2013
Recent News
May
Dartmouth Superfund Recognizes Drinking Water Week
The Dartmouth Superfund Program participated in a Drinking Water Festival in Concord, NH on May 8th as part of the celebration of “Drinking Water Week” from May 5-11.
Our Research Translation and Community Engagement Cores teamed up to provide an exhibit on arsenic in private well water for 350 4th graders as part of the NH DES Water Festival held at the Concord Sewage Treatment Plant. Most of the students are on clean and safe city water, but it is important that they understand that their friends and family in other parts of NH may get their water from private wells which need to be tested to be sure their water is safe for drinking.
Remember to TEST YOUR WELL!
Gluten-Free Event at the Lebanon Co-op
Representatives from the Dartmouth Superfund Research Program were on hand at the Lebanon Co-op during their Gluten-Free Event on Thursday, May 16, 2013 from 3 - 6. Many people rely on rice and rice products as an alternative to wheat when eating a gluten-free diet.
Dartmouth Researcher Publishes Paper in Nature
Dr. Guerinot, of the Dartmouth Superfund Program, has published a paper in Nature entitled "Using membrane transporters to improve crops for sustainable food production".The article discusses the need for sustainable nutritious food for the growing world population and how specialized plant membrane transporters can be used to increase crop yields and increase nutrient content and increase resistance to key stresses, including salinity, pathogens and aluminium toxicity, which in turn could expand available arable land.
April
Bomberger Received the Lazaro Mandell Young Investigator Award from the American Physiological Society
Jennifer Bomberger, Ph.D., a former postdoctoral fellow in the Stanton laboratory in the Dartmouth Lung Biology Center and Dartmouth Superfund Program, received the Lazaro J. Mandel Young Investigator Award for her research on CF at the Experimental Biology Meeting in Boston on April 22, 2013. Dr. Bomberger is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Microbiology and Molecular Genetics at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine in Pittsburgh, PA.
March
Mercury: From Source to Seafood Accepted To Film Festival
Dartmouth Toxic Metals short film "Mercury: From Source to Seafood" was accepted to the Beneath the Waves Film Festival, which hopes to facilitate widespread science communication by bringing together marine films from around the world for open discussion, while also providing hands-on educational opportunities for researchers interested in film and media outreach. Stay tuned for details on Film Festival premiere.
February
Pulitzer Prize Winner Deborah Blum Visits Dartmouth
Deborah Blum, Pulitzer-prize winning science journalist and Author of The Poisoner's Handbook, spoke to an audience of 75 attendees about poisons, science communication and chemistry on February 11, 2013.
January
Tracy Punshon Accepted by NUFO Outreach Scientist Network to Engage in Research Translation
The National User Facility Organization (NUFO) working closely with the Association of American Universities (AAU) and government relation experts, are developing plans to compile material for outreach purposes. To accomplish that goal NUFO is establishing a network of user scientists affiliated with universities and industry to represent the national user facility-based research at outreach events such as exhibits in Washington and who can interact with leadership within their own organizations to advocate for basic science. Tracy Punshon of the Dartmouth Superfund Research Program was invited by NUFO to serve as a member of this network as an individual who is engaging and can make science exciting and understandable for non-scientists, communicates effectively about the science, why science is vital to the United States, and the importance of research done within the university system.
Dartmouth Paper on Rice Consumption and Arsenic Recognized by NIEHS
Dr. Margaret Karagas was the lead author on an SRP funded paper which was highlighted as one of the 20 best papers of the year by NIEHS. The paper discusses rice consumption and arsenic exposure in pregnant women.
C-MERC Report Released
In new research published in a special issue of the journal Environmental Research and in Sources to Seafood: Mercury Pollution in the Marine Environment— a companion report by the Dartmouth-led Coastal and Marine Mercury Ecosystem Research Collaborative (C-MERC), scientists report that mercury released into the air and then deposited into oceans, contaminates seafood commonly eaten by people in the U.S. and globally.
CMERC COVERAGE: Union Leader, Grist.org Article, SRP Article
Dartmouth Researcher, Celia Chen, Represents Dartmouth College and SRP at the 5th Session of the UNEP Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee on Mercury
Dr. Chen attended the 5th session of the United Nations Environment Programme Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee on Mercury (INC5) in Geneva, Switzerland from January 13-18. In her capacity as an observer, she made the recently released CMERC report available as part of an exhibition organized to relay relevant and timely information to INC5 participants. Nature Article
