Research

Highlighted research from faculty and staff.

Articles

Experts say we could see more toxic chemical pollution if policies don’t change

On the CultureShift, Detroit’s NPR Station, Judy Westrick provided her environmental expert opinion about the toxic chemical spill from the East Palestine, Ohio train derailment.

Researchers study how algal bloom toxins may harm Great Lakes air

Toxins from harmful algal blooms are well-known as water polluters, but now researchers are looking at how they harm Great Lakes air.

Fingernail testing for arsenic in Thailand

Publications

MacKeigan, P. W.; Zastepa, A.; Taranu, Z. E.; Westrick, J. A.; Liang, A; Pick, F. R.; Beisner, B. E.; Gregory-Eaves, I. “Microcystin concentrations and congener composition in relation to environmental variables across 440 north-temperate and boreal lakes” Science of The Total Environment, 2023, 884, 163811
Bérubé, R.; LeFauve, M. K.; Heldman, S; Chiang, Y. T. T.; Birbeck, J.; Westrick, J.; Hoffman, K; Kassotis, C. D.; “Adipogenic and endocrine disrupting mixture effects of organic and inorganic pollutant mixtures”, Science of The Total Environment, 876, 2023, 876, 162587
Chaffin, J. D; Westrick, J. A.; Reitz, L. A.; Bridgeman, T. B. “Microcystin congeners in Lake Erie follow the seasonal pattern of nitrogen availability” Harmful Algae, 2023, 127, 102466
Zastepa, A.; Westrick, J. A.; Liang, A.; Birbeck, J. A.; Furr, E.; Watson, L. C.; Stockdill, J. L.; Ramakrishna, B. S.; Crevecoeur, S. “Broad screening of toxic and bioactive metabolites in cyanobacterial and harmful algal blooms in Lake of the Woods (Canada and USA), 2016–2019” Journal of Great Lakes Research, 2023, 49, 134
Erratt, K. J.; Creed, I. F.; Freeman, E. C.; Trick, C. G.; Westrick, J.; Birbeck, J. A.; Watson, L. C.; Zastepa, A. “Deep cyanobacteria layers: An overlooked aspect of managing risks of cyanobacteria” Environmental Science & Technology, 2022, 56, 17902
Hanlon, R.; Jacquemin, S. J.; Birbeck, J. A.; Westrick, J. A.; Harb, C.; Gruszewski, H.; Ault, A. P.; Scott, D.; Foroutan, H.; Ross, S. D.; González-Rocha, J.; Powers, C.; Pratt, L.; Looney, H.; Baker, G.; Schmale, D. G. “Drone-based water sampling and characterization of three freshwater harmful algal blooms in the United States” Frontiers in Remote Sensing, 2022, 3, 80
Rosati, R.; Birbeck, J. A.; Westrick, J.; Jamesdaniel, S. “Lead exposure induces nitrative stress and disrupts ribbon synapses in the cochlea” Frontiers in Molecular Neuroscience, 2022, 15, 934630
Chaffin, J. D.; Westrick, J. A.; Furr, E.; Birbeck, J. A.; Reitz, L. A.; Stanislawczyk, K.; Li, W.; Weber, P. K.; Bridgeman, T. B.; Davis, T. W.; Mayali, X. “Quantification of microcystin production and biodegradation rates in the western basin of Lake Erie” Limnology and Oceanography, 2022, 67, 1470
Lad, A.; Breidenbach, J. D.; Su, R. S.; Murray, J.; Kuang, R.; Mascarenhas, A.; Najjar, J.; Patel, S.; Hegde, P.; Youssef, M.; Breuler, J.; Kleinhenz, A. L.; Ault, A. P.; Westrick, J. A.; Modyanov, N.N.; Kennedy, D. J.; Haller, S. T. “As we drink and breathe: Adverse health effects of microcystins and other harmful algal bloom toxins in the liver, gut, lungs and beyond” Life, 2022, 12, 418
Baliu-Rodriguez, D.; Peraino, N. J.; Premathilaka, S. H.; Birbeck, J. A.; Baliu-Rodriguez, T.; Westrick, J. A.; Isailovic, D. “Identification of Novel Microcystins Using High-Resolution MS and MSⁿ with Python Code” Environmental Science & Technology, 2022, 56, 1652
Bilyeu, L.; Bloomfield, B.; Hanlon, R.; González-Rocha, J.; Jacquemin, S. J.; Ault, A. P.; Birbeck, J. A.; Westrick, J. A.; Foroutan, H.; Ross, S. D.; Powers, C. W.; Schmale, D. G. “Drone-based particle monitoring above two harmful algal blooms (HABs) in the USA” Environmental Science: Atmospheres, 2022, 2, 1351
Roth, K.; Yang, Z.; Agarwal, M.; Liu, W.; Peng, Z.; Long, Z.; Birbeck, J.; Westrick, J.; Liu, W.; Petriello, M. C. “Exposure to a mixture of legacy, alternative, and replacement per-and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) results in sex-dependent modulation of cholesterol metabolism and liver injury” Environment International, 2021, 157, 106843
Kucheriavaia, D.; Veličković, D.; Peraino, N.; Lad, A.; Kennedy, D. J.; Haller, S. T.; Westrick, J. A.; Isailovic, D. “Toward Revealing Microcystin Distribution in Mouse Liver Tissue Using MALDI-MS Imaging” Toxins, 2021, 13, 709
Chaffin, J. D.; Bratton, J. F.; Verhamme, E. M.; Bair, H. B.; Beecher, A. A.; Binding, C. E.; Birbeck, J. A.; Bridgeman, T. B.; Chang, X.; Crossman, J.; Currie, W. J. S.; Davis, T. W.; Dick, G. J.; Drouillard, K. G.; Errera, R. M.; Frenken, T.; MacIsaac, H. J.; McClure, A.; McKay, R. M.; Reitz, L. A.; Santo Domingo, J. W.; Stanislawczyk, K.; Stumpf, R. P.; Swan, Z. D.; Snyder, B. K.; Westrick, J. A.; Xue, P.; Yancey, C. E.; Zastepa, A.; Zhou, X. “The Lake Erie HABs Grab: A binational collaboration to characterize the western basin cyanobacterial harmful algal blooms at an unprecedented high-resolution spatial scale” Harmful Algae, 2021, 108, 102080
Cuko, L.; Duniec-Dmuchowski, Z.; Rondini, E. A.; Pant, A.; Fallon, J. K.; Wilson, E. M.; Peraino, N. J.; Westrick, J. A.; Smith, P. C.; Kocarek, T. A. “Negative regulation of human hepatic constitutive Androstane receptor by cholesterol synthesis inhibition: role of sterol regulatory element binding proteins” Drug Metabolism and Disposition, 2021, 49, 706
Cassidy-Bushrow, A. E.; Burmeister, C.; Birbeck, J.; Chen, Y.; Lamerato, L.; Lemke, L. D.; Li, J.; Mor, G.; O'Leary, B. F.; Peters, R. M.; Reiners Jr, J. J.; Sperone, F. G.; Westrick, J.; Wiewiora, E.; Straughen, J. K. “Ambient BTEX exposure and mid-pregnancy inflammatory biomarkers in pregnant African American women” Journal of reproductive immunology, 2021, 145, 103305
Salter, C.; VanMensel, D.; Reid, T.; Birbeck, J.; Westrick, J.; Mundle, S. O. C.; Weisener, C. G. “Investigating the microbial dynamics of microcystin-LR degradation in Lake Erie sand” Chemosphere, 2021, 272, 129873