Amy Schultz, PhD, Senior Scientist in the Department of Population Health Sciences, has received an R01 research grant from the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences for the project, Examining pathways of PFAS exposure and their impacts on hyperlipidemia in a rural community impacted by land spreading.

The study will examine per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) exposure among rural residents in northern Wisconsin affected by PFAS contamination following decades of land spreading. Dr. Schultz and collaborators will measure PFAS in residents’ blood and in potential environmental sources, including private well water, locally produced or harvested foods, locally caught fish and deer meat, soil, indoor and outdoor air, and dust. By collecting blood samples at two time points, the researchers will examine how PFAS concentrations change over time and whether PFAS exposure levels and changes in exposure are associated with changes in cholesterol and other blood lipids. The project uses a systems and team science approach that brings together community members, environmental health scientists, epidemiologists, engineers, chemists, and laboratory scientists. The research is intended to clarify how PFAS move from environmental sources into people, examine how PFAS may affect lipid metabolism, and provide evidence to inform exposure-reduction strategies in rural communities.