Doctoral Dissertation Research: Investigating the relationship between rural environments characterized by industrial agriculture and the timing of puberty

该奖项全部或部分根据2021年美国救援计划法案（公法117-2）资助。众所周知，青春期会受到营养状况和心理压力的影响，但对农村环境的作用，特别是接触破坏内分泌系统的化学品的作用知之甚少。这个生物文化博士论文项目探讨了生活在工业化农业塑造的农村社区如何影响人类的成长和发展。研究人员将内分泌干扰化学品暴露水平高的农业社区的青春期时间与低暴露地区的非农业社区进行了比较。这项研究为人类生殖、生长和发育模式的变化提供了新的知识。这些发现可以为公共卫生政策和公共科学宣传提供信息。 该项目包括设计K-12关于人类生物学和农药的课程。来自STEM中代表性不足的群体的个人包括研究的参与者以及将接受研究人员培训和指导的研究人员。像杀虫剂这样的内分泌干扰化学物质会干扰调节青春期的激素，排毒的能量成本很高，并增加成年后患慢性疾病的风险。研究人员使用硅胶腕带和气相色谱法来测量农药使用量高和低的社区中女孩通过皮肤或呼吸接触内分泌干扰农药的情况。研究人员评估和控制营养状况的作用，使用人体测量和24小时饮食回忆进行评估，并使用各种有效的工具测量心理社会压力。参与者的观察被用来了解当地的社会文化背景以及农业和非农业社区女孩之间生活经历的差异，这一奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

This award is funded in whole or in part under the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (Public Law 117-2). Puberty is known to be affected by nutritional status and psychosocial stress, but less is known about the role of rural environments and, specifically, exposure to chemicals that disrupt the endocrine system. This biocultural doctoral dissertation project explores how living in rural communities shaped by industrial agriculture impacts human growth and development. The investigators compare pubertal timing in agricultural communities that have high levels of endocrine-disrupting chemical exposure to non-agricultural communities in low-exposure areas. The research contributes new knowledge about variation in patterns of human reproduction, growth, and development. The findings can inform public health policy and public science outreach. The project includes the design of K-12 curricula on human biology and pesticides. Individuals from groups underrepresented in STEM include participants in the study as well as researchers who will be trained and mentored by the investigators. Endocrine-disrupting chemicals like pesticides can disrupt hormones that regulate puberty, are energetically costly to detoxify, and increase chronic disease risk in adulthood. The investigators use silicone wristbands and gas chromatography to measure exposure to endocrine-disrupting pesticides through skin or respiration among girls in communities with high and low pesticide use. The researchers evaluate and control for the roles of nutritional status, assessed using anthropometry and 24-hour dietary recalls, and psychosocial stress, measured using a variety of validated instruments. Participant observation is used to understand the local sociocultural context and differences in lived experiences between girls in the agricultural and non-agricultural communities.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.