Chem Science Facility Core

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Chem Science Facility Core ABSTRACT The proposed Texas A&M Center for Environmental Health Research (TiCER) is focused on “Enhancing Public Health by Identifying, Understanding and Reducing Adverse Environmental Health Risks.” Towards this goal, the Chem Science Facility Core (CSFC) will provide Center investigators access to state-of-the-art analytical and characterization tools for quantifying various exposure agents in the environment as well as measuring biological markers of the effects of exposure from experimental model systems. The ability to measure the levels of specific agents in the environment and detect biomarkers or signatures of downstream biological effects in experimental models will enable Center investigators to develop dose-response studies for specific agents, model the biological response as a result of exposure, and/or accurately predict the potential risk of target populations to specific exposures. The CSFC will comprise three complementary components that together will provide Center investigators with a continuum of analytical capabilities for comprehensively characterizing the response to environmental exposures and contaminants. The chemical exposure science component will provide state-of-the-art facilities for detection and quantitative analysis of potential environmental toxicants in complex mixtures using gas and liquid chromatography-based mass spectrometry systems (GC/MS/MS and LC/MS/MS). The genomics and microbiome component will provide molecular technologies required for characterizing changes in genomic and transcriptomic signatures in tissues, single cells, and the microbiota arising from environmental exposures. The metabolomics component will provide resources for characterizing small molecule responses to environmental contaminants using LC/MS/MS and GC/MS/MS platforms for both discovery and quantitation of biomarkers. While these foundational components already exist as multi-user core facilities at Texas A&M, the CSFC is a new entity that will provide a mechanism for integrating the diverse readouts and measurements across scales and with assistance of a data management specialist from the Data Science Facility Core. Thus, the CSFC will not only leverage existing infrastructure at Texas A&M but also provide novel capabilities and services to Center investigators under a single unified umbrella that would otherwise be difficult to access. Integrating under a single thematic umbrella will also ensure that Center investigators have access to the expertise and resources to investigate multiple facets of the response to environmental contaminants across the exposure-response spectrum in a coordinated manner. !