-- Our Center in the News --

    The NIEHS Center in Environmental Toxicology at the University of Texas Medical Branch is a scientific research center of the highest intellectual standards, dedicated to the study of environmental health science problems, as well as to the education of our community about solutions to these problems. Our overarching theme is the role of oxidative stress in mediating the health effects of exposure to environmental factors. Center Investigators study the mechanisms by which reactive oxygen species are produced and detoxified, modulate signaling pathways, damage DNA, and are involved in the etiology of asthma. To aid these scientific programs to their full potentials, a seminar program and state-of-the-art service cores were established to facilitate collaborative research projects, enhance the scope and quality of individual Center Investigators’ research, and provide access to expertise and instrumentation that would not otherwise be cost-effective. These Service Cores include the 1) Molecular Genetics Core, 2) Biomolecular Resource Facility Core, 3) Synthetic Organic Chemistry Core and 4) Cell Biology Core.

    This NIEHS Center exists as both a force to address today’s disparate and compelling human concerns about environmental health problems and the intellectual framework that drives the research towards possible solutions. The Center focuses the environmental concerns of and develops useful programs for the local communities via the Community Outreach and Education Core (COEC), in which a majority of all Center Investigators participate. From its inception, the NIEHS Center has been an integral component within a much larger UTMB program in the Environmental Health Sciences that includes a toxicology training program, with centers of excellence in molecular science, structural biology, aging and cancer cell biology. Thus, the Center has become a good neighbor and responsible leader among the university, community and government entities dedicated to environmental health science problems in Southeast Texas.

    The NIEHS Center is directed by Dr. James R. Halpert, Professor and Chairman of the department of Pharmacology and Toxicology. Additionally he serves as Director of the Sealy Center for Environmental Health and Medicine.