Date: January 12, 2009 (Tuesday)
Time: 12:45 – 14:00 (sandwich lunch from 12:45 –13:00; seminar begins at 13:00)
Venue: Seminar Room 5, LG-1/F, Laboratory Block, Faculty of Medicine Building, 21 Sassoon Road, Pokfulam, Hong Kong

Abstract:
Evidence derived from a wide range of epidemiological studies resulted in the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to developing standards for exposure to PM 2.5 (diameter less than 2.5 mu) particulate matter in 1997. However in a report of the National Research Council a number of uncertainties in the science were identified. This led to the creation of five Particle Centers in the U.S. to address the uncertainties. This talk will report some of the findings from the Southern California Particle Center. The Center has focused on determination of the physical and chemical properties of PM emitted from different PM sources, including secondary formation; the evaluation of how exposure to PM and the toxicity of PM from these sources vary with respect to location, season, and particle size, and chemical components. All studies from the Center have sought to link airborne concentrations, particle and vapor characteristics with toxicological assays and health outcomes. The research has demonstrated the importance of ultrafine particles, the primary releases from fossil fuel combustion of mobile sources. Findings illustrate mobile source pollution and allergic airway disease, neurological consequences, exacerbation of atherosclerosis, and impacts on lung function growth in children.

Bio-sketch:
Dr. John Froines received his B.S. in Chemistry from the University of California at Berkeley in 1963. He received his M.S. (in 1964) and Ph.D. (in 1966) in Physical-Organic Chemistry from Yale University. Dr. Froines was a NIH postdoctoral fellow with Nobel Laureate, Sir George Porter at the Royal Institution of Great Britain. From 1974 to 1977, he was the Director of the Occupational and Radiological Health Division of the Vermont Department of Health and the Director of Occupational Lung Disease at the Vermont Lung Center. Dr. Froines was the Director of Toxic Substances Standards at Occupational Safety and Health Administration from 1977 to 1979. From 1979 to 1981, he was the Deputy Director of the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH). In 1981, Dr. Froines was recruited to the UCLA School of Public Health and from 1991 to 1998 he was the Chair of the Department of Environmental Health Sciences. As the Director of the UCLA Center for Occupational and Environmental Health, Dr. Froines leads a multidisciplinary Center comprised of the UCLA schools of Public Health, Medicine, and Nursing. Dr. Froines' air pollution related research includes the health effects of particulate matter and vapor phase co-pollutants in the ambient environment, mechanisms of action of toxicants, chemical toxicology, health effects attributable to air pollution. He directs the Southern California Particle Center, a major research center devoted to studying the effects of particulate matter on human health.

Dr. Froines is Director of the NIH Fogarty's UCLA Program in Occupational and Environmental Health and he is Associate Director of the NIEHS Southern California Environmental Health Sciences Center. In addition to his research on air pollution he has conducted research on the toxicity of arsenic, beryllium, lead and chromium during the past decade. His report on MTBE was crucial in seeking of other alternatives. He has served on the National Toxicology Board of Scientific Counselors as Chair of the Carcinogen Subcommittee. He is a co-Director of the UCLA Center for Sustainable Technology which focuses on green chemistry. He is currently a member of a committee of the National Academy of Sciences on the performance of NIOSH. He serves on three committees of the Southcoast Air Quality Management District. He has been Chair of California’s Scientific Review Panel since 1997.

Presentation file