Environmental Health Sciences Research Center

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Environmental Health Sciences Research Center

Since its inception in 1990, Environmental Health Sciences Research Center (EHSRC) at the University of Iowa (U.I.)

The EHSRC is devoted to gaining new insights into rural exposures; pathways of host defense, lung injury and repair; nanotoxicology; and population health; and translating these insights to clinical medicine, public health practice and regulatory policy has advanced and translated research that addresses environmental health problems across the urban-rural continuum. Our early research was focused

on organic dust exposure and lung disease, pesticide exposure and cancer, rural childhood asthma, and community health problems arising from industrialized livestock production. While studies in these arenas continue, we have also encompassed areas of emerging importance such as nanotoxicology, oxidative stress and innate immunity and have applied new innovations in environmental genomics, advanced metabolomics, environmental intervention cohort studies and state-of-the-art biomedical imaging. As future environmental health issues come to light, we will continue to embrace their challenges through vigorous research, outreach and community engagement. For example, in the wake of the Iowa Flood of 2008, we are investigating environmental health challenges posed by a warmer, wetter climate in the Midwest.

09/08/2026

Please join Dr. Jong Sung Kim for the first presentation in our mini-seminar series on micro- and nanoplastics. Dr. Kim is Director of the UI Human Toxicology Program and the EHSRC's Pilot Grant Program.

09/04/2026

Congratulations to Center Member Alicia Gerke and her colleague Alejandro Pezzulo! This R01 stems in part from a pilot grant the EHSRC awarded to Dr. Pezzulo in 2019.

Congratulations to Alicia Gerke, MD, MBA, and Alejandro A. Pezzulo, MD, who earned a new R01 from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute to study pulmonary sarcoidosis. The five-year, $3.8 million award will investigate environmental factors that cause or worsen the disease.

Sarcoidosis is a systemic inflammatory disease that can cause severe lung inflammation and fibrosis, leading to lung transplant or death. Current treatments are limited in their effectiveness and cause negative side effects.

Specific molecules on the surface of airborne particles like pollen, mold, and bacteria are suspected to trigger sarcoidosis, but right now, scientists don’t know exactly why. Gerke and Pezzulo hypothesize that it may be exposures in people’s homes and other day-to-day environments. The researchers will analyze household particles and their relationships to patients' symptoms and outcomes to expand our understanding of how this disease works.

“Until we understand what those factors are and how they impact disease course, we will continue to be limited in finding a cure or a way to prevent the disease,” Gerke says.

09/01/2026

You are invited to the following seminar:

07/30/2026

Our Analytical Toxicology Laboratory (ATL) has moved to a newly renovated, state-of-the-art space in the Iowa Bioscience Innovation Facility!

Link in comments.

04/27/2026

Please join us for the last seminar of the semester!

04/25/2026

Thank you to the Environmental Health Sciences Research Center at the University of Iowa for our years long science cafe collaboration. Bringing science to you is always free and open to the public. We look forward to welcoming you to our fall programs.
Happy summer!

Address

145N Riverside Drive, S300 CPHB
Iowa City, IA
52242

Telephone

+13193354756

Website

http://ehsrc.org/

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