Shuk-Mei Ho, Ph.D.
By David Robinson
More than 300 Arkansas veterans will become part of a new study conducted by the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) and the Central Arkansas Veterans Healthcare System (CAVHS) to determine if exposure to open pit burning and molecular-level changes are associated with chronic health conditions.
The Department of Veterans Affairs and Department of Defense (DOD) estimate that 3.5 million service members were exposed to open burn pits used for waste disposal during military deployments in Southwest Asia since 1990.
The partnership is led by UAMS’ Shuk-Mei Ho, Ph.D., and Kalpana Padala, M.D., at CAVHS and UAMS. The four-year, $2.9 million DOD-funded study will test for persistent organic pollutants in blood and heavy metals in urine, which the researchers hypothesize remain from burn pit exposure. The team will also look for modifications (methylation) in DNA that can cause long-term health problems for the veterans including epigenetic changes that can be passed to their offspring.