Environmental Health Sciences Center

05/14/2026

In anticipation of an award, the PNW EHSC is bringing back pilot project grants to support new environmental health science research ideas and provide priority access to our Center's Core services.

Please note that these dates are subject to change pending OSU's receipt of the NIEHS award.

Just-In-Time Pilot Grant.
This grant will only be available to OSU-based Center members for this cycle. Letter of intent due June 26, 2026; funding decisions by July 2026. Awards must be completed by December 31, 2026. Eligible projects should have an environmental health focused aim can be completed in 4-6 months.

Vanguard Pilot Grant.
All Center member are eligible. Letter of intent due November 1, 2026; funding decisions by January 2027.

Visit https://ehsc.oregonstate.edu/research-support/pilot-projects for more details on these award opportunities and to apply.

Support Cores Community Engagement Core > Community Advisory Board > Dissemination Toolkit Translational Research Support Core Zebrafish Biomedical Research Core > Zebrafish Order Form Chemical Exposure Core Administrative Core Pilot Projects Program > Pilot Project Awardees > Pilot Project FAQs Per...

05/01/2026

What does it take to understand how our environment shapes our health over time?

Researchers are increasingly using the concept of the “exposome” to study the full range of environmental exposures people experience across their lives. This includes everything from air pollutants and chemicals to the many everyday factors that influence health.

A recent article from Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) highlights how advances in analytical chemistry, data science, and biological testing are helping researchers better capture these complex exposure patterns. By combining detailed chemical measurements with tools that evaluate potential health effects, scientists are building a more complete picture of how exposures relate to disease and well-being.

For environmental health research, this approach supports more comprehensive and realistic assessments of risk—moving beyond single chemicals to better reflect real-world conditions.

Read more from PNNL:

Scientists equipped research subjects with wristbands to measure many factors that contribute to their exposome.

04/30/2026

𝗥𝗲𝘀𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗰𝗲𝗿𝗻𝘀 𝗮𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗮𝗶𝗿 𝗾𝘂𝗮𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗶𝗻 𝗪𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝗘𝘂𝗴𝗲𝗻𝗲 𝗹𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗼 𝗮 𝗰𝗼𝗹𝗹𝗮𝗯𝗼𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗰𝗵 𝗲𝗳𝗳𝗼𝗿𝘁 𝘁𝗼 𝗯𝗲𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗹𝗼𝗰𝗮𝗹 𝗲𝘅𝗽𝗼𝘀𝘂𝗿𝗲𝘀.

Community members living near a wood treatment facility partnered with researchers to investigate reported odors and potential health risks. Using passive air samplers and silicone wristbands, the study measured 64 polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in both outdoor air and personal exposure.

The results showed higher PAH levels closer to the facility, with strong agreement between environmental and personal measurements. These findings align with what residents have long reported and help clarify how local sources contribute to everyday exposure. The site has since been designated as a Superfund site.

This project is part of a broader community-engaged effort that includes sharing results back with participants and supporting conversations about exposure, risk, and next steps. By combining measurement with communication, the work helps make complex environmental data more useful and accessible.

These findings were recently published:
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envpol.2026.128103

Learn more about the West Eugene collaboration:
https://ehsc.oregonstate.edu/our-research/research-highlights/west-eugene-air-quality-collaboration

Research Highlights Contaminants in the Columbia River Basin Researcher Highlight: Brandon Pearson, PhD Lead-Sheathed Telephone Cables in Older Neighborhoods Portland Harbor Chemical Analysis West Eugene Air Quality Collaboration Report-Back of Research Results Wildfire Smoke and Infant Health Expos...

03/31/2026

Veronica Irvin, Endowed Professor in Public Health at Oregon State University and EHSC member, was recently interviewed for the “10 Questions With…” series published by OSU Today. The piece describes her community‑engaged research approach, including efforts to support safe drinking water for well owners and to reduce environmental exposures that can affect underserved communities. The interview underscores her commitment to translating environmental health science into practical interventions that improve real‑world health outcomes.

10 Questions With… Veronica Irvin, Celia Strickland Austin and G. Kenneth Austin III endowed professor in public health. Irvin uses a community-engaged approach to develop, implement and evaluate behavior change programs across a list of health priorities, including breast cancer and environmental...

03/05/2026

EHSC researcher Dr. Susanne Brander was recently featured on the Possibly podcast to discuss what scientists currently know (and don’t yet know) about microplastics and human health.

Microplastics are now being detected almost everywhere scientists look, including in human tissues. But understanding what those findings mean for health takes time.

Listen to the episode:
https://thepublicsradio.org/possibly-podcast/how-do-we-know-if-microplastics-affect-our-health/

It seems like microplastics are everywhere these days — but their impacts on human health remain unclear. Today we take a closer look at why that is and how scientists are trying to get a clearer picture.

02/21/2026

Dr. Kim Anderson and Isabella Nelson were recent guests on the Forestry Smart Policy podcast, produced by the Oregon Forest Industries Council, in the January 30 episode.

In the conversation, Isabella discussed her analysis of Oregon DEQ’s public reporting from the Pesticide Stewardship Partnership (PSP) and how analytical decisions, such as how to handle data below reporting limits, how to treat flagged quality-control samples, and how to interpret detection frequency and benchmark comparisons, can significantly influence conclusions about environmental risk and program effectiveness.

Dr. Anderson provided additional perspective on best practices in environmental monitoring and the importance of transparency, appropriate benchmark selection, and clear communication of uncertainty. Together, they highlight why rigorous, clearly defined analytical methods are essential for building trust and supporting sound policy decisions.

Listen to the episode here:
https://ofic.com/podcast/

The Forestry Smart Policy Podcast We are unapologetic advocates for the forest sector who believe forestry is part of the solution to Oregon’s biggest challenges. We’re subject matter experts who take pride in our ability to distill complex forestry topics into manageable information. We may cha...

01/30/2026

Who Owns the Data? A Workshop on Indigenous Data Sovereignty

In January 2026, the OSU / PNNL Superfund Research Center hosted this recorded workshop that brought together expertise from the Northwest Indian College Institutional Review Board (IRB) and researchers from the University of Washington, Oregon State University, and the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory to explore Indigenous data sovereignty in community–academic research collaborations.

Topics include:
🔹 Best practices from Tribal IRBs
🔹 The role of Data and Material Sharing and Ownership agreements
🔹 Aligning academic research with Tribal IRBs
🔹 Designing culturally responsive Data and Material Sharing Agreements
🔹 Recent NIH guidance on Tribal data repositories

🎥 Watch the full recording:

An overview of Tribal Institutional Review Boards and Data Sharing Agreements.Panelists include co-leads of the OSU/PNNL Superfund Research Center's Communit...

01/26/2026

🔬 EHSC Researcher Spotlight: Dr. Emily Ho

Dr. Emily Ho is Deputy Director of the Environmental Health Sciences Center and leads our Translational Research Support Core. Her research focuses on how diet and nutrition affect biological responses to environmental stressors, with the goal of reducing chronic disease risk and promoting long-term health.

Dr. Ho is also director of the Linus Pauling Institute at Oregon State University and is a widely respected voice in public health, regularly quoted by national and international news outlets for her insights on nutrition science.

Learn more about Dr. Ho and her work: https://ehsc.oregonstate.edu/about-us/our-team/emily-ho

12/31/2025

As we welcome the new year, we’re reflecting with gratitude on the connections, discoveries, and conversations that shaped our work in 2025.

Thank you to our researchers, trainees, community partners, and supporters for being part of our mission to understand and improve environmental health.

Here’s to continued collaboration, curiosity, and impact in 2026!

12/24/2025

🔬 Center Member Spotlight: Dr. Susanne Brander

Dr. Susanne Brander is an ecotoxicologist at Oregon State University whose research focuses on how microplastics and other emerging contaminants affect aquatic life and potentially human health. Her work bridges lab-based toxicology and large-scale environmental questions to help us better understand real-world exposure risks.

Her expertise has been featured in numerous national media stories, including:
• Environmental Health News on microplastics and health impacts: https://www.ehn.org/effect-of-microplastic-on-human-health-2670409883.html
• KUNC/NPR on what animal studies reveal about microplastics in our bodies: https://www.kunc.org/2024-12-09/microplastics-research-probes-the-type-of-dangers-they-may-pose-to-our-bodies
• OPB on the growing scientific effort to understand microplastics and health: https://www.opb.org/article/2024/12/18/are-microplastics-harmful-to-our-health-scientists-are-trying-to-find-out/

Learn more about Dr. Brander’s research here:
https://agsci.oregonstate.edu/users/susanne-brander

Trying to find researchers with a specific expertise or research area? Try using our Research Discovery Index, a searchable database of all our members: https://ehsc.oregonstate.edu/resources/research-discovery-index