News

In recognition of outstanding accomplishments in the field of Nicotine and Tobacco Research, the Board of Directors of The Society for Research on Nicotine & Tobacco congratulates Deborah J. Ossip, PhD for being named an SRNT Fellow. Fellows are listed at http://www.srnt.org/?page=Current_Fellows.

Amina Alio, PhD, Assistant Professor of Public Health Sciences, has been awarded the J. William Fulbright Scholarship grant to study HIV among women (sex workers) in Niger.

Deborah J. Ossip, PhD, Professor, Director Smoking Research Program, has been appointed to the FDA Tobacco Products Scientific Advisory Committee (TPSAC) https://www.fda.gov/advisoryCommittees/CommitteesMeetingMaterials/tobaccoproductsScientificAdvisoryCommittee/default.htm

Scott Steele, PhD, Director of the CTSI Regulatory Science Core has been selected to serve on the Food and Drug Administration's (FDA) Science Board. The Board provides advice to the Commissioner and other FDA offcials, exploring issues from gene editing or regulation of opioids to food safety, and aims to help the FDA keep pace with technical and scientific developments.

AAMC Taps URMC for National Community Health and Equity Initiative. Theresa Green, PHD, MBA, spearheaded the proposal which led to URMC being selected as just one of eight institutions chosen by the Association of American Medical Colleges to join the collaboration, which will map our community health activities, evaluate their impacts, help us share best practices and foster the development of targeted actions.

Ashley Holub, PhD student of Public Health Sciences received 3rd place honors in the National Lipid Association Young Investigator Competition for an abstract entitled: The Effects of Aspirin in Combination with EPA and DHA on HDL Cholesterol and ApoA1 Exchange in Individuals with Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus

Xi Cen, PhD student of Public Health Sciences, has been selected as a recipient of the student travel award from Academy Health. Xi will present "Medicare Bundled Payments for Post-Acute Care", a research paper with Yue Li, PhD and Helena Temkin-Greener, PhD at the 2017 Academy Health Long Term Services and Supports Interest Group meeting on June 24 in New Orleans

Deborah Ossip, PhD, Elected President of the Society for Research on Nicotine and Tobacco.

Todd Jusko, PhD, Assistant Professor of Epidemiology, was awarded a one year research contract from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The overall objective of the project is to examine the relationship between in utero and postnatal blood lead concentrations and children's immune system function.

Robert Block, MD, MPH, was awarded a 2-year research grant from the international Atherosclerosis Society and Pfizer Pharmaceutical Corporation. The overall goal is to partner with patients with familial hypercholesterolemia (a genetic disease that causes very premature heart attacks and strokes) and physicians in order to build and test educational/motivational information about this disease within the University of Rochester's electronic health record.

Helena Temkin-Greener, PhD was awarded a two-year research grant from the Donaghue Foundation. The overall goal of the research project is to develop process and outcome-based measures of care quality for nursing home residents with mental health and behavioral disorders, and to explain variations in these measures across facilities and regions/states. Locally, findings will provide a benchmark performance measure for nursing homes participating in the NYS Delivery System Reform Incentive Payment (DSRIP) Program.

Kelly Thevenet-Morrison, M.S., Lead Programmer Analyst in the Department of Public Health Sciences, awarded Outstanding Graduate Student Teacher award at the Opening Convocation for the School of Medicine & Dentistry on September 8, 2016.

Ann M. Dozier, PhD, Professor Public Health Sciences, in the Center for Community Health, and of Clinical Nursing, named Albert David Kaiser Chair of Public Health Sciences at the Opening Convocation for the School of Medicine & Dentistry on September 8, 2016.

Hayley Martin, MD-PhD student in Epidemiology received a student scholarship to attend the 2016 Family Medicine Education Consortium Annual Meeting in Pittsburgh, PA. This meeting is aimed at family medicine physicians, residents and medical students in the north east interested in "improving the health of the community by strengthening Family Medicine / Primary Care services and medical education."

Dr. Diana Fernandez, Associate Professor of Public Health Sciences, is assuming the co-chair position of the Latino Health Coalition convened by the Finger Lakes Health Systems Agency

Yareni Sime, a University of Rochester rising junior and Scholar in the Ronald E. McNair Post-Baccalaureate Achievement Program, was hosted this summer by Dr. Ann Dozier and her team that is studying infant feeding, health and safety. Ms. Sime's summer research project was entitled Suboptimal Infant Feeding Practices Among Hispanic/Latino Women in Monroe County.

Deborah J. Ossip, PhD, Professor, Director Smoking Research Program, has been appointed to the FDA Tobacco Products Scientific Advisory Committee (TPSAC)

Irfan Rahman, Ph.D., Professor of Environmental Medicine, has been awarded a Senior Toxicologist Award by the Society of Toxicology - Associations of Scientists of Indian Origin. The award was presented to Dr. Rahman in the presence of many Society of Toxicology (SOT) meeting attendees as well as several NIEHS officials.

He received the award at the SOT 56th Annual Meeting and ToxExpo in Baltimore, MD on March 13th. This year's meeting, like its predecessors, was designed to provide members with access to cutting-edge science, networking opportunities, and career development resources through its various events and activities:

• 160+ Scientific Sessions, covering diverse topics such as age- dependent neuroimmunotoxicological effects, cardiopulmonary consequences of gestational toxicant exposure, and novel in vitro and in silico platforms, among dozens of others
• 50+ receptions and social events hosted by SOT Regional Chapters, Special Interest Groups, Specialty Sections, Committees, and other toxicology-related organizations
• 13 Continuing Education courses and other education opportunities
• ToxExpo, featuring more than 330 exhibitors providing products, services, and technology created to benefit the toxicology community

Congratulations Dr. Rahman!

The label may say "cinnamon" or "vanilla" but the true contents of e-cigarette flavorings are acetoin, diacetyl, and other chemical additives that are known to irritate the respiratory tract and impair lung function, according to a collaborative study from western New York scientists.

Senior author Irfan Rahman, Ph.D., professor of Environmental Medicine and part of the Lung Biology and Disease Program, said the findings suggest that chemical flavorings in e-cigarettes not only cause inflammation but may rapidly impair the critical epithelial cells in the airways, which act as the first defense against infections and toxins. When the epithelial barrier becomes more permeable or leaky due to chemical assaults, life-threatening lung diseases can occur.

For example, volatile flavoring chemicals (such as the butter flavor in microwave popcorn) have been linked to severe lung diseases among workers at food manufacturing plants who were routinely exposed during production, according to the Centers for Disease Control.

The local study was published by the journal, Applied In Vitro Toxicology. Janice Gerloff, a technician in Rahman's laboratory, and Isaac Sundar, Ph.D., a research assistant professor at URMC, worked with chemists and engineers at the Rochester Institute of Technology and the University at Buffalo to study the chemical characteristics of a sampling of flavored liquids used in vape pens, e-hookahs, e-cigars, e-pipes obtained from local vape shops. More than 450 brands of e-cig products with more than 8,000 flavors (including chocolate, menthol, mango, and cotton candy) are on the market, the study said.

Although the Flavor Extracts Manufacturers Association has certified these chemicals as safe, scientists are concerned about consumers inhaling them in high concentrations. Many e-cig flavors also are laced with nicotine. Researchers tested the emissions of flavored liquids and created a "puff profile" and a chemical profile for each flavor. They also treated human lung cells with the vaping chemicals and observed a potent reaction as pro-inflammatory cells transformed lung epithelial cells, making them more vulnerable to injury and illness.

The U.S Food and Drug Administration, Center for Tobacco Products, funded the research.

 

Enviromental Medicine professor, Irfan Rahman's paper, Shelterin Telomere Protection Protein 1 Reduction Causes Telomere Attrition and Cellular Senescence via Sirtuin 1 Deacetylase in Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease , has been chosen to be featured on the January cover of the journal of American Journal of Respiratory Cell and Molecular Biology. The cover (see image to the right) includes a diagram is from the Rahman group's data figure showing human telomere damage by environmental tobacco smoke during lung aging and COPD disease.

Congratulations to Dr. Rahman and his lab!

Deborah J. Ossip, Ph.D., professor of Public Health Sciences and Oncology, has been elected 2016 president of the Society for Research on Nicotine and Tobacco (SRNT). The international society coordinates and advances research related to nicotine and tobacco from molecular to societal levels, and it publishes the journal Nicotine & Tobacco Research.