News and Announcements
August 2025
Dr. Alexandra Noël receives new NIH funding to study the effects of prenatal vaping exposures on pulmonary responses
In March 2025, Dr. Alexandra Noël, Associate Professor of Inhalation and Developmental
Toxicology in the Department of Comparative Biomedical Sciences (CBS), was awarded
a major federal grant, a R01. The five-year award, totaling over $2.2 million from
the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI), will support Dr. Noël’s innovative
research on the respiratory effects of prenatal exposures to electronic-cigarette
aerosols.
This important funding will allow Dr. Noël and her team to advance the scientific
understanding of how vaping during pregnancy affects lung development and contributes
to respiratory diseases. The project aims to uncover the mechanisms by which prenatal
exposures to electronic-cigarette aerosols impact lung development and increase the
susceptibility for chronic lung diseases, particularly asthma, with the potential
to inform future public health policy and prevention strategies.
Dr. Noël’s laboratory has maintained continuous NIH funding since 2018, and this latest
grant highlights both her significant contributions to the fields of inhalation toxicology
and vaping research, and her dedication to mentoring the next generation of scientists.
Overall, her research sheds light on the health impacts of emerging tobacco products.
Dr. Ethan Anderson receives NIH R01 grant about chronic alcohol use and addiction
Ethan Anderson, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, was awarded a 5-year R01 grant from the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, a division of the National Institutes of Health (NIAAA/NIH). This award is for over $2 million and will fund basic science research in the Anderson Lab on how chronic alcohol use affects the brain using rodent models of addiction. The grant is called “Epigenetic regulation of stress-potentiated ethanol drinking.”
May 2025
Dr. Ahmed Abdelmoneim receives grant to study lead exposure and noradregergic regulation of acute stress response
In May 2025, Dr. Ahmed Abdelmoneim, Assistant Professor, received a $400,000 grant from the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, part of the National Institutes of Health, for his project entitled "Developmental exposure to lead and noradrenergic regulation of the acute stress response." The study leverages the zebrafish model to investigate the effects of developmental lead (Pb) exposure on a key regulator of the stress response, aiming to elucidate its contribution to Pb-induced stress behavioral phenotypes. Through genetic and pharmacological modulations, Dr. Abdelmoneim's lab intends to establish a causal link between noradrenergic signaling disruptions and behavioral changes induced by Pb, and to reveal structural and functional changes in the noradrenergic neurons of the locus coeruleus via transgenesis and in vivo brain imaging. Considering that stress-related psychiatric disorders affect a quarter of the global population, and environmental contaminant exposure is a significant yet underexplored risk factor, the research should provide valuable insights into the intersection of environmental toxicology and mental health. The project period is 2025-2027.