Unraveling the Mystery of Smokers
Lung Cancer in Non-
researched what makes some individuals more vulnerable to lung injury and disease. But he ’ s distinguished himself as a researcher working to identify factors and pathways involved in the body ’ s response to environmental pollutants like ozone , wood smoke , and silica -- dust found in sand , gravel
, granite and rocks .
As Tighe leads the development of a climate research strategy for the
School of Medicine and involves faculty in its direction , he hopes to unify the research community and translate findings into practical strategies for improving public health locally and globally .
Nearly every school and department across Duke University is engaged in addressing climate change , including top researchers at the
School of
Medicine who are working to understand the health issues that have emerged and intensified from a changing planet.
Unraveling the Mystery of Smokers
Lung Cancer in Non-
Climate change could impact the risk for lung cancer , even for those who have never smoked . Cases of non-smoking associated lung cancer have nearly doubled from 8 % in 1990-1995 to 15 % in 2011-2013 . Tomi Akinyemiju
, PhD , professor of population health services, is studying how climate change-induced extremee precipitation and heat might elevate levels of radon , an odorless gas that ' s the second leading cause of lung cancer . ( Photoo by Eamon Queeney
)
Tomi Akinyemiju
, PhD , a population healthh and cancer researcher at Duke School of Medicine , is examining how exposure to radon , a colorless , odorless gas found in rocks and soil and released during extreme temperature and precipitation , might contribute to these trends and alter lung cancer risk over time .
Everyone is exposed to some level of radon . The question is not if you are exposed to radon
, but how high is your level of exposure ? Akinyemiju leads a team of Duke researchers working on the Climate Impact on Lung Cancer
Via Exposure to Radon
( CLOVER ) project . They are leaving no stone unturned .