Superfund at Duke

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Superfund at Duke

Research, education, and outreach center focused on understanding and communicating the effects of toxins on human and environmental health.

Our goal is to better understand how toxic chemicals may affect the environment and human health. More specifically, our focus is on how exposure to chemicals early in life may impact development and lead to health issues later on in life. We look at how pesticides, flame retardants, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), and nano-compounds impact brain development, behavior, thyroid function, and more.

10/06/2026

The Duke Superfund Fall 2026 Newsletter is out!

Click on the link below to learn more about Dr. Javier Huayta (Project 3 - Meyer Lab) investigating impacts of chemical contaminants on the nematode C. elegans and much more!

https://us14.campaign-archive.com/?u=1beb4934ca50ec64477b6d247&id=2de0303c24

07/29/2026

Campus is quiet this summer but our DUSRC Trainees in the Meyer Lab, Aliyah Webster and Javier Huayta are hard at work!

06/22/2026

Check out the new blog by Jingyi (Beatrix) Liu and Scout Yokley about their Master's Project research!

"Revising the “Stop, Check, Enjoy!” Campaign to Address PFAS in Fish" https://bit.ly/4b5IMvo

06/18/2026

Thanks to UNCW's Watson School of Education for hosting us in Wilmington at the 2026 Soar into STEM event for formal and informal educators in North Carolina.

We loved connecting with STEM educators who are bringing engaging environmental science activities into their classrooms.

Check out our latest blog post for more details about this event! https://sites.nicholas.duke.edu/superfund/cec-connects-with-teachers-at-soar-into-stem/

06/11/2026

Our "Cape Fear Kids Go Fishing" comic book is now available as a flip book! Check back soon for a Spanish language version.

Some fish from the Cape Fear River may contain contaminants that can harm health. Read on to learn more about ways to protect yourself and your family.

Thanks to our partners Cape Fear River Watch and NC Coastal Federation!

Comic Book: http://bit.ly/3QjwecP

05/27/2026

Superfund Research Centers (SRPs) are funded by the National Institute of Environmental Health Science to support research on the effects of chemical contaminants on human health and the environment. SRPs are based at universities across the United States. One of the objectives of SRPs is to train the next generation of environmental health researchers and practitioners.

05/20/2026

Announcing the Nicholas School Life Photo Contest Winner!

Congratulations to Melissa Chernick on winning the Nicholas School Life Photo Contest through Duke Environment Digest! Chernick’s prize is $100 in Duke University Store items.

Her winning shot features Samantha Phelps, a Ph.D. student in Nishad Jayasundara’s lab, throwing minnow traps into a Virginia estuary to capture Atlantic killifish. As part of the Duke Superfund Research Center, the Jayasundara lab studies how these fish have evolved resistance to high levels of contaminants, and the tradeoffs of those adaptations.

04/29/2026

Congratulations to MEM Students Beatrix Liu and Scout Yokley!

Nicholas School of the Environment at Duke Master's students Liu and Yokley successfully completed the oral presentation for their Master’s Project entitled Identifying and Communicating Health Risks from Subsistence Fish Consumption along the Lower Cape Fear River.

In partnership with the Superfund at Duke Community Engagement Core (CEC) and the CEC-facilitated Subsistence Fish Consumption Working Group (Cape Fear River Watch, NC Coastal Federation, and the Center for Human Health and the Environment at NCSU), the students provided recommendations on how to revise and strengthen the “Stop, Check, Enjoy!” social marketing campaign and provide better communication to the community about PFAS in fish.

04/24/2026

Celebrating our Trainees!

Duke Superfund Trainee Dr. Javier Huayta (Meyer Lab) was awarded three honors at the Society of Toxicology 2026 Annual Meeting in San Diego, CA:

Gabriel L. Plaa Education Award;

Sheldon D. Murphy Postdoctoral Endowment Award; and

Hispanic Organization of Toxicologists Postdoctoral Travel Award.

Trainee Dr. Emily Green (Jayasundara Lab) successfully defended her dissertation entitled Host–Microbiome Interactions as Modulators of Embryogenesis and Developmental Toxicity in Teleost Fish: Implications for Evolved Chemical Resistance on Feb 12, 2026 . Committee members included DUSRC faculty Dr. Nishad Jayasundara, Dr. Richard Di Giulio, Dr. Joel Meyer, and Dr. Claudia Gunsch. Dr. Green was also awarded the 2026 Forever Duke Student Leadership Award through Duke Alumni Engagement and Development. The award celebrates students who are serving the Durham and Duke community.

04/17/2026

So proud of our investigators and their work with the Museum of Life and Science.

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Durham, NC
27708

Website

http://sites.nicholas.duke.edu/superfund/

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