Selected Presentations & Appearances
Exposure to semi-volatile organic compounds (SVOCs) can impair immune function, potentially increasing disease
risk among highly exposed populations. Because the prenatal period and early infancy are a critical window for
immune development, we hypothesized that higher prenatal SVOC exposures could result in increased susceptibility
to acute respiratory infections (ARIs) among infants, the most common infectious condition of childhood. To test this
hypothesis, we used data from the ongoing HOPE 1000 longitudinal pregnancy cohort in central North Carolina to
evaluate associations between prenatal SVOC exposure and infant respiratory infection before age 12 months (n=77
infants). Prenatal SVOC exposure was measured using silicone wristbands, which were worn by pregnant HOPE
1000 participants for 5 days in each trimester of enrollment. Forty SVOCs were detected in at least 60% of wristbands,
with phthalates and organophosphate esters detected at the highest levels. Acute respiratory infections were
identified from infant electronic health records (EHRs) using International Classification of Diseases Tenth Edition
(ICD-10) codes. We identified medically attended ARIs for 32 of 77 infants (41.6%) in the first year of life. We
observed an increased odds of ARI among infants whose birthing parent had higher prenatal exposure to several
SVOCs including, tri-isobutyl phosphate (TiBP; Odds Ratio: 1.42; 95% confidence interval: 0.92 - 2.26), a common
flame retardant in plastics; however, associations were not statistically significant, potentially due to our small sample
size. Protective associations were also observed for some compounds (e.g., tris(2-ethylhexyl) trimellitate), though
none reached statistical significance. Analysis of additional wristbands and EHR information is ongoing. Taken
together, our results provide critical insights into the potential impacts of prenatal SVOC exposures on child health
Biological invasions by non-native species into novel environments can induce ecological changes that negatively impact local communities and ecosystems. Elodea canadensis is a freshwater submerged macrophyte that was introduced to Alaska in 1982. Elodea has been shown to reduce the growth and trophic position of juvenile Coho salmon (Oncorhynchus kisutch) but effects on more pelagic-feeding sockeye salmon (O. nerka) are unknown. In both 2021 and 2022, we investigated potential effects of Elodea on juvenile sockeye salmon by placing full water-column permeable mesocosms in a freshwater lake near Cordova, Alaska, supporting an economically important sockeye salmon population. Across three replicates, one mesocosm was placed over a bed of native vegetation and one over a bed of Elodea. We stocked mesocosms with juvenile sockeye salmon (N=33-40 depending on year) and collected water chemistry samples (water-column nutrients, dissolved organic carbon, chlorophyll-a, and dissolved oxygen) biweekly. After 6 weeks, community members (fish, invertebrates, zooplankton, and macrophytes) were harvested from the mesocosms. We analyzed carbon and nitrogen stable isotopes of the community members to infer resource use pathways between treatments. Elodea did not produce detectable effects on water chemistry likely because of the permeable nature of the mesocosms. However, we observed a shift in the carbon isotope ratios of sockeye salmon towards Elodea isotope signatures. These findings indicate that water chemistry may not be a mechanism by which Elodea induces ecological change in this Alaskan lake, and that Elodea is partially incorporated into sockeye salmon food chains.