In Vivo and Ex Vivo Neutron and X-ray Technologies to Study Association of Metal Exposure and Human Health

All dates for this event occur in the past.

Scott Lab E141
201 W. 19th Avenue
Columbus, OH 43210
United States

Seminar Speaker: Linda H. Nie, Professor, School of Health Sciences, Purdue University

Abstract: 

The broad applications of metals in industry, agriculture, and other fields have dramatically increased metal exposure to human population over the last several decades. Studies have linked metal exposures to various health effects and diseases. Many metals accumulate in storage and/or target organs in human body and induce adverse health effects. Accurately quantifying metals or trace elements in these organs provides critical information to study metal exposure and human health. This talk will introduce three key techniques: in vivo neutron activation analysis (IVNAA), in vivo x-ray fluorescence (IVXRF), and synchrotron micro-XRF (S-µXRF). The development of a DD neutron-generator based IVNAA system will be illustrated. Human studies were conducted to test the efficacy of bone Mn as a cumulative Mn exposure biomarker and to study the association between cumulative Mn exposure and neurological effects using the developed IVNAA system. The presentation will also touch upon a study on childhood Pb poisoning, conducted using the IVXRF bone Pb measurement system developed in our Lab. Towards the end of the presentation, I will provide a brief overview our recent research on the use of S-µXRF to study brain metals and their potential association with neurodegeneration.

Bio: 

Dr. Nie is a Professor of Medical and Health Physics in the School of Health Sciences at Purdue University. She is also a courtesy professor in Purdue School of Nuclear Engineering. Dr. Nie is an expert in the field of Applied Nuclear Physics, where she applies nuclear technologies in interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary fields such as environmental/occupational health, public health, medicine, and biology. She has been developing novel x-ray and neutron technologies on human body composition study, toxicology study, disease diagnosis, and cancer treatment. She has been collaborating with over a dozen of research groups nationally and internationally to apply the technologies developed in her lab to study metals and health. She published over 90 papers in the related fields. Dr. Nie is associate editor for the Applied Radiation and Isotopes journal and is an Editorial Board member for Physiological Measurement. She is also a council member for the International Society of Trace Element Research in Humans (ISTERH).

Category: Nuclear Seminar
Tag: event