Grant: Project Grant

Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), often referred to as "forever chemicals", accumulate in all humans and animals and can cause adverse effects at all stages of life, including pregnancy and early development. While a small number of PFAS have been restricted, PFAS with very similar chemical structures have recently been identified by our team in cosmetics, personal care products and indoor dust. These novel and unregulated PFAS may cause adverse pregnancy outcomes similar to the compounds they were meant to replace. The goals of this proposal are to determine whether these emerging PFAS accumulate in human maternal blood and explore associations between emerging PFAS exposure and pregnancy outcomes in humans. We will determine the toxicity of emerging PFAS during pregnancy and early life using mouse models of pregnancy and advanced biomedical imaging (ultrasound, magnetic resonance). Finally, we will use gut microbes fed to experimental mice to determine their effectiveness at biodegradation of PFAS. This work has the potential to significantly improve pregnancy outcomes and identify groups most adversely impacted by environmental pollutants. It will also guide future studies to determine the impact of new chemicals that are currently not regulated and may prove to be similarly harmful.