Dona Schneider is Professor and Associate Dean for Programs at the Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy of Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey. Dr. Schneider teaches epidemiology at both Rutgers and the UMDNJ-School of Public Health. She serves as article, book and grant reviewer for more than 30 journals, agencies and publishing houses; and has served as thesis chair for more than 35 graduate students. Her research record includes more than 100 refereed journal articles, books and book chapters, mostly focusing on mortality, morbidity and risk factors for disease, especially for children and minorities. Dr. Schneider also serves as PI for the HIV Community Prevention, Support and Development Initiative (HIV CPSDI), a Bloustein unit that trains and provides technical assistance to community-based organizations working to prevent the spread of HIV in New Jersey.
Research Areas
Health and Policy Issues Facing American Children and Minorities; Mortality; Morbidity; and High Risk Behaviors
Scholarly Activities
Recent Publications
The primary goal of my translational research is to improve the understanding of environmental effects on human health and human immunity during infections such as with Mycobacterium tuberculosis (M.tb), the bacterium that causes TB. For the past 15 years my lab, in collaboration with others, has spearheaded research on human lung immune responses to M.tb. Our findings helped to establish the concept of compartmentalization of immune responses to the lungs in human pulmonary TB.
Recent studies from my lab with co-investigators at EOHSI and at the University of Southern California (USC), have shown that stimulation of peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) with diesel exhaust particles (DEPs) alter cytokine production and toll-like receptor-mediated M.tb-specific cell activation pathways. DEPs are major components of aerosolized urban ambient fine particulate matter (PM). We noted that the production of critical M.tb-induced pro-inflammatory cytokines such as IFN-gamma, TNF-alpha, IL-1 beta, and IL-6 was reduced in a DEP dose-dependent manner in PBMC. Furthermore, inhibition of expression of many NF-kB and IFN regulatory signaling pathway target genes was observed upon DEP stimulation in non-infected cells. These data suggest that DEPs downregulate M.tb-induced cytokine and gene expression responses thus significantly compromising antimycobacterial host immune responses.
Research Interests
Recent Publications
Stuart Shapiro joined the Bloustein School faculty in 2003 after five years in the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) at the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) in Washington. In OIRA he analyzed and coordinated executive branch review in the areas of labor, health and social policy. Prior to working at OIRA he received his PhD in Public Policy from Harvard University where he studied how political factors impacted changes to child care regulations in eight states. He has taught courses at Harvard, Georgetown, and the USDA Graduate School.
Research Areas
Interplay between politics and policy analysis in the regulatory process. Recent areas of focus has been on the use of cost-benefit analysis and the regulatory process in the states.
Recent Publications
Education
Research Areas
Dr. Shendell works to “bridge” science, education and policy in a multidisciplinary fashion to reduce and/or prevent environmental exposures and health effects. He focuses on community/schools-based research with local participation in planning and execution; educational trainings and materials, service and technical assistance; and informed/evidence-based policy advocacy.
Furthermore, he is Director of the NJ Safe Schools Program and co-facilitates the NJ OSHA Alliance, which are within the Center for School and Community Based Research and Education. The program includes injury surveillance (including only school-based system, online and in-print, for working minors and young adults), science-to-policy, regular statewide e-communications, and training for teachers and administrative professionals in secondary education (public and private) concerning safety and health.
Among many research and practice-oriented service activities outside NJ, he is Student Involvement co-Chair (Faculty Chair) of the American Public Health Association (APHA) – Environment (ENV) (and a member of both ENV and Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) sections), and an annual meeting abstract reviewer for APHA ENV and OHS as well as other international societies he is a member of. Inside NJ, he is an approved appointee by the State of NJ Governor’s office (multiple administrations) to the Commission on Environmental Education/Interagency Working Group and the Child Labor Advisory Board to advise the NJ Department of Environmental Protection and NJ Department of Labor and Workforce Development, respectively, using various data to inform decisions.
Research Highlights
Recent Publications
Click here for additional publications by Dr. Shendell.
Research Areas
Drug delivery and targeting with an emphasis on AIDS, cancer, and chemical counterterrorism, biomaterials, hydrogels and nanocarriers, mechanism-based pharmacokinetics and biopharmaceutics; transport and metabolism, and bioavailability.
Research Highlights
Dr. Sinko’s research is focused on the mechanisms and applications of biopharmaceutics and polymers to drug delivery and targeting. His laboratory is located in the Ernest Mario School of Pharmacy. His group’s research efforts focus on the design, fabrication and evaluation of molecular-scale drug and diagnostic delivery technologies applied broadly to asthma, AIDS, cancer, and chemical counterterrorism. Dr. Sinko’s research efforts have been continuously supported by the National Institutes of Health, various nonprofit organizations and the Pharmaceutical and Biotech industries.
The research group is organized into therapeutic areas focusing on AIDS, cancer, and chemical counter-terrorism. Drug delivery at the molecular scale (i.e., nano) using biodegradable and biocompatible polymer platforms is a central theme. The scope of current projects includes a molecular mechanistic component, chemical design and synthesis, and biological and efficacy characterization (in vitro, in situ, and in vivo) with an emphasis on translation from concept to clinic.
Scholarly Activities
Recent Publications
Dr. Stapleton is an Assistant Professor in the Rutgers University, Ernest Mario School of Pharmacy, Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, and the Joint Graduate Program in Toxicology. She received her B.S. in Biology and Athletic Training from State University of New York (SUNY) College at Cortland, a M.S.Ed. in Kinesiology from Southern Illinois University at Edwardsville, and a Ph.D. in Exercise Physiology from West Virginia University. She completed her postdoctoral training within the Department of Physiology and Pharmacology at West Virginia University.
Research Areas
The microcirculation branch of the cardiovascular system encompasses the arterioles, capillaries, and venules within an organ or tissue of interest. These highly active vessels serve to maintain homeostasis by regulating blood flow and tissue perfusion, thus providing nutrients and removing waste. Central to proper reactivity is the health and function of the endothelium, a single cell layer lining the vasculature. The Stapleton laboratory investigates the microvascular perturbations associated with normal physiological challenges (exercise or pregnancy), disease, and exposures to environmental and/or occupational xenobiotics.
Using engineered nanomaterials, studies focus on the question: how can something we inhale affect the cardiovascular system? Recently, her research group has investigated non-traditional models of exposure by incorporating reproductive toxicology. These studies focus on exposures during pregnancy leading to the development of a hostile gestational environment identified through microvascular evaluations of the mother. These prenatal exposures impact fetal development and may predispose future generations to cardiovascular aberrations. The Stapleton laboratory is funded by a NIEHS ONES award, NIH R01 ES031285.
Research Highlights
Awards
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Research Interests
Awards and Honors
Recent Publications
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