Program Overview: Projects and Cores        

Joseph H. Graziano, Mailman School of Public Health, Director
Alexander van Geen, Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, Associate Director

The contamination of groundwater and soils with As and Mn is associated with major public health, remedial, and environmental policy problems. Both arsenic and manganese are found at numerous Superfund sites. This program seeks to obtain new knowledge, facilitate the translation of these findings into policy applications, and train multidisciplinary pre- and post-doctoral students concerning the health effects, geochemistry, and remediation of As and Mn, with a particular focus on groundwater. The program involves substantial work at the single most seriously As-affected Superfund site in Vineland, NJ. It also encompasses epidemiologic studies of As- and Mn-exposed adults and children residing in Bangladesh and New Hampshire. As in the past, the Columbia University SBRP includes a unique balance between biomedical and non-biomedical research.

The program includes four biomedical research projects:

1) Genotoxic and Cell Signaling Pathways of As in Mammalian Cells
2) Health Effects of Arsenic Cohort Study
3) Consequences of Arsenic and Manganese Exposure on Childhood Intelligence
4) One-Carbon Metabolism, Oxidative Stress, and Arsenic Toxicity in Bangladesh.

The biomedical research is intimately intertwined with three non-biomedical projects:

5) Mobilization of Natural Arsenic in Groundwater
6) Mobilization of Anthropogenic Arsenic in Groundwater
7) Mitigation of Arsenic Mobilization in Groundwater.

The projects are supported by four research support cores:

Core A) Data Management
Core B) Trace Metals
Core C) Biogeochemistry
Core D) Hydrogeology.

The Administrative Core is responsible for the supervision, coordination, and financial accountability of the entire Superfund Basic Research Program. The newly created Research Translation Core "Collaborating with Government & the Public: As & Mn Exposure via Groundwater" provides additional mechanisms for sustained communications among the SBRP research projects, cores, government agencies, and interested parties. The RTC also helps government agencies and the public evaluate and address local groundwater contamination by providing geospatial data integration, mapping, and field assistance. Finally, the SBRP Training Core coordinates multi-disciplinary education and interaction among pre- and postdoctoral trainees who benefit from participation in a major inter-disciplinary research program.