NIEHS Awards Environmental Epidemiologist Hoppin $1.9 Million to Enhance GenX Exposure Study

The National Institute of Environmental Health Services (NIEHS) has awarded a $1.9 million grant to Jane Hoppin, a professor in the Department of Biological Sciences. The grant will help Hoppin and her collaborators enhance the community engagement component of the GenX Exposure Study in order to continue providing timely information to impacted communities.  

The GenX Exposure Study began in 2017 in response to the contamination of drinking water in Wilmington, N.C. The researchers seek to measure and understand exposure — and the potential related health effects — to GenX and other per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in North Carolina’s Cape Fear River Basin. From 2017-2019, they focused on understanding exposure among people in Wilmington and Fayetteville by measuring PFAS levels in blood and water. Since 2020, the researchers have focused on studying the effects of PFAS exposure on human health.

The GenX Study has recruited 1,091 individuals to provide blood samples to test for PFAS and clinical outcomes, including lipids, thyroid hormones and metabolic panel. The new NIEHS grant will allow Hoppin and her collaborators to create a framework to strengthen and maintain the cohort study to ensure long-term participation. They will follow up with the cohort for another five years and work to build a more inclusive workforce in environmental health and epidemiology. 

The researchers also plan to prepare materials in Spanish and maintain a Spanish language website to reach a wider audience. The researchers will partner with community organizers and local community groups focusing on water and environmental protection to expand the study’s community engagement. Additionally, they will build the infrastructure for the cohort by strengthening the coordinating center and data and specimen management activities. 

Hoppin received her B.S. in environmental toxicology from the University of California, Davis. She earned her master’s and doctorate from the Harvard School of Public Health in Environmental Health and Epidemiology. Hoppin won the 2021 Governor James E. Holshouser, Jr. Award for Excellence in Public Service from the UNC Board of Governors. 

The NIEHS will support this research under award number U24ES037001.