Monday, May 9, 2011
The Michigan Daily - michigandailycom
3
* URC studies impact
of dangerous toxins
Sava to open market
downtown in 411 Lofts
New research
examines effects
of environment on
Michigan residents
By ZACH BERGSON
Daily Staff Reporter
With the help of more than
$750,000 in seed funding from
the University Research Corri-
dor, researchers are beginning
to investigate the effects of envi-
ronmental exposures on Michi-
gan residents through two major
research initiatives.
The URC - a research col-
laborative developed in 2006
between the University, Michi-
gan State and Wayne State Uni-
versity - will use the money
to fund both The Michigan
Bloodspot Environmental
Epidemiology Project, which
examines newborn blood for
exposures to natural and artifi-
cial compounds, and also a study
involving the effects of air pollu-
tion on Dearborn's Arab-Ameri-
can population.
Dr. Howard Hu, co-principle
investigator of the Michigan
Bloodspot Environmental Epi-
demiology Project and professor
of environmental health sci-
ences at the University, said the
funding has allowed the project
to develop a multidisciplinary
team of researchers from all
three institutions.
Hu said his team of chemists,
physicians, molecular biolo-
gists and computational experts
will be investigating the role
that environmental exposures
in early life play in the develop-
ment of diseases and disorders
like autism, Alzheimer's and
asthma.
"There is mounting evidence
that the environmental expo-
sures that matter are those
that occur very early in life, for
some of these conditions, and I
mean during development in the
womb," he said.
Hu added that it is almost
impossible to study the effects
that early life environmental
exposures have on the develop-
ment of these diseases and disor-
dcers later in life. Instead, Hen said
the tata will use prenatal data
collected by Michigan hospitals
to investigate these effects.
"We will take advantage of
the reality that every baby in the
state from 1984 onwards had five
spots of blood archived on the
day they were born as well as
emerging techniques for analyz-
ing those bloodspots to estimate
what the prenatal exposures
were," Hu said.
Hu said he believes the inter-
action between exposure to pol-
lutants and a newly-discovered
chemical structure called the
epigenome - which surrounds
DNA and is responsible for turn-
ing our genes on and off - may
be the culprit in the develop-
ment of many of these diseases.
"We can study the epigenome
from bloodspots giving us now
another tool for trying to fig-
ure out how early life chemical
exposures may impact on adult
disease by affecting the epig-
enome by turning genes on and
off," Hu said.
Many of these exposures
include common metals like
lead, mercury, arsenic, cadmi-
um, manganese, as well as arti-
ficial chemicals like pesticides,
Hu said.
"These are chemicals that
come out of plastic-like com-
pounds that have been widely
used in baby bottles, soup cans,
cosmetics and even medical
See RESEARCH, Page 12
Nev
cor
B3
Stud
Sava's1
incenti
Washi
owner
w Shop to provide a new market under the Sterling 411
Lofts apartment building.
aven lent options The market will include abakery,
deli, cafe and wine bar and will also
for students sell fresh produce, house wares and
toiletries, among other groceries.
y ANNA ROZENBERG Additionally, the restaurant will
Daily StaffReporter feature a large, outdoor seating area
as well as a European-style long
cents who enjoy dining at table inside the 3,800 square-foot
State Street Caf6 may find an market, Lelcaj said.
ve in taking a trip down East Lelcaj said she hopes the mar-
ngton Street this fall, where ket will help to further develop the
Sava Lelcaj will be opening Washington Street area and be of
assistance to students who don't
live within walking distance of a
grocery store.
"I want to help provide the con-
venience of shopping here for stu-
dents without having to get on a bus
and go to Meijer," Lelcaj said.
The market will also provide a
breakfast-in-bed option on Sundays
for Sterling 411 Lofts tenants, in
which residents can order anything
off the menu and have it brought to
their doors, Lelcaj said.
See SAVA'S, Page 7
..
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cHRIS DZOMBAK/Daily
Green awnings lay on the floor in the 3800 square foot space on the grend floor of 411 Lofts where Sava Lelcaj, owner of Sava's
State Street Cafe, plans to open a high-end market shop this fall. (Chris Dzombak/Daily)
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