Fall 2014 Seminar Schedule.

Join us every Friday from 12:45-1:45pm in BUSM L210.

Detailed Schedule

September 5th

Modern Food Systems: Farm to Table in the 21st Century

Lindsay Underhill, MPH and Kathryn Crawford, MS
Department of Environmental Health, Boston University School of Public Health

Seminar Summary: The food we eat, its origin, and the manner in which it is produced have changed drastically since the Industrial Revolution. The consolidation of small, diverse farms into large corporations has led to agricultural practices which can adversely affect the environment, such as raising animals for meat production in confined animal feeding operations (CAFOs) and the high-volume use of fertilizers and pesticides to support monoculturing of resource-intensive crops. Post-harvest processing of raw food products has also evolved significantly in recent decades, altering the nutritional quality of foods, increasing the potential for contamination, and introducing additives. In this seminar we will introduce the modern food system and provide an overview of topics to be considered during the 2014-2014 Gijs van Seventer Environmental Health Seminar series.

September 12th

An Ecological Perspective on Industrial Food Animal Production – Animal/Human/Ecosystem Microbiomes and Health

Ellen Silbergeld, PhD
Department of Environmental Health Sciences, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health

Seminar Summary: This talk will review recent developments in food animal production as these have intensified and introduced new pathways of exposure and risk for human and animal communities within the context of shared environments

Readings:

• You Y and Silbergeld EK. Learning from agriculture: understanding low-dose antimicrobials as drivers of resistome expansion. Front. Microbiol. 2014 June;5:284.
• Bradner JM, Suragh TA, Wilson WW, Lazo CR, Stout KA, Kim HM, Wang MZ, Walker DI, Pennell KD, Richardson JR, Miller GW, Caudle WM. Exposure to the polybrominated diphenyl ether mixture DE-71 damages the nigrostriatal dopamine system: role of dopamine handling in neurotoxicity. Exp Neurol. 2013 Mar;241:138-47.

September 19th

Working in the Modern Slaughterhouse: Public Health at the Animal:Human Interface

Jessica Leibler, DrPH, MS
Department of Environmental Health, Boston University School of Public Health

Seminar Summary: Farmers and slaughterhouse workers in industrialized food animal production have among the highest rates of occupational injury and illness among US industries. We will “go inside” industrial food animal facilities and discuss injury risks and pathogen exposures involved with work in these facilities. We will also discuss the linkages among worker health, food safety and emerging infectious diseases in the context of modern animal agriculture.

Readings:

• Quandt SA, Grzywacz JG, Martin A, Carrillo L, Coates ML, Burke B, and Arcury TA. Illnesses and Injuries Reported by Latino Poultry Workers in Western North Carolina. Am. J. of Ind. Med. 2006 May; 49(5):343-51.

Additional Resources:

• Marsh JM and Brester GW. Choices: The Magazine of Food, Farm and Resource Issues. 2003 4th Quarter.
• Christensen C. Disruptive Innovation. 2014.

September 26th

Air Quality in Developing World Disaster and Conflict Zones: The Case of Post-Earthquake Haiti

Mary Davis, PhD
Department of Urban and Environmental Policy and Planning, Tufts University

Seminar Summary: Data on air quality is remarkably limited in the poorest of the world’s countries. This is especially true for post-conflict and disaster zones, where international relief efforts focus largely on more salient public health challenges such as water and sanitation, infectious diseases, and housing. This presentation explores the implications of infrastructure destruction on air quality in post-conflict and disaster zones in the developing world using post-earthquake Haiti as the case study.

Readings:

• Davis ME and Rappaport A. Air quality in developing world disaster and conflict zones: The case of post-earthquake Haiti. Science of the Total Environment. 2014 Oct;496:22-25.

October 3rd

The Role of Agriculture and Food Production in Air Quality and Climate

Fabien Paulot, PhD
The Program in Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences, Princeton University and Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory (GFDL) of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)

Readings:

• Paulot F and Jacob DJ. Hidden Cost of U.S. Agricultural Exports: Particulate Matter from Ammonia Emissions. Environ. Sci. Technol. 2014 Jan;48(2):903-8.

October 10th

Non-Point Source Pollution due to Runoff from Animal Feeding Operations

James Ferguson, VMD, MS
Section Chief, Animal Production Systems, School of Veterinary Medicine, University of Pennsylvania

Readings:

• Dou Z, Ramberg CF, Chapuis-Lardy L, Toth JD, Wu Z, Chase LE, and Kohn RA. A fecal test for assessing phosphorus overfeeding on dairy farms: Evaluation using extensive farm data. American Dairy Science Association. 2010;93(2):830-9.
• Dou Z, Ferguson JD, Fiorini J, Toth JD, Alexander SM, Chase LE, Ryan CM, Knowlton KF, Kohn RA, Peterson AB, Sims JT, and Wu Z. Phosphorus Feeding Levels and Critical Control Points on Dairy Farms. J. Dairy Sci. 2003 Nov;86(11):3787-95.
• Dou Z, Ferguson JD, Boston RC, and Newbold JD. Managing Nitrogen on Dairy Farms: An Integrated Approach I. Model Description. J. Dairy Sci. 1996 Nov;79(11):2071-80.

October 17th

Red Tides and Harmful Algal Blooms: Impacts, Trends, and Linkages to Agriculture and Aquaculture

Don Anderson, PhD
Biology Department, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution

Seminar Summary: Marine algal toxins are responsible for an array of human illnesses associated with consumption of contaminated shellfish and finfish, and in some cases, respiratory exposure to aerosolized toxins. In addition to their human health effects, algal toxins are responsible for extensive die-offs of fish and shellfish and have been implicated in the episodic mortalities of marine mammals, birds, and other animals dependent on the marine food web. The impacts of algal toxins are generally observed as acute intoxications, whereas the health effects of chronic exposure to low levels of algal toxins are only poorly documented and are an emerging issue.

Over the past several decades, the frequency and global distribution of harmful algal blooms (commonly called red tides or HABs) appear to have increased. This increase is of particular concern since some expansions can be attributed to human activities, such as pollution of coastal waters with sewage and agricultural fertilizers. This talk will briefly review HAB phenomena and the factors that regulate their occurrence worldwide, as well as the diversity of toxins produced by HABs and their health effects. Linkages between HABs and agricultural practices will be emphasized, as will the relationships between shellfish, fish, and seaweed aquaculture and bloom phenomena. Recent advances in novel instrumentation and approaches to toxin and HAB cell monitoring using in situ, robotic instrumentation will also be presented.

Readings:

• Anderson DM, Alpermann TJ, Cembella AD, Collos Y, Masseret E, Montresor M. The globally distributed genus Alexandrium: Multifaceted roles in marine ecosystems and impacts on human health. Harmful Algae. 2012;14:10-35.
• Anderson DM, Gilbert PM, Burkholder JM. Harmful Algal Blooms and Eutrophication: Nutrient Sources, Composition, and Consequences. Estuaries. 2002;25(4b):704-726.

October 24th

Exposure of Farmers to Pesticides and Other Neurotoxicants and the Risk of Neurodegenerative Diseases; Work from the Farming and Movement Evaluation (FAME) Study within the Agricultural Health Study (AHS)

Freya Kamel, PhD
Epidemiology Branch, National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences

Seminar Summary: Parkinson’s disease is a movement disorder affecting over one million Americans. Its etiology is likely a combination of genetic susceptibility and environmental exposures, and accumulating evidence points to certain pesticides as important exposures. We have evaluated this issue in the Agricultural Health Study, a large prospective cohort of pesticide applicators and their spouses. In a nested case-control study we found that the herbicide paraquat and the insecticide rotenone were associated with increased risk of Parkinson’s disease. Further studies indicated that genetic susceptibility, diet, and use of personal protective equipment can all modify this association. Our work adds to the growing evidence, both human and experimental, that pesticides contribute to risk of Parkinson’s disease.

Readings:

• Kamel F, Goldman SM, Umbach DM, Chen H, Richardson G, Barber MR, Meng C, Marras C, Korell M, Kasten M, Hoppin JA, Comyns K, Chade A, Blair A, Bhudhikanok GS, Ross GW, Langston JW, Sandler DP, and Tanner CM. Dietary fat intake, pesticide use, and Parkinson’s disease. Parkinsonism Relat. Disord. 2014;20(1):82-87.
• Kamel F. Paths from Pesticides to Parkinson’s. Science. 2013 Aug;341(6147):722-723.

October 29th

2014 Lopez Lecture: Health inequalities, industrial agriculture, and the Civil Rights Act of 1964

Steve Wing, PhD
Gillings School of Global Public Health, University of North Carolina

Lecture Summary: Dr. Wing will be discussing how industrialization of agriculture impacts health inequalities based on the example of swine production in North Carolina. Cross-sectional and repeated-measures studies show that industrial swine operations pollute neighboring communities with gases and particles that impact residents’ health and quality of life. In March of 2014 government regulators in North Carolina re-permitted over 2,000 industrial swine operations to continue using technologies that negatively impact health. In response, a complaint against state regulators was filed under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits recipients of federal funds from disproportionately burdening people on the basis of race. Almost one million people live within 3 miles of an industrial swine operation and in blocks with mostly people of color, the proportion of people living near a permitted swine operation is more than double that of blocks with no people of color. The civil rights complaint is part of a broader strategy for reducing health inequalities by promoting agricultural production that creates a healthier food supply and healthier rural communities.

November 7th

Is eating organic foods healthier – a new research platform could end this debate

Alex Lu, PhD
Department of Environmental Health, Harvard School of Public Health

Lecture Summary: Scientific data have not been available to provide insight into how children’s health might benefit from consuming organic foods until recently. Biomarker collected from young children who switched their diets from conventional to mostly organic foods showed significant changes in several metabolic pathways that have considerable implications of overall health. The perturbation of those pathways most likely resulted from the presence of pesticide residues in conventional foods, or the presence of antioxidants found in organic produce, or both.

Readings:

• Lu C, Toepel K, Fenske RA, Barr DB, and Bravo R. Organic Diets Significantly Lower Children’s Dietary Exposure to Organophosphorus Pesticides. Environ. Health Perspect. 2006 Feb;114(2):260–263.

November 14th

The Yin and Yang of Aquaculture

Roxanne Smolowitz, DVM
Aquatic Diagnostic Laboratory, Roger Williams University

Lecture Summary: Aquaculture is fast becoming the major source of protein for the world. As with any farming practice, there are both good and bad consequences to aquaculture and some aquacultured species are more problematic than others. Aquaculture methods are changing and improving as we learn more about how fish and bivalve aquaculture interacts with the environment around the farming sites.

December 5th

Childhood and Adolescent Fish Consumption and Adult Neuropsychological Performance: An Analysis from the Cape Cod Health Study

Master of Science Integrative Experience Presentation

Lindsey Butler
Department of Environmental Health, Boston University School of Public Health

Lecture Summary: Methylmercury (MeHg) forms in aquatic environments when inorganic mercury from natural and anthropogenic sources is methylated by aquatic microorganisms, resulting in the contamination of fish and seafood. Numerous studies have shown that prenatal exposure to MeHg from fish has an adverse effect on the developing nervous system. However, certain fish and seafood are also rich in long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) providing a significant nutritional benefit to brain and vision development. Utilizing data from the Cape Cod Health Study, a population-based retrospective cohort study, we examined the effect of childhood and adolescent fish consumption on adult neuropsychological performance. No statistically significant associations were observed between fish consumption patterns and performance in the domains of academic achievement, language, visuospatial, executive function, motor, or mood. Consuming fish at least twice per month was associated with better performance on tests of visual learning and memory and attentional abilities. The results suggest that consumption of fish during childhood and adolescence is a relevant exposure period potentially effecting adult neuropsychological performance and future studies should be conducted examining this time period of exposure.

December 19th

Prenatal exposure to polyfluoroalkyl chemicals and childhood cognition

Maria Harris, SM
Department of Environmental Health, Boston University School of Public Health

Lecture Summary: Among pregnant women, exposures to polyfluoroalkyl chemicals (PFCs), synthetic compounds used in non-stick cookware, food packaging, and other industrial and consumer products, are highly prevalent. Toxicological evidence suggests that PFCs may act as developmental neurotoxicants, but epidemiological evidence on neurodevelopmental effects of exposure to PFCs is limited. The seminar will discuss preliminary results from a study of prenatal exposure to PFCs and childhood cognitive outcomes in Project Viva, a Boston-area longitudinal birth cohort.

Approaches to investigating mixture effects among PPARgamma ligands

James Watt, MS
Department of Environmental Health, Boston University School of Public Health

Lecture Summary: The field of endocrine disruption toxicology has recently expanded from a focus on steroid and thyroid hormone-related dysregulation by xenobiotics to include the dysregulation of metabolic homeostasis by environmental chemicals. Termed ‘obesogens’, these chemicals act through a variety of mechanisms, the most commonly studied being the activation of the PPARgamma nuclear receptor, the ‘master regulator’ of fat formation. It is becoming increasingly evident that we are being exposed to multiple obesogens (e.g. phthalates and orgonatins) at low doses, necessitating a focus on investigating mixture effects of these chemicals. My research shows how models of additivity historically used to predict effects of steroid hormone mixtures and aryl hydrocarbon receptor ligand mixtures may be applied to mixtures of PPARgamma ligands and investigates ways to address mechanisms unique to the PPARgamma system.