Thit Aarøe Mørck is a PhD student at the University of Copenhagen who studied human exposure to environmental chemicals. Her project involved collecting urine, hair, and blood samples from 145 mother-child pairs in Denmark to measure 64 biomarkers of exposure and early effects from chemicals like phthalates, PBDEs, PCBs, and metals. She plans to use the funding from the LUSH prize to analyze the data for associations between exposure measurements and early effects, and to identify patterns of chemical exposure.
1. Thit Aarøe Mørck, LUSH prize 2014
Exposure to environmental chemicals and early
markers of adverse effects
- A study using human samples
Thit Aarøe Mørck, PhD student
University of Copenhagen
Faculty of Health Science
Department of Public Health
Section of Environmental Health
2. Outline of today
• Human biomonitoring
• My project
• How I plan to use the LUSH prize money
• Acknowlegdements
Thit Aarøe Mørck, LUSH prize 2014
3. Thit Aarøe Mørck, LUSH prize 2014
Human exposure to environmental chemicals
Air
Soil
Food
Lotions/cosmetics
Toys
Water Electronics/furnitures
4. Thit Aarøe Mørck, LUSH prize 2014
Human exposure with human measurements
Chemical
exposure
Human biomonitoring:
Measurement of total
exposure
Biomarkers of exposure
-Internal dose
Biomarkers of effect
- Early response
Effects of exposure:
Traditional toxicological measurements:
- Animal studies
- Cell toxicology assays
5. Thit Aarøe Mørck, LUSH prize 2014
My project
Human biomonitoring
• EU project DEMOCOPHES (DEMOnstration of a study to
COordinate and Perform Human biomonitoring on a
European Scale)
• 145 mother-child pairs in Denmark
• Two areas (urban and rural)
• Sample collection (urine, hair and blood)
• Questionnaire (mothers)
6. 64 biomarkers of exposure and effects
Thit Aarøe Mørck, LUSH prize 2014
URINE BLOOD
Phthalates
Parabens PCBs
PFASs
PBDEs
Paracetamol
Phenols
Mercury
Cotinine
Cadmium
Dioxin-like activity
Micronuclei frequency
HAIR
7. Micronucleus (MN)
• Biomarker of cytogenetic effects
• Association between high exposure to
traffic and MN frequency
• Increased risk of cancer development
with increased MN frequency
Thit Aarøe Mørck, LUSH prize 2014
9. AIM – use of LUSH prize money
• Associations with exposure measurements and early effects
• Patterns of exposure
Thit Aarøe Mørck, LUSH prize 2014
URINE BLOOD
Phthalates
Parabens
PCBs
PFASs PBDEs
Paracetamol
Phenols
?
Mercury
Cotinine
Cadmium Dioxin-like activity
Micronuclei frequency
HAIR
10. Acknowledgements:
Danish Health and Medicines Authority
Danish Environmental Protection Agency
Danish Veterinary and Food administration
EU projects COPHES and DEMOCOPHES
University of Copenhagen
Lisbeth E. Knudsen
Jeanette Nielsen
Janne Fangel Jensen
Pernille Winton
Volkert D. Siersma
Line Mathiesen
Thit Aarøe Mørck, LUSH prize 2014
University of Aarhus
Eva Bonefeld-Jørgensen
Simon Erdmann
University of Southern Denmark
Phillippe Grandjean
Flemming Nielsen
Free University of Brussels
Kim Vande Loock
Micheline Kirsch-Volders
LUSH PRIZE ORGANIZATION
