Three EITS Students Receive Awards at MI SOT Annual Fall Meeting
October 26, 2023
The Michigan Regional Chapter of the Society of Toxicology recently held their annual fall meeting, "One Health in Toxicology," on October 13, 2023. Three Environmental and Integrative Toxicological Sciences (EITS) graduate students received awards at this meeting.
EITS graduate student Kelsi Morris received the 1st Place Oral Platform Presentation Award for her presentation, "Associations of glyphosate and aminomethylphosphonic acid (AMPA) with early second-trimester inflammatory biomarkers." Strickland is mentored by Dr. Rita Strakovsky.
Morris is interested in understanding the extent to which pregnant women are exposed to various environmental chemicals through their diets, and how this exposure could impact their health and the health of their baby. Specifically, she is interested in studying the endocrine and metabolic health of women during pregnancy.
EITS graduate student Ebenezar Okoyeocha received the 1st Place Graduate/Postdoctoral Poster Presentation Award for his poster, "Chloropicrin-induced ocular toxicity; In-vivo injury model and the role of the Nrf2 pathway." Okoyeocha is mentored by Dr. Neera Tewari-Singh.
Okoyeocha's research interests involve elucidating the mechanism of chemical induced injury, and identifying targeted treatment options. His current research in Dr. Neera Tewari-Singh's lab is focused on establishing an in vivo mouse ocular injury model with Chloropicrin (Trichloronitromethane, CP). He is working to further define the role of the Nrf2 pathway in GP-induced ocular injury using Nrf2 knockout (KO) mice.
EITS graduate student Maria Cinzori received the 2nd Place Graduate/Postdoctoral Poster Presentation Award for her poster, "Associations of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances with maternal metabolic and inflammatory biomarkers in mid-pregnancy." Cinzori is mentored by Dr. Rita Strakovsky.
Cinzori's research interests center around the intersection between nutrition, toxicology, and pregnancy. She has a particular interest in the relationship between maternal obesity and endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs) and their impact on the anogenital distance (AGD) and 2:4 finger digit ratio (2:4D) of the offspring.