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EPA Awards $2.23 Million in Grants to Investigate Low-dose Effects of Endocrine Disruptors
Because of the endocrine system's critical role in normal growth, development, and reproduction, even small disturbances in endocrine function can have profound and lasting effects.
At a meeting of EPA's Board of Scientific Counselors, Dr. Larry Reiter, Director of EPA's National Health and Environmental Effects Research Laboratory, announced $2.23 million in grant awards to three universities. The grants, awarded through EPA's Science to Achieve Results (STAR) Program, will fund efforts to investigate and characterize responses to low doses of endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs). The announcement was made at EPA's Research Triangle Park facility where the Agency's Board of Scientific Counselors was meeting to review EPA's Endocrine Disruptors Research Program.
The endocrine system regulates important biological processes throughout all stages of life. For example, metabolism, the development of the nervous system, and the function of the reproductive system are controlled by the endocrine system. Because of the endocrine system's critical role in normal growth, development, and reproduction, even small disturbances in endocrine function can have profound and lasting effects. This is especially true during highly sensitive prenatal periods when small changes in endocrine status can induce effects that are only evident much later in life or in a subsequent generation.
To-date, most studies have examined the effects of exposure to EDCs at doses higher than would be experienced outside of the laboratory. In contrast, the studies funded by this award announcement will focus on effects induced by EDCs at levels that approximate those in the environment. The three studies funded by this grant announcement are as follows:
- Georgetown University in Washington, DC ($740,000): Scientists will study the effects of pre-birth exposure to cadmium on puberty.
- University of Georgia in Athens, GA ($750,000): Researchers will help develop the methodology to understand the molecular effects of hypothyroidism during pregnancy on the development of the nervous system in offspring.
- University of Massachusetts in Amherst, MA ($740,000): Researchers will identify critical factors that influence dose-response between thyroid hormones and the health endpoints that rely on normal thyroid function.
For more detailed information about these projects, please visit http://cfpub.epa.gov/ncer_abstracts/index.cfm/fuseaction/recipients.display/rfa_id/357.
To learn more about the endocrine system and other research on endocrine disrupting chemicals, visit http://www.epa.gov/scipoly/oscpendo/edspoverview/primer.htm.
Additional information about EPA's STAR research grants program can be found at: http://www.epa.gov/ncer.