Adjunct Professor Gerald Ankley

Riding the wave of advances in material sciences in the 21st century, a significant number of new and innovative chemicals have been introduced into various sectors of human society. At the same time, concerns have been raised about the environmental implications of many new chemicals for the health of humans and the environment. Addressing these concerns requires the application of most up-to-date technologies. Over the past six years, a tremendous revolution has occurred in sequencing technologies, which has already had a profound impact on our understanding of chemical screening, risk assessment, and predictive toxicology. However, the NGS technique used in environmental toxicology is still in its infancy, such as screening of genetic biomarkers related to various adverse outcomes due to chemical exposures. Hence, this group is investigating the applications of toxicogenomics using NGS for emerging contaminants, such as nanomaterials and endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs). Some emerging projects involve the investigation of differential gene expression after exposure to nano-sized titanium dioxide, and the impact of chemical interactions (conventional contaminants vs. nano-size ingredients) on ultimate toxicity to aquatic species.