Superfund Research Program
This Progress in Research webinar series, hosted by the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) Superfund Research Program (SRP), showcases research from 6 schools funded by SRP in 2025. These awards were made as part of the P42 grant solicitation RFA-ES-20-014. In the two-part series, awardees will highlight their research projects, accomplishments, and next steps. They will be discussing fresh ideas and approaches to tackle complex problems related to hazardous substances.
Session I — Monday, June 1, 2026, at 3-5 PM ET
The first session features three newly funded centers, including Oregon State University, University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill, and University of Southern California.
The Oregon State University (OSU) SRP Center is driven to identify polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in the environment, to characterize their toxicity, and to specify the environmental concentrations at which they pose no threat to human health. The OSU SRP Center studies the composition of complex PAH mixtures, the changes in composition after remediation and natural attenuation, and the implications of PAH mixtures for human health.
The University of North Carolina (UNC)-Chapel Hill SRP Center addresses serious public health challenges faced by communities in North Carolina and across the nation related to inorganic arsenic (iAs). The UNC-Chapel Hill SRP Center is working to identify these factors that would facilitate the development of novel solutions/interventions to reduce the prevalence of iAs-associated diabetes, as well as other diseases associated with iAs exposure.
The University of Southern California (USC) SRP Center works to develop problem-based, solution-oriented scientific knowledge and innovative technologies to address the issue of poly- and perfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) water contamination in Superfund and other sites. The USC SRP Center has the goal of specifically addressing PFAS in relation to their effects on liver disease and addressing urgent concerns regarding water quality and human health in populations affected by PFAS exposures and Superfund sites.
Session II — Thursday, July 16, 2026, at 3-5 PM ET
The second session features newly funded centers, including Baylor College of Medicine, University of Arizona, and University of Iowa.
The Baylor College of Medicine (BCM) SRP Center investigates whether the maternal exposure to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) emanating from superfund sites, as well as other environmental chemicals, increases the risk of preterm births (PTBs) and augments major neonatal morbidities such as bronchopulmonary dysplasia. The BCM SRP Center wants to determine the mechanisms by which PAHs contribute to PTBs and understand the factors that could be targets for interventions to prevent and reduce the health burden associated with PAHs present in Superfund sites.
The University of Arizona SRP Center works to address the unique human health risks encountered in the U.S. Southwest, a region with a rich history of metal mining and generation of mine wastes. Their overall goal is to construct a mechanistic model of how chronic exposure to mining-impacted dust that is co-contaminated with metal(loid)s and fungal spores contributes to the development of nonmalignant lung diseases. They aim to implement this model to predict exposures and associated health outcomes, to inform public health prevention in communities neighboring mine waste sites, and design remediation-based interventions to exposure.
The University of Iowa SRP Center focuses its research on polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs). The center studies PCBs in the air, particularly in schools and those emitted from contaminated soils and water of Superfund sites. Researchers examine the health impacts of inhaled PCBs, particularly on adolescents, with a focus on neurodevelopmental and metabolic effects. The University of Iowa SRP Center’s long-term goal is to develop recommendations to prevent and/or limit human exposure to airborne PCBs and to improve the health and well-being of the population.