The Community, Environment and Policy Department presents:

      

 

     Firefighter Health: Exposures, Epigenetics, and Cancer Risk
     Wednesday December 7, 2022
     12:00 –12:50 pm
     Drachman Hall B111 and Zoom

 

 

Jaclyn Goodrich, PhD
Research Associate Professor
Departmentof Environmental Health Sciences
University of Michigan School of Public Health

Abstract: Firefighters are at increased risk for multiple adverse health outcomes including cancers. The International Agency for Research on Cancer recently classified occupational exposure as a firefighter as carcinogenic to humans (Group 1). This risk may stem from multiple hazards firefighters face including chemical exposures (i.e. polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, per-and polyfluoroalkyl substances, PFAS). Epigenetics, including DNA methylation, control whether genes or turned on or off and are responsive to exposures. In this presentation, Dr. Goodrich will describe her research conducted as part of the Fire Fighter Cancer Cohort Study (FFCCS). The FFCCS team reported links between firefighting exposures (including to PFAS) and DNA methylation and accelerated epigenetic age. Implications for firefighter health will be discussed.

Bio: Dr. Jackie Goodrich is a Research Associate Professor in the Department of Environmental Health Sciences at the University of Michigan. She received her doctorate in toxicology from the University of Michigan and focused her postdoctoral training on environmental epidemiology and epigenomics. Dr. Goodrich’s research program aims to identify environmental factors –including from occupational and environmental sources -that contribute to disease susceptibility in vulnerable populations including workers and children. This research includes investigation of epigenetics as a potential mechanism linking exposures to adverse health outcomes.