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It is with great sadness that we inform members of the Pacific Basin Consortium for Environment and Health of the recent unexpected passing of Board of Directors Member, KW Kim.
Kyoung-Woong Kim received his Ph.D. from the Imperial College London in the U.K. He was a Professor of Environmental Geochemistry at School of Earth Sciences and Environmental Engineering from 1997 and was Dean of International and Public Affairs at Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology (GIST) in Republic of Korea. His research interests included environmental monitoring and risk assessment, and the remediation of contaminated soil and groundwater.
Professor Kim joined the PBC Board of Directors in 2010 and hosted the 2012 PBC conference, entitled ‘The Geochemistry of Hazardous Substances – Human Health and Ecological Health Risk Factors’ at the Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology, Republic of Korea and the 2022 PBC conference , entitled “Environmental exposures in a changing climate” on Jeju Island, Republic of Korea. Affectionately known as “Kim”, he always had a smile on his face, could be heard sharing a laugh, and went out of his way to make others feel comfortable. He was a man to be feared when passing around the “depth charges”!
Kim will be sadly missed by the PBC family.
The Pacific Basin Consortium (PBC) is proud to announce its transition to a not-for-profit organisation, marking a significant step and milestone in our mission to address pressing environmental and health challenges in the Pacific region.
This new status will assist in regulating our collaborations and help advance environmental solutions for a more sustainable and healthier future.
Advancing Research for Children’s Environmental Health (ARCeH) mission is to protect the health and well-being of the world’s most vulnerable population – children living in the rapidly industrializing regions of Southeast Asia and the Western Pacific.
Sign up for their newsletter here https://arceh.us13.list-manage.com/subscribe?u=f262c3a8f587a412706fde958&id=26fddd3f35
It is with great sadness that we inform members of the Pacific Basin Consortium for Environment and Health of the recent unexpected passing of our Honorary Council, Todd Maiden.
Todd joined the PBC in approximately 1989, when the PBC was called the Pacific Basin Consortium for Hazardous Waste Research and Management, as our Honorary Council. In fact, Todd is the only Council the PBC has had. Todd has worked tirelessly on behalf of the PBC, ensuring our Charter stayed current and was currently drawing up documents to give the PBC charitable status in the USA.
Todd was a partner at the Reed Smith San Francisco office for more than 20 years. Todd had a passion for environmental law and studied at the University of Southern California Law School. When not practicing law, Todd enjoyed spending time fishing and relaxing in the Pacific Northwest. He had a deep love for Orcas Island.
Todd was incredibly kind, gracious, and invested in all those around him. He served as a mentor to countless young environmental attorneys during his tenure. He sought out various ways to volunteer his time to reduce carbon emissions, increase recycling, protect biodiversity, and engage others to help protect our environment. Todd also participated in several trade associations that monitor and shape proposed federal and state environmental legislation and regulatory developments.
Todd will be greatly missed by the PBC.
Our Chairperson, Professor Stephania Cormier, is excited to announce an available postdoctoral position in her lab. Please see the detailed description below:
A postdoc position is available immediately in my laboratory at Pennington Biomedical Research Center / Louisiana State University. Research in my group focuses on understanding how early life exposures (i.e., allergens, pollutants, and respiratory viruses) lead to predisposition, development of, or exacerbation of respiratory disease in adults. Our work is highly translational and collaborative with immediate relevance to human diseases, such as shock and acute respiratory distress syndrome. We leverage samples from critically ill children to identify molecular targets to investigate in vitro and in vivo. Open projects involve investigating the mechanisms of interferons in the development of humoral immune responses.
We are seeking self-motivated applicants with competence in standard immunology and molecular biology techniques and human cell culture. As a core member of the lab, you will be expected to work at the bench, interpret data, and troubleshoot experiments independently.
Due to the translational aspect of our research, a drive for an independent investigation, creativity, and excellent communication skills are required.
Interested applicants, please send your CV/biosketch, brief statement of research interest/experience and contact information for 2 or 3 references to me at stephaniacormier@lsu.edu.
Congratulations to our PBC Chairperson Professor Stephania Cormier who received the Adel Sarofim Award for leadership in combustion/health sciences at the 16th International Congress on Combustion By-Products and Their Health Effects in Durham, North Carolina.
The LSU SRP’s co-sponsorship of the workshop was led by the LSU SRP Research Experience and Training Coordination Core (RETCC).
The full-day workshop aimed to introduce the idea of thinking strategically about communication in the context of toxicology, offer tools to help with multiple aspects of science communication, and give trainees the opportunity to practice their science communication skills.
Read more about this collaborative effort in the article here: https://www.lsu.edu/srp/news/2024/04-scicomm-workshop.php
The spotlight is on Fox Foley who is an LSU SRP trainee and PhD candidate in the LSU Department of Physics & Astronomy. Their research investigates solar-simulated irradiation’s effects on transition metal oxides to understand and potentially remediate EPFRs production.
Dive into the Q&A session with Fox Foley here: https://www.lsu.edu/srp/news/2024/04-foley-trainee-spotlight.php
Our colleagues from Children’s Health & Environment Program (CHEP) and the LSU Superfund Research Program recently received the prestigious NHMRC Ideas Grant for their project on understanding the health effects from bushfire smoke.
The project, “Providing Evidence to Guide Public Health Messages during Bushfire Smoke Events,” focuses on understanding the dangerous health effects of smoke from bushfires. Major bushfire/wildfire events are increasing worldwide, and both prescribed burning and wildfires produce toxic smoke that is a major health threat to people in surrounding areas.
Read all about it in the article here: https://www.lsu.edu/srp/news/2024/04-ideas-grant.php
The Pacific Basin Consortium for Environment and Health 