The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has awarded a research grant of nearly $650,000 to the University of California (UC), Davis to investigate the effect of environmental agents on thyroid hormones and modeling how the chemicals affect organism health.
The grant was part of almost $11 million awarded to eight universities through the EPA's Science to Achieve Results program. These grants will help the universities develop fast and effective methods to test chemicals' toxicity to people and the environment.
The UC Davis study will focus on thyroid hormones that are critical regulators of vertebrate development and metabolism. The study will look at the exposure of environmental agents that affect thyroid hormone synthesis, transport, metabolism, and/or receptor activity that may have profound consequences for organisms.
The project will also study the development of sensitive and reliable screening methods for thyroid hormone disrupting chemicals that should be an important component of a larger screening program for endocrine disruptors.
