Re-posted from Boise State University Update: BY: KATHLEEN TUCK PUBLISHED 12:36 PM / OCTOBER 13, 2016
Cynthia Curl from Environmental Occupational Health, working with Ian Penwell
Curl conducts agricultural health research, with a focus on measuring and reducing chemical exposures to farmworkers, agricultural communities and the general public. She currently has two active research projects, one of which aims to quantify dietary exposures to pesticides to pregnant women with organic and conventional diets and a second project aimed at measuring crop uptake of inorganic bromide subsequent to methyl bromide fumigation. While many don’t think of health sciences as a traditional component of STEM research, her research projects include traditional bench chemistry and biology components — including measurements of hydration and chemical constituents in urine, crop tissue and soils — and aim to improve our understanding of the effect of environmental contaminants on human health.
“Ian is a fantastic non-traditional student who is already a practicing mid-wife, and who ultimately wants to earn his M.D. to better serve his community,” Curl said. “By providing him with hands-on experience in conducting rigorous health-related research, this HERC award will make him a better prepared, more qualified and more competitive candidate for medical school.”