“The impact of gestational environmental contaminant exposure on maternal and fetal pathophysiology.”
About Our Research
Drs. Cunningham, Bunnell, and Allen are examining the impact of ingesting environmental contaminants, such as methylmercury, on maternal and fetal health outcomes. Food insecurity is high in underserved populations, which increases the risk of consuming contaminated fish due to urban subsistence fishing. State warnings against fish consumption vary widely, as each state sets its own advisory limits. It is unknown how maternal environmental contaminant consumption at levels observed with subsistent fishing impacts maternal health and fetal development. The goal of our research is to investigate the mechanisms and toxicological impacts of dietary environmental contaminant exposure in a rodent model to determine the role of maternal exposure/transfer on neurodevelopment, along with the metabolic and microbiome systems.
Our Team
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Rebecca Cunningham, Ph.D., Co‐Principal Investigator
Dr. Cunningham is a tenured Professor in the Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences and Associate Dean for Research in the College of Pharmacy at University of North Texas Health Science Center (UNTHSC). She has over 20 years of experience in neuroendocrinology, rodent behavior analyses, oxidative stress signaling pathways. She has recently published on gestational environmental stressors on maternal and offspring physiological responses. Dr. Cunningham will be responsible for the overall administration and guidance of the proposed research in conjunction with Drs. Bunnell and Allen. Dr. Cunningham will also provide the leadership and research direction for the analysis of the impacts of PCBs on endocrine and cognitive function. |
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Bruce A. Bunnell, Ph.D., Co‐Principal Investigator
Dr. Bunnell is a tenured Professor and Chair of the Department of Microbiology, Immunology, and Genetics at UNTHSC. He has over 25 years of experience in Regenerative Medicine, including extensive expertise in the biological properties and application of adult stem cells as disease interventions. In addition, he has over 18 years of experience with adipose tissue biology and adipose stem cells. Dr. Bunnell has published extensively on mesenchymal stem cells from both the bone marrow and adipose tissue in rodents, nonhuman primates and human systems. Dr. Bunnell will be responsible for the overall administration and guidance of the proposed research in conjunction with Drs. Cunningham and Allen. Dr. Bunnell will also provide the leadership and research direction for the analysis of the impacts of environmental toxins on adipose tissue. |
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Aaron Roberts, Ph.D., Co‐Principal Investigator
Dr. Roberts is a tenured Professor in the Department of Biological Sciences and the Associate Vice President for Research and Innovation at the University of North Texas. Dr. Roberts has more than 20 years of experience in environmental toxicology including work with persistent environmental contaminants such as PCBs. He has published extensively on factors affecting bioaccumulation and toxicity pathways primarily using aquatic organisms as models. Dr. Roberts will oversee the analytical chemistry portion of the project and advise on toxicity outcomes for the project. |
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Michael Allen, Ph.D., Co‐Principal Investigator
Dr. Allen is a tenured Professor in the Department of Microbiology, Immunology, and Genetics at UNTHSC. He has over 20 years of experience in bacterial genetics, microbial community analyses and microbial metabolism and biotransformation of xenobiotic compounds. He has published extensively over the last ten years in the area of bacterial gut microbiome of animals. Dr. Allen will direct gut microbiome studies, analysis of host epigenetic DNA methylation profiles, and transcriptional profiling of select tissues.
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