Congratulations to CHIRP postdoctoral fellow Yajnaseni Chakraborti on receiving an NIH Pathway to Independence (K99/R00) Award.
The NIH-funded project will examine how exposure to mixtures of endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs) affects fertility by studying women before and during the earliest stages of pregnancy. Every day, people are exposed to these chemicals through plastics, food packaging, furniture, electronics, and personal care products. Two common groups of EDCs–phenols and organophosphate esters (OPEs)–can interfere with the body’s hormone system and may contribute to fertility problems, including difficulty becoming pregnant and pregnancy loss. Although these chemicals are found in most Americans, their effects on fertility remain poorly understood.
Using daily urine samples and innovative calibration methods to measure chemical exposure more accurately, the research aims to better understand how these chemicals influence ovulation, time to pregnancy, and early pregnancy loss. The findings will help identify preventable environmental risk factors and provide evidence to inform public health recommendations and environmental policies that support reproductive health.
Congratulations to Yajnaseni on this outstanding achievement!