Biological sciences professor awarded NIEHS grant to study pollution

Dr. Marianna Sadagurski receives funding from the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) to study pollution and metabolic syndrome.

We are awash in manmade chemicals from consumer products and our environment. Could these be contributing to the rise in metabolic disorders such as obesity and diabetes? Assistant Professor, Marianna Sadagurski, and collaborators in the Wayne State University Departments of Engineering, Pharmacology and the Center for Molecular Medicine and Genetics have been awarded a major, five-year award to study this connection.

Their interdisciplinary team will focus on the role of benzene, found in exhaust and cigarette smoke. Notably, benzene has been linked to inflammation. They will study the effect of low levels of benzene on inflammatory signaling pathways in cells of the central nervous system. An inflammatory response in these cells may cascade through the neuroendocrine axis and tip the body towards altered metabolism.

Dr. Sadagurski expects the findings of this study to shed light on the growing health challenge posed by metabolic disease. Perhaps her work will even shape public health policy in the future!

Learn more about the Sadagurski laboratory.