Environmental Toxicology Faculty Lead in Solving Important PFAS Contamination Problems

Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), widely used in industrial and consumer products, have become a major environmental and public health concern.  They are known as forever chemicals because their fluorine carbon bonds are strong and extremely resistant to degradation.  Four ETOX faculty, Jinyong Liu, Haizhou Liu and Yujie Men, professors of Chemical and Environmental Engineering and Ying-Hsuan Lin, a professor of Environmental Sciences, are making significant progress in identifying chemical and microbiological processes that can degrade PFAS and clean up contaminated industrial sites and water.  The work of these faculty and their research teams have been highlighted in a recent article in the Fall 2023 edition of UCR Magazine.  Our congratulations to Jinyong, Haizhou, Yujie and Ying-Hsuan and their research groups for this recognition of their important work. 

[The figure above is from the Riverside Public Utility website.]

Postdoctoral Fellowship in Molecular Toxicology at Woods Hole

The Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution is searching to fill an NIEHS-funded postdoctoral fellow position in molecular toxicology investigating the comparative biology, ligand specificity, and molecular evolution of the aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AHR), a ligand-activated transcription factor that regulates the response of humans and other animals to endogenous and exogenous chemicals. The successful candidate will work under the mentorship of Drs. Mark Hahn, Sibel Karchner, and Jed Goldstone at Woods Hole and Dr. Joe Thornton at the University of Chicago.  More information about the position can be found here.  Our thanks to ETOX faculty member David Volz for informing us about the position.  [The image above is from the Aryl hydrocarbon receptor entry on Wikipedia.]

Professor Yinsheng Wang, his Research Group and Collaborators Make Discovery of Mechanism Underlying Huntington's Disease

Distinguished Professor of Chemistry and ETOX faculty member Yinsheng Wang, his collaborators and his research group that included four current and former ETOX graduate students (Jiekai Yin, Yuxiang Cui, Gwendolyn Gonzalez, and Jun Yuan) have recently uncovered a new mechanism that indicates that RNA methylation on CAG repeats plays a role in Huntington’s disease. Their work was recently published in the journal Nature.  More information on their research can be found in a UCR News article.  Our congratulations to Yinsheng, Jiekai, Yuxiang, Gwendolyn and Jun for this interesting and groundbreaking article.  [The figure above is from their Nature article.]

Prof. Mirhi Ozkan Investigates Carbon-Capturing Materials

A research team led by Dr. Mihri Ozkan, a Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering and an ETOX faculty member, has recently conducted an exhaustive analysis of extremely thin MXene and MBene compounds, which because of their large surface area, have the potential to absorb significant amounts of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.  If their research continues to be successful, these compounds will help reduce the harmful effects associated with climate change by safely capturing carbon dioxide. Their work has recently been published in the journal Chem and was the focus of a UCR News article. Our congratulations to Mihri and her collaborators for their innovative and impactful research.  [The figure above is from their Chem article.]

Ester Omaiye Receives a TRDRP Postdoctoral Award

Esther Omaiye, an ETOX alumna currently working as a postdoctoral researcher in the lab of Prue Talbot, an ETOX faculty member, has been awarded a three-year grant from the University of California’s Tobacco-Related Disease Research Program (TRDRP) to investigate how ratios of solvents and chemical mixtures in e-cigarettes influence their in vitro toxicity. As described in an Inside UCR news article about the award, Dr. Omaiye indicates that “As a postdoctoral researcher, I want to understand how certain combinations of these chemicals influence the toxicity of the aerosols generated from e-cigarettes.... Performing the experiments in controlled lab settings will help provide data supporting the regulations of e-cigarette chemical constituents concerning their use and health effects. I am very excited about the opportunity TRDRP has given me.” Our congratulations to Ester for receiving this nice award.  

Professor Yinsheng Wang Receives ACS Founders' Award

Professor Yinsheng Wang, Distinguished Professor of Chemistry and ETOX faculty member, recently received the 2023 Founders'Award from the Division of Chemical Toxicology of the American Chemical Society at its annual meeting in San Francisco.  Above is a photo of Yinsheng receiving the award from Michael Stone, the Division President.  The plaque reads "For seminal contributions to the field of Chemical Toxicology". Our congratulations to Yinsheng for this nice recognition of his many and significant research contributions.  

Postdoctoral Fellow in Genetic Toxicology at NIEHS

A postdoctoral position is available in the Systems Toxicology Branch in the Division of the National Toxicology Program (DTT) at the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS), Research Triangle Park, North Carolina. Please note that the position is in an office-based scientific environment. This position is for a discipline-specific fellowship in the field of genetic toxicology that will be applicable to careers in regulatory science and industrial toxicology. The fellow will gain understanding of key genetic toxicity testing approaches that have Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) test guidelines as well as genetic toxicity testing batteries. The fellow will also gain experience with genetic toxicity assays that provide information on the mode-of-action or mechanism-of-action of genotoxicants, such as error-corrected next generation sequencing and multiplexed biomarker assays.

The genetic toxicity testing program at the DTT offers a wide range of opportunities for fellow involvement. A suite of activities with defined products (manuscripts, contributions to DTT Technical Reports and Toxicity Reports, reviews, etc.) can be tailored based on the fellow’s interests, skills, and career goals. Furthermore, the fellow will participate in the design and interpretation of appropriate in vivo and in vitro genetic toxicology studies, which are aligned to DTT strategic scientific priorities and primarily conducted at an external contract research organization (CRO). Emphasis will be placed on understanding the study workflow from design through execution to analysis and reporting.The fellow will have extensive interaction with divisional staff in scientific disciplines such as chemistry, pathology, genetic toxicology, toxicokinetics, toxicogenomics, informatics, statistics, and molecular biology. The curriculum will also include a number of specific experiences (such as CRO site visits and interaction with external stakeholders in the regulatory sciences at other government agencies) that fellows are expected to undertake during their tenure as well as specifically tailored experiences based on the fellow’s identified career interest, if applicable.

The successful applicant will have formal training or experience in one or more areas of: toxicology, genetic toxicology, cellular and molecular biology, biotechnology, DNA replication, DNA damage response, DNA repair, mechanisms of genome maintenance, mutagenesis, carcinogenesis, genomic techniques (e.g., DNA sequencing) and related bioinformatics analyses, in silico methods for prediction of genotoxicity, methods of in vivo to in vitro extrapolation (IVIVE). The successful applicant will also have excellent writing and oral communication skills and will demonstrate a clear interest in working in a highly matrixed, team science environment....

Eligibility: To be eligible for a postdoctoral training fellowship at the DTT, applicants may not possess more than five years of postdoctoral experience and must hold a Ph.D. or equivalent in toxicology or an allied science (e.g., cellular and molecular biology, biochemistry, genomics, bioinformatics, biotechnology, or closely related discipline), M.D., D.V.M., or other equivalent professional degree. All applicants receive consideration without regard to race, religion, color, national origin, gender, sex, sexual orientation, physical or mental disability, political affiliation, age (with statutory exceptions), or any other non-merit factor.

How to Apply: Applications should be submitted by the closing date (see below) and include:

• Curriculum vitae.

• A one-page cover letter in which the applicant describes their background, how their doctoral training has prepared them for a fellowship, and what they hope to achieve if accepted into the program.

• Names and contact information for three references.

Applications should be submitted at: Please submit your application to Dr. Stephanie Smith-Roe via email by October 6, 2023. stephanie.smith-roe@nih.gov