A $1 million gift to Duke University’s Nicholas School of the Environment will allow the school to establish a research laboratory in “environmental exposomics,” an emerging scientific field that assesses the cumulative effects of environmental contaminants on human health.
In recognition of the $1 million gift from Michael S. Falk and Annie Falk, the facility be named the Michael and Annie Falk Foundation Environmental Exposomics Laboratory.
According to Duke, “Exposomics aims to measure people’s cumulative exposures to environmental contaminants over the course of their life and identify how these combined exposures influence the risk of developing cancer and other diseases.”
“Genetics, on its own, has been found to account for only about 10 percent of all diseases. The remaining 90 percent appear to be linked to environmental causes or complex interactions of environmental and genetic factors,” said Heather Stapleton, associate professor of environmental chemistry at Duke and co-principal investigator of the lab.
Duke explains that “Exposomics combines the power of big data and the precision of molecular epidemiology to give scientists a promising new way to investigate these complex interactions. Zeroing in on specific mixtures can help determine which chemicals are responsible for increasing a person’s risk of specific diseases such as cancer, cardiovascular disease or neurodevelopmental disorders. ”
The Falks’ gift, Duke says, will provide funding to hire highly specialized staff members to perform research and data analyses in support of research by scientists at the Nicholas School, the Duke Cancer Institute, the Pratt School of Engineering, and other schools and labs across campus.
The gift will also fund access to additional computational resources through Duke Research Computing, support an environmental exposomics symposium to be hosted at Duke, and fund the development of a new website interface for disseminating and translating the lab’s research findings to scientists and the public.
“The work at the exposomics lab is deeply personal to us,” Annie Falk told Duke Today. “About 20 years ago, I had a frightening exposure to unknown household toxins which made me sick and fearful for my life.
“We eventually discovered that my incapacitating symptoms were caused by exposure to the building products used during the renovation of our home. This led us to educate ourselves on exposure science, where we came to understand the importance and support this field needs.”
“Our hope is that this lab will advance the public’s understanding of how chemicals in consumer products and the natural environment affect human health,” said Michael Falk. “We also hope that this work helps people protect themselves and their families from some of the biggest — but often preventable — health threats linked to environmental causes and lifestyle choices, starting in utero and throughout their lifetimes.”
