Identification of Biomarkers for Early Detection of Environmentally-Induced Mitochondrial Dysfunction (R01)
Mitochondrial dysfunction is associated with numerous chronic diseases including Type II diabetes, metabolic syndrome, neurodegenerative diseases, blindness, cardiovascular disease, and cancer. Although it is known that mitochondria are a target for numerous environmental compounds, including pesticides, bacterial and fungal toxins, and multiple industrial chemicals, there are only a few well-studied links between disease and mitochondrial dysfunction resulting from environmental exposures. Research in this area is hampered by a lack of tools to measure early markers of mitochondrial dysfunction in human studies, particularly with respect to ambient environmental exposures