What are your major research interests?
I am interested in the reactivity of minerals and particularly their surfaces. Most of my recent work has been related to the reactivity of minerals as they interact with the human body. For example we recently published a paper that shows that pyrite, fool's gold, spontaneously forms hydroxyl radicals as it is exposed to water www.geochemicaltransactions.com/content/7/1/3. In collaboration with colleagues in the medical school here at Stony Brook, we have shown that exposure of lung cells to pyrite leads to an increase in the production of reactive oxygen species (hydrogen peroxide, OH radicals).
What drew you to work at Stony Brook University?
Stony Brook's Geosciences Department has a strong reputation in geochemistry. It is an unusual department in that it has excellent facilities for the types of research I was interested in.
What are the major areas of study grouped under the heading of Geology and Health?
There is a long tradition in population-based research that has explored possible connections between the geological environment and human health.
For example, lack of Selenium has been linked to Se-deficiency diseases.
There has also been a considerable effort in understanding the role of minerals such as asbestos and quartz in lung disease. My group at Stony Brook is undertaking research to understand a molecular-level nad cellular-level understanding of the processes that lead to mineral-induced diseases.
What are some exciting new areas of research in Geology and Health?
I think combining the relatively new area of environmental molecular science to human health allows us to deepen our understanding of the processes that are involved in mineral-induced diseases. We are very fortunate that the National Science Foundation has just awarded a graduate training grant to develop this area of research at Stony Brook. This effort leverages a substantial investment in environmental molecular science made by the NSF and the US. Department of Energy at Stony Brook by establishing the Center for Environmental Molecular Science at Stony Brook, as well as investments by NIH in our School of Medicine.
Where should students interested in the study of Geology and Health look for information?
Together with Dr. Sahai of the University of Wisconsin-Madison I am organizing a workshop of this area of research. Information can be found www.minsocam.org/msa/sc/medmin_descrptn.html. We are preparing a volume for this workshop that will be useful to students interested in this topic.
What is the international status of this field?
There are several new textbooks out on this topic and there is also a division in the international geological society devoted to this area.
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