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
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