Welcome to the University of Kentucky Superfund Basic Research Program

By participating in the National Institute of Environmental Health Science's nationwide family of Superfund Basic Research Programs (SBRP), the University of Kentucky continues its strong tradition of cross-disciplinary collaboration that accompanies its land grant institution mandate.

University of Kentucky SBRP research efforts focus on the idea that nutrition can positively impact the negative effects on human health of chemical exposures near Superfund sites, thereby improving health and disease outcomes associated with such exposures. The UK-SBRP focuses on the impact of exposure to different chlorinated organic compounds, such as polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and trichloroethylene (TCE) --both of which are prevalent at Superfund sites nationally and in Kentucky. Kentucky has more than 500 Superfund sites and 14 active sites on the EPA National Priority List. This grant represents the continuing effort of the University of Kentucky to pursue national prominence in environmental and health research while addressing issues of extreme importance to Kentuckians.

SBRP funding supports five projects (three biomedical projects and two non-biomedical projects). The biomedical projects focus on such common diseases in Kentucky as cardiovascular disease, cancer, obesity, and hypertension. Since pollutant compounds dissolve in fat, fatty foods usually contain higher levels of persistent organics, such as PCBs, than do vegetable matter. Once absorbed, PCBs distribute themselves to body tissues. UK-SBRP researchers believe that nutritional choices can reduce oxidative stress and improve antioxidant status, thus positively impacting the human effects of Superfund pollutants. The nonbiomedical projects investigate new techniques to detect Superfund chemicals and to minimize or remove them from the environment. In conjunction with ongoing research activities, the UK-SBRP engages communities near Superfund sites through its Community Outreach and Research Translation Cores. In addition, the UK-SBRP Training Core provides support and experience for graduate and postdoctoral scholars working in fields related to chemical toxicity and environmental pollutants.

In addition to UK-SBRP internal organization, UK recently added an important resource for scientists throughout the university. The Center for Clinical and Translational Science (CCST) provides a centralized infrastructure consisting of key core facilities and services to help investigators, clinicians, and scholars from across the university and the Commonwealth of Kentucky access the necessary resources not only to become educated on the conduct of clinical research but also to afford them mechanisms in which they can access a gamut of support services needed for the conduct of high quality clinical and translational research.