MSU SRC Transitions Leadership Roles

Since 2005, Dr. Norbert Kaminski has directed the MSU Superfund Research Center. Taking the helm when the focus was on studying groundwater contaminants, Kaminski leaned into shifting the focus of the center to addressing dioxin contamination in Michigan's Tittabawassee River. Today, the MSU SRC's research focuses on the human health effects of dioxins and dioxin-like compounds (DLCs) and the remediation of contaminated Superfund sites. Kaminski will continue this work as a Project Leader and Deputy Director, but will hand over the Director role to colleague Dr. Timothy Zacharewski. 

Dr. Zacharewski became a member of the MSU SRC in 2000 and is currently the Co-Leader of Project 3. His research focuses on the aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AHR)-mediated hepatic effects of DLCs. This includes the disruption of metabolism during DLC-induced progression of steatosis to steatohepatitis with fibrosis which increases the risk of fatty liver diseases such as Metabolic Syndrome, end-stage liver disease, liver cancer and Metabolic Dysfunction-Associated Steatotic Liver Disease (MASLD, formerly referred to as non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD)). The primary goal is to elucidate the mechanisms underlying adverse effects elicited by DLCs. Current projects in the Zacharewski group are collaborative efforts that use novel in vitro organoid and in vivo genetic models and involve the integration of multi-omic approaches in complementary dose response studies.
 
Zacharewski is excited to lead the MSU SRC into the future, “I look forward to continuing to work closely with Norb as well as the other MSU SRC team in pursuing ground breaking human health research, developing solutions to remediate Superfund sites and engaging with affected communities.”