Research Summary

Linda S. Birnbaum, Ph.D., D.A.B.T., A.T.S, retired as Director of the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) and the National Toxicology Program (NTP). Now a Special Volunteer to NIEHS, she also conducts research as part of the Mechanistic Toxicology Branch.

The group’s research goals are to investigate the extent of human exposure to man-made chemicals of environmental concern and to investigate the fate and mechanisms of toxicity of these pollutants. The expected outcome of this research is to achieve a better understanding of the risk of exposure to humans and management of this risk for protection of human health.

The objectives of the research are two-fold:

1. Determine extent and effects of human exposure to environmental contaminants, including persistent organic pollutants (POPs) and heavy metals. Current studies include an assessment of chemical exposure in populations in the United States and Vietnam, pharmacokinetic studies in volunteers exposed to bisphenol A (BPA), and assessment of concentrations of POPs and metals in post-mortem brain tissue and ventricular fluid from age-matched persons with and without neurodegenerative diseases. These are collaborative studies conducted with other NIH scientists and outside investigators.
2. Provide toxicokinetics data for environmental contaminants in rodent models. This research program is conducted in assigned laboratory space at NIEHS, located in the Research Triangle Park, NC. The studies are designed to characterize absorption, tissue distribution, metabolism, and excretion (ADME) of xenobiotics, primarily environmental contaminants, and to investigate their biological effects at the molecular level in rats and mice. Ultimately, these data will be extrapolated to humans for assessment of exposure risk.