Wolfgang Liedtke, MD, PhD, assistant professor of medicine (Neurology), recently published research into the signaling mechanisms in human airway epithelial cells that nanoparticles emitted from Diesel combustion engines, such as in trucks, ships and locomotives, elicit.
The most recent paper, in Environmental Health Perspectives, identifies a variant of the ion channel TRPV4, TRPV4(P19S), which has been demonstrated to be a COPD-predisposing human genetic polymorphism, to "turbocharge" this signaling mechanism, thus providing disease relevance for human health.
Dean Nancy Andrews is gathering names of faculty - like Dr. Liedtke - who are interested in participating in a Health and Environment Retreat to explore the impact of environmental factors on human health and to brainstorm about potential collaborations and ideas for grant funding. Contact Anton Zuiker (anton.zuiker@duke.edu) if you are interested in participating.
Dr. Liedtke was interviewed on Radio In Vivo in January 2011 (starting around minute 3:00):
[audio:http://www.ibiblio.org/wcom/podcast/mp3s/mp3s/RIV01192011.mp3]