatal diseases and dysfunctions. Frequently occurring diseases that are unique to women include endometriosis and leiomyoma of the uterus, which affect up to 20-30% of the female population and for which the causes remain obscure. Among diseases common to both sexes, women suffer inordinately from osteoporosis, which affects a majority of women over age 60, and from immunologic disorders including rheumatoid arthritis, diabetes mellitus, multiple sclerosis, systemic lupus erythematosus, and autoimmune thyroid diseases, all of which are more prevalent in women than in men. In addition, neurologic conditions such as Alzheimer's disease and various affective disorders are more common among females.
As increasingly more women enter the workforce, they may be exposed to a variety of occupational chemicals and hazards that may lead to adverse health and reproductive effects. In addition, smoking, alcohol consumption, and other lifestyle factors play an increasingly important role in determining the health status of women. There is now abundant evidence that environmental factors may contribute to many of the disease processes discussed above. Some examples of likely environmental impact on women's health include the following:
- Among the most widespread and persistent environmental toxicants are chlorinated hydrocarbons (such as DDT and polychlorinated biphenyls), which are known to possess estrogenic potential, i.e., the ability to mimic the biological effects of estrogens. Imbalanced or unopposed estrogen exposure is a leading risk factor for many gynecologic malignancies, as well as benign proliferative disorders such as endometriosis and leiomyoma. The potential impact of these compounds on hormone-dependent physiological processes such as conception and fetal development, as well as on disease processes such as osteoporosis and cardiovascular disease, demands further exploration.
- Many environmental toxicants are lipo-philic, resulting in accumulation in fatty tissue. Because women have a greater percentage of body fat than men, they tend to develop a greater body burden of these compounds. Increased health risks are thus realized when fat stores are mobilized, such as during dieting or lactation.
- Women face a unique exposure to pharmacologic agents, such as hormone-based contraceptive formulations that present an uncertain risk for cardiovascular disease and cancer and estrogen replacement therapy that may be associated with an increased cancer risk.
- Environmental exposures may aggravate certain diseases that are more common in women and which are often assumed simply to reflect the inevitable consequences of aging. Heavy metals, for example, have been shown to accelerate osteoporosis, and numerous environmental agents are known to be neurotoxic.
The expanded study of environmental factors in diseases of women is expected to spawn multiple benefits, not only limited to the goal of developing new prevention strategies to decrease disease prevalence and severity. A heightened understanding of the mechanisms through which environmental agents disrupt normal physiologic processes will undoubtedly lead to greater insights into the biological phenomena and mechanisms. Data on such phenomena could then be used to design new disease prevention or treatment strategies. Finally, the benefits from this research will not be limited to women. Progress in the area of reproductive and developmental toxicology translates into better health throughout later life for men and women equally, and history has shown that research endeavors into any area of disease typically yield unexpected findings that benefit all of humanity.
Environmentally Related Cancer in Women
Approximately 27% of all cancer deaths in American women are accounted for by cancers of the breast (44,000 per year), ovary (12,500), uterine endometrium (5,500), and uterine cervix (4,500). Among these, breast cancer is by far the biggest killer, and the death rate from this disease increased by a disturbing 24% between 1979 and 1986. Although significant progress has been made in defining genetic factors involved in breast cancer, the role of environmental influences remains largely unexplored. This is particularly troubling since the recent increase in breast cancer incidence is likely to involve environmental rather than genetic factors. Abundant epidemiologic and experimental data support the probable role of environmental factors and chemical carcinogens in the etiology of breast cancer. Currently, several intramural and extramural research groups are actively pursuing aspects of breast carcinogenesis, including studies on individual differences in carcinogen-metabolizing enzymes and breast cancer susceptibility, the definition of steroid hormone growth-regulatory pathways in the mammary gland, the identification of genetic loci involved in breast cancer development, and the role of fat-soluble pesticides as breast carcinogens. Several opportunities exist for expanding these research efforts, especially in regard to the interplay of environmental factors and genetic susceptibility in the etiology of breast cancer.
Ovarian cancer is a relatively common and highly lethal disease: more than 60% of the women diagnosed with ovarian cancer will die prematurely as a result. Little is known of the causes of ovarian cancer; epidemiologic studies suggest that menstrual, environmental, and genetic factors are important. Evidence for the role of environmental factors is primarily population based and suggest that dietary factors and chemical carcinogens are contributors to increased risk. The intramural and extramural NIEHS expertise in the areas of chemical carcinogenesis and growth factor biology, along with ongoing research projects in the area of genetic predisposition to ovarian cancer, provide the foundation for an expanded and productive research agenda in this area.
Endometrial carcinoma is the most frequently diagnosed gynecologic malignancy in the United States, but remains the least studied of the major cancers affecting women. Unlike cancers of the breast and ovary, endometrial cancer is limited primarily to women over the age of 50, and well-established risk factors suggest probable etiologic factors, most relating to estrogen. Researchers at NIEHS have used molecular genetic approaches to distinguish etiologic factors and animal models (including transgenic mice) to understand the role of physiologic and environmental factors in endometrial carcinogenesis.
Diethylstilbestrol as a Model for Environmental Estrogens
The health effects of diethylstilbestrol (DES) exposure are a research priority that reflects the convergence of several related investigative projects that are major areas of concern for NIEHS. The synthetic estrogen DES was administered to pregnant women during the 1940s through 1960s, originally for high-risk pregnancies but later to promote "healthier babies" as well. Subsequently, the drug was linked to the development of an otherwise extremely rare malignancy, clear-cell carcinoma of the vagina, in young female offspring exposed in utero. In addition, a number of more common non-neoplastic changes in the reproductive tract of DES-exposed daughters were identified, including vaginal adenosis, cervical ectropion, and numerous other structural abnormalities. Although the public health hazards associated with further exposure to DES have been largely eliminated, there are a number of compelling reasons for the continued study of DES-exposed women, as well as for basic research on the biological effects of DES and other environmental estrogenic compounds.
First, it is unclear whether the human cancer incidence resulting from DES exposure has peaked. Although the majority of DES daughters have passed the age range for vaginal carcinoma development, few have reached the age range (postmeno-pausal) in which endometrial carcinoma typically occurs in the DES unexposed population, and endometrial carcinoma occurs with a much higher prevalence than vaginal carcinoma in DES-treated mice. Similarly, the threat of breast cancer is still a concern in this population. The identification of molecular genetic markers for DES carcinogenicity is therefore a continuing priority; such markers would also be of value in predicting risk for third-generation DES offspring, for whom little is known about potential health risks.
Second, DES may be viewed as a model compound for other environmental agents with estrogenic potential. The bioaccumulation of these environmental estrogens is recognized as a problem of increasing magnitude, and certain human populations in the United States have been shown to carry amounts of these fat-soluble compounds which, in fish and other wildlife, cause significant endocrine dysfunction and developmental anomalies of the reproductive tract. Insights into the biological effects of DES should therefore provide a foundation upon which future environmental health problems may be effectively addressed.
NIEHS has a long history of accomplishments in conducting and supporting research on estrogen action, hormonal carcinogenesis, and other types of estrogen-related pathology, particularly for DES and similar compounds. More recent achievements have provided insights into basic mechanisms of estrogen receptor action at the molecular level. A transgenic mouse that overexpresses the estrogen receptor is being developed to study tissue susceptibility and mechanisms for hormonal carcinogenesis. New endeavors include the analysis of human and animal tumors resulting from DES exposure in utero for molecular genetic alterations. Rapid advances in the fields of molecular and developmental biology have provided numerous insights into relevant genes and molecular pathways involved in reproductive tract development. Epidemiologic studies are fo-cused on a broad range of health effects among DES-exposed men and women. Expanded research efforts are necessary to use this knowledge in exploring the epigenetic effects of DES in relation to reproductive tract malformations at the molecular level.
In addition to the estrogen receptor, research on the role of "orphan receptors" in environmental disease is promising. Identification and characterization of orphan receptors and their endogenous ligands will provide a link to understanding the molecular mechanisms through which exogenous chemicals may exert toxic effects and through which natural substances influence physiologic processes. For example, a recently discovered member of the nuclear receptor family apparently recognizes a class of foreign chemicals called peroxisome proliferators, which includes industrial plasticizers, herbicides, and hypolipidemic agents. Similarly, a receptor from another gene family exists for the ubiquitous xenobiotic dioxin, or TCDD. A related example is the retinoids, which regulate differentiation and growth of a variety of epithelial tissues including mammary gland, cervical, vaginal, and uterine epithelium. Ongoing research at NIEHS is directed toward understanding the process of squamous differentiation in gynecologic epithelial tissues by retinoids and estrogens, and interactions between the retinoic acid receptor and estrogen receptor signaling pathways. Further research is necessary to define these pathways at the molecular level and to elucidate possible therapeutic applications of retin-oids in breast and other cancers.
Role of the Environment in Osteoporosis
Osteoporosis is a complex disorder of the skeletal system characterized by decreased bone mass, which leads to increased skeletal fragility and fracturing. The pathogenesis of this metabolic disorder is likely to be multifactorial, involving genetic, racial, and environmental factors including smoking, diet, and alcohol. Interactions be-tween the endocrine and immune systems appear to play a key role in maintaining the physiological homeostasis in bone metabolism. Exposure to estrogenic substances, a number of which are widespread in the environment, can influence bone pathology, as can exposure to heavy metals. Researchers at NIEHS are using cell culture and animal studies to investigate the molecular mechanisms of estrogen receptor-mediated effects on bone development and metabolism, and NIEHS-supported studies are investigating the role of metals such as aluminum and cadmium in osteo-dystrophies. Important questions remain regarding the competition of these metals with calcium in bone deposition and reabsorption. Because the condition appears to be more severe in women without ovarian activity (e.g., postmenopausal), understanding the modulatory effects of estrogens on heavy-metal toxicity may contribute to our knowledge of the process of osteoporosis.
We now know, that early exposure to DES at very low doses can affect bone density. Basic and clinical studies are now focusing on the potential role that dose and time of exposure to estrogenic substances may have on changes in bone density. These findings could play a significant role in the development of early intervention strategies for women with osteoporosis. In addition, clinical trials are beginning at NIEHS to determine if pathologic conditions that modify endogenous estrogen levels and disrupt a normal pubertal period (such as precocious puberty or Turner syndrome) might also influence bone density at later stages of life. The health and monetary costs of osteoporosis to our society are already enormous, estimated at $7-10 billion annually and affecting approximately 24 million Americans, the majority of whom are women. An estimated 50% of women over age 45 and 90% of women over age 75 have osteoporosis. As the average age of our society increases, the number of people afflicted with this disease will rise, resulting in increased health care costs. Expanded research in this area will extend our understanding from basic research studies to clinical investigations and affected human populations.
NIEHS to Play Unique Role in Women's Health Research Effort
Human disease is largely the product of the interaction between two factors, genetics and the environment, throughout the life span. Any large-scale research agenda pertaining to human health must therefore consider the entire life span, and it is clear that women's health is worse over the course of a life time than men's. It is equally apparent that the environmental component of this interaction has been somewhat neglected by the biomedical research community. A major research initiative addressing the environment and women's health is therefore imperative. The proposed initiative thus focuses on hormonal carcinogenesis and endocrine toxicology, with special emphasis on the genetic and epigenetic molecular mechanisms that underlie these phenomena.
With NIEHS's background, knowledge, and ongoing research programs in wom-en's health and insofar as a wide range of environmental agents possess hormonal potential and a significant percentage of women's health problems appear related to dysfunction in hormonal pathways, this approach is likely to succeed. Inclusion of the NIEHS extramural (grants) component in the above areas will undoubtedly facilitate research progress. The diverse strengths of extramurally funded research programs allow for important health problems with an environmental component, such as cardiovascular disease, to be ad-dressed. Such a dual effort of the NIEHS intramural and extramural re-search programs will allow a comprehensive, multidisciplinary, and inclusive approach to this problem.
Contributing to this report on women's health were Jeff Boyd, Laboratory of Molecular Carcinogenesis; J. Carl Barrett, Environmental Carcinogenesis Program; Terri Damstra, Program Coordination; and John McLachlan, Office of the Director.
Minority Health Research
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Focus on minority health. John Ruffin (left), director of the Office of Research on Minority Health, and Kenneth Olden, director of NIEHS, sign a five-year agreement. |
Treatment of lead toxicity, environmental justice, and environmental health sciences centers are among the minority health issues that will be addressed through an agreement between the National Institutes of Health's Office of Research on Minority Health (ORMH), and NIEHS. A memorandum of agreement between the two NIH organizations provides NIEHS with $5 million a year through 1997 to address minority health concerns related to environmental health.
John Ruffin, director of ORMH, and Kenneth Olden, director of NIEHS, signed the agreement March 29 at NIEHS in Research Triangle Park, North Caro-lina. The ORMH was established in 1990 to strengthen the efforts of NIH to im-prove the health status of minority Amer-icans through biomedical research and to increase the participation of minorities in biomedical research.
Funds provided through the agreement will be apportioned between research programs relating to minority health and planning and research on issues of environmental justice. Environmental justice addresses pollution and environmental health risks and their distribution across socioeconomic classes and racial groups. Four major efforts under the agreement are:
- Blood levels in children. Three to four million children in the United States have elevated blood lead levels. There are two possible interventions to reduce the problem. One is to reduce exposure including lead abatement in homes, but this will require years to accomplish. A more immediate approach is to treat children with a drug (chelating agent) that will remove lead from the body. Succimer is a new drug that holds promise but has not been adequately tested clinically for this purpose; it is the first newly approved drug of its type (chelating agent) since 1950. NIEHS will support a clinical trial to establish the effectiveness of succimer. It is orally administered, appears to be relatively safe, and does not cause as much loss of necessary elements such as zinc and iron as other chelators. Contracts to conduct the trials will be awarded in the next several months.
- Lead in pregnant women. Research will be conducted to learn to what extent the release of lead stored in bone is increased during pregnancy. This is an important question in understanding how the developing fetus may be exposed through lead exposure of the mother before pregnancy. The research will focus on women from Eastern Europe who were heavily exposed to lead who have and then migrated to Australia. This population provides a unique opportunity for this kind of study because of the recognizable differences in the nature of the lead isotopes in their bones from exposure in Europe and that in blood from exposures in Australia. In most other populations, the similarity of the many kinds of lead (isotopes) in bone and blood make distinguishing lead leached from bone impossible. An additional study using nonhuman primates with long-term exposure to lead will provide an animal model for studying lead in pregnant women and also allow study of suboptimal versus superoptimal nutrition in preventing lead transfer from the pregnant animal to the fetus during pregnancy.
- Environmental health sciences centers. NIEHS has funded multidisciplinary centers at research universities throughout the United States for some time. Now, through the agreement with ORMH, NIEHS is funding developmental centers based on this same model located at universities in proximity to areas of special environmental concern, allowing universities in polluted areas to take part in this competitive program. The first center has been established jointly at Tulane and Xavier Universities in New Orleans, Louisiana, to address environmental concerns associated with the petrochemical industry in Louisiana.
- National environmental health meeting. This agreement will also allow NIEHS to sponsor a national meeting July 28 and 29 in Washington, DC, addressing environmental health research gaps and priorities arising from the concern that those in lower socioeconomic groups and some racial groups have greater health risks resulting from living and working closer to pollution. The meeting will provide a forum for developing research strategies to study the distribution in various populations of environmental health risks, and to find ways to reduce these risks.
NIEHS has signed an interagency agreement with the EPA contributing to the ongoing electromagnetic fields (EMF) research program to help determine whether any relationship exists between exposure to EMF and adverse human health effects.
The agreement provides $1.8 million in EPA funds for fiscal year 1993 to support research grants funded by NIEHS. These funds will be used to support grantee researchers to 1) identify biological processes that might explain progression from EMF exposure to the development of disease, and 2) assess human exposure to EMF. The agreement calls for priority to be given to cancer as a possible health effect, but also states that other research areas to be addressed include effects on reproductive, developmental, and neurological aspects of human health.
According to the agreement, research should look at possible cause-and-effect relationships involving biological processes such as gene expression, growth of transformed cells, and intracellular reactions associated with chemical signaling. Re-search also should focus on accurately characterizing human exposure to EMF, particularly in the home and public environments.
Although several epidemiologic studies have reported a possible association be-tween EMF exposure and cancer, EPA's Science Advisory Board concluded last year that the currently available information is "insufficient to conclude that electric and magnetic fields are carcinogenic." The National Comprehensive Energy Policy Act of 1992 names NIEHS as the lead federal agency for coordinating research on the possible human effects of EMFs and for collecting and disseminating information to the public and policymakers.
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Physicians address environmental concerns. From left to right: John Grupenhoff, National Association of Physicians for the Environment; Charles Cummings and Jerome Godstein, American Academy of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery; Kenneth Olden, NIEHS; Philip Landrigan, Mount Sinai Medical Center. |
More than 100 physicians, environmental professionals, and other leaders met in Washington, DC, in February and agreed that an umbrella organization is needed to pull together medical organizations and other interested groups to systematically inform the public about the impacts of environmental pollutants on human health. The national conference titled "Physicians and the Environment" was co-sponsored by the American Academy of Otolaryngolo-gy-Head and Neck Surgery, Inc. and the National Association of Physicians for the Environment, with funding support by NIEHS.
Among the speakers were 23 medical organization leaders, several leaders of major environmental organizations, the executive director of the American Associ-ation of Retired Persons, a high-ranking official from the Smithsonian Institution, and others. Senator Tom Harkin (D-Iowa), chair of the Senate Subcommittee on Labor-HHS-Education Appropriations, expressed strong support for the concept of a National Association of Physicians for the Environment and noted that he was pleased to learn of an international organization with similar objectives, the Inter-national Society of Doctors for the Environment.
It was agreed that the major issues to be dealt with include air pollution, ozone layer depletion, biological diversity, water pollution, environmental tobacco smoke, lead, hospital and medical office waste, pesticides and herbicides, electromagnetic fields, and hazardous waste. Participants discussed the development of appropriate research strategies to improve understanding of the impact of environmental pollutants in order to assure solid scientific bases for action. The importance of medical organizations working with the National Institutes of Health, and especially NIEHS, to assure that information disseminated is solidly based on science was stressed. For further information on the National Association of Physicians for the Environment, contact John Grupenhoff, (301) 571-9791. Conference proceedings are available from Grupenhoff or from the NIEHS Office of Communi-cations, (919) 541-2605.
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Input sought. Representatives from government, industry, academia, and local citizen groups met in March to discuss priorities for NIEHS and NTP. |
Kenneth Olden, NIEHS and NTP Dir-ector, continued to seek broad-based input into planning and priority setting for NTP and NIEHS as he met with more than 60 representatives of government (federal, state, and county), industry, labor, academia, environmental organizations, local citizens groups, and Congressional aides. They met in March at the National Insti-tutes of Health campus in Bethesda, Maryland. Olden spoke of his fundamental goal to make his organizations responsive to the needs of the American people. "In my view, programs supported by public funds should be accountable to the public," Olden said. In inviting attendees, Olden said, "It has become very clear that both the number of toxicological tests carried out by the NTP and the base of research related to the testing must be expanded. Therefore, I invite you to participate in an effort to explore the formation of national partnerships to meet future needs."
Discussion focused on three topics: how research and testing priorities are determined, what kinds of partnerships can be developed, and how to communicate research and testing results to the public. A number of participants emphasized their reliance on NTP study results. Rebecca Head, of Michigan's Washtenaw County Environmental Services Office, noted that officials in her state, "hang our hats" on NTP data as she called for studies of a broader range of health effects. Carol Henry, of the California Environmental Protection Agency, stated that there are many chemicals for which there is little or no scientific data. She suggested giving priority to high-volume chemicals that are transported in quantities and are therefore more likely to be spilled.
Roger McClellan, president of the Chemical Industry Institute of Toxicology, said, "The issue is how toxicology testing relates to toxicologic evaluation and ultimately to human risk assessment. We need to build partnerships to better this process." McClellan also noted the importance of testing problem chemicals, not just new or unknown ones.
Themes repeated throughout the meeting were that communication is the key to partnerships, to allow the input of ideas and to improve access to NTP data, and that information needs to be easier to obtain and more user friendly and accessible. Patricia Bauman, of the Bauman Foundation, suggested that an advisory committee on communication might provide NIEHS and NTP with feedback on the public's need for information.
The question of how to fund toxicology testing generated discussion and ideas. Kay Kiker, citizen activist from York, Alabama, raised the issue of using some portion of the fines levied on industry for this important research. Eula Bingham, of the University of Cincinnati, suggested a tax on heavily used chemicals, and Gilbert Omenn, of the University of Washington, proposed retroactive fines that might be levied on companies under the Toxic Substances Control Act to fund government studies. Discussion of the issue of who should pay for studies ended far from any agreement or plan. Concern was raised about potential conflict of interest in government-industry cost sharing, along with the need for NTP to remain in the position of what several termed the "honest broker." However, it was pointed out that partnerships do not have to be based on money.
Plans are underway to follow up the March 11 meeting by convening smaller groups to offer specific advice on how to implement some of the suggestions offered by workshop participants. Olden stated that working together is the real way to succeed, and he plans to continue to explore ways to form partnerships with the many concerned segments of society.
NTP Requests Recommendations for Chemical Testing
The National Toxicology Program is soliciting recommendations for chemicals, chemical classes, and biological issues to be tested for toxicity studies. NTP coordinates U.S. Department of Health and Human Services activities in characterizing the toxicity of chemicals and is made up of toxicology research groups within NIEHS, the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health, and FDA. NTP supports research and testing to increase the spectra of toxicologic information on selected chemicals and to develop testing assays and protocols.
Chemicals are selected for testing on the basis of data and information needs of NTP member agencies, other government agencies, and in response to public concerns regarding safety and health effects of specific chemicals or chemical classes. The NTP investigates a number of biological effects including in vivo metabolism and disposition, reproductive and developmental toxicity, genetic toxicity, immunotoxicity, neurotoxicity, general toxicity, and carcinogenicity. The results of the NTP studies are used by federal and state research and regulatory agencies as well as private sector organizations and are made available to the public in the form of technical reports and in the scientific literature.
There is no time limit for nominating chemicals and biological issues for examination. NTP will consider each nomination as it is received; however, available re-sources limit the number of chemicals tested. Send all nominations and relevant background information on the chemical or issue to B.A. Schwetz, Environmental Toxicology Program, NIEHS, PO Box 12233, Research Triangle Park, NC 27709.
Negro-Vilar to Join Wyeth-Ayerst
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Andres Negro-Vilar |
Andres Negro-Vilar, who for six years has been chief of the NIEHS Laboratory of Molecular and Integrative Neurosciences, has accepted a new position as vice-president, Wyeth-Ayerst Research, and Head of the Women's Health Institute located in Philadelphia, Penn-sylvania. Negro-Vilar has also served as the NIEHS clinical director since 1991, contributing greatly to the Insti-tute's initiatives in clinical research programs.
"His tenure has been marked by continued growth in our program and major advances in our science," said John McLachlan, NIEHS scientific director. McLachlan pointed out that the institute plans to continue and expand the institute's portfolio in neurosciences and clinical research related to the environment. A nationwide search will be conducted to fill leadership positions in these areas.
Doull and Clarkson among Those Honored with Society of Toxicology Awards
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Arnold J. Lehman Award winner. Thomas W. Clarkson was recognized for his work with mercury. |
John Doull received the Society of Tox-icology's highest award, the SOT Merit Award, at the SOT annual meeting, March 14-18 in New Orleans. The award is given in recognition of a distinguished career in toxicology. Doull is a professor of pharmacology and toxicology at the University of Kansas Medical Center, and his service on the NIH Toxicology Study Section and the NIEHS Advisory Council are among his many contributions to the field. He chaired the Panel on Chemical Carcinogenesis Testing and Evaluation, whose report became the working guidelines for the National Toxicology Program.
Thomas W. Clarkson received the prestigious Arnold J. Lehman Award at the annual SOT meeting. Clarkson is chair of the Department of Environmental Med-icine at the University of Rochester, where he is also the director of an NIEHS En-vironmental Health Sciences Center that he was instrumental in establishing in 1975.
The Lehman Award is presented by the SOT to recognize major contributions to the control of chemical agents including pharmaceuticals. Clarkson is internationally recognized for his research on heavy metal toxicity, particularly mercury, and for his use of research data to develop quantitative assessments of risk from metal exposure to humans. Clarkson's studies have yielded important new information on the pharmacokinetics, toxicity, and metabolism of mercury compounds in both laboratory animals and humans. The Rochester group, for example, demonstrated the excretion of mercury through bile and subsequently identified polythol resins as a means of enhancing the rate of mercury excretion. This therapy was used in treating a massive outbreak of mercury poisoning in Iraq. Clarkson's work has been fundamental in regulations related to mercury.
Other major SOT awards presented to scientists affiliated with NIEHS were:
Harihara Mehendale, of Northeast Louisiana University, received an ICI Traveling Lectureship. He has been a visiting scientist and staff fellow at NIEHS.
Richard E. Peterson and colleagues at the University of Wisconsin at Madison, NIEHS grantees, received the Frank R. Blood Award, presented for the best article published in the two official SOT publications during the previous year, for their article, "In Utero and Lactational Exposure of Male Rats to 2,3,7,8-Tetrachlorodiben-zo-p-dioxin," published in Toxicology and Applied Pharmacology.
David L. Eaton, professor of environmental health and associate chairman, Department of Public Health and Com-munity Medicine, University of Washing-ton, received the SOT Achievement Award for young toxicologists (under 41 years of age). He holds several NIH research grants and serves as principal investigator on an NIEHS Superfund Program Project grant.
Curtis E. Klaassen, of the University of Kansas Medical Center, received the SOT Education Award for teaching and training toxicologists and making significant contributions to education in the broad field of toxicology. Klaassen serves on the Nation-al Toxicology Program Board of Scientific Councilors and is the chair of the NTP Technical Report Review Subcommittee.
Other Appointments and Awards
Max Costa has been appointed chair of the Department of Environmental Med-icine at New York University Medical Center and director of the Nelson Institute of Environmental Medicine, an integral part of the department. He succeeds Arthur C. Upton, who retired in 1992. With his appointment, Costa will also serve as director of the NIEHS Environ-mental Health Sciences Center at New York University Medical Center..
Albert Munson, of the Medical College of Virginia, has received the 1993 Virginia Outstanding Scientist award. Munson is an NIEHS training grant director and serves on the Environmental Health Sci-ences Review Committee.
Leona Samson, of Harvard University, and Debra Laskin, of Rutgers University, both NIEHS grantees, each received a Burroughs Wellcome Fellows Award.
The BASF Corporation Agricultural Product Group has announced a gift of $150,000 in support of toxicology programs at North Carolina State University. The money will be used in the Depart-ment of Toxicology of the College of Agriculture and Life Science to support environmental toxicology programs. Members of the department have had a long-time affiliation with NIEHS, as grantees, research collaborators, and members of various committees and boards.
Last Update: September 4, 1998