Monthly Archives: June 2014

Proctor Creek Coalition Proctor Creek Watershed Watch: A Photovoice Project presented at 2015 U.S. EPA Community Involvement Training Conference The Proctor Creek Coalition was a finalist for the Atlanta Magazine Groundbreakers Award The EPA conducted the “Boone Boulevard” Green Street Health Impact Assessment in the Proctor Creek Watershed community of Atlanta. Although significant improvements have been made, the Proctor […]

Dr. Miller introduced the concept of the exposome and its development in the scientific community since its initial introduction, opening the dialogue about the exposome and its role as a tool in developing and advancing environmental health sciences and human health as a whole.

HERCULES was invited to join the Proctor Creek Coalition, a group consisting of several community-based organizations, developers, and federal, state, and local governmental agencies working collaboratively to address the contamination, flooding, mold/air quality, and built environment challenges facing a local Atlanta community.

The pathogenic markers of Alzheimer’s disease (AD) have been widely hypothesized to accumulate in the brain up to 15 years before the onset of cognitive symptoms. AD risks are best modeled by assessing the interaction of demographic factors (age, gender, race), genetic risk factors, active biological processes (e.g. neuroinflammation) and neuroprotective factors (e.g. education).

The epigenomic profile can be modified by environmental factors and regulate gene expression levels. Environmental stressors induce immune responses and lead to elevated levels of inflammation, a mechanism for chronic conditions such as cardiovascular disease, hypertension and cancer. DNA methylation (DNAm), a well-documented epigenetic mechanism, is associated with inflammatory markers. Through this pilot project, Dr. Sun plans to use a systems biology approach to study DNAm networks which are impacted by multiple environmental stressors (smoking, air pollution, and psychosocial stress).