Center Updates

Dr. Clement Furlong, a principal investigator on Project 3, Dr.


Jim Gawell and other researchers from UW SRP Project Four are providing porewater peepers for a study of lakes in Pierce County by Jeff Tepper at the University of Puget Sound. Along with the loan, they provided a demonstration of how to set up and deploy the equipment.

The first of the lakes to be studied with the porewater peepers will be Lake Waughop Lake. Fieldwork will begin in early July.


Less than 200 years ago, Seattle's Duwamish River meandered over fertile plains, brimming with salmon as it drained a more than 1,600 square mile watershed from Mount Rainier to Elliott Bay in Puget Sound. The native Duwamish people lived in longhouses along its banks and early settlers farmed nearby.


On June 24th, the UW SRP and the Northwest Toxic Communities Coalition hosted the second in a two-part series on Institutional Controls (ICs). Professor Cliff Villa of the University of New Mexico, Piper Peterson of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and James Rasmussen of the Duwamish River Cleanup Coalition discussed details of the EPA's IC Plan for fishers at the Duwamish Waterway Superfund Site and lessons it offers for communities working to protect fishers at other contaminated sites.


Fishing for fun, food, and cultural connection is a way of life in the Pacific Northwest.

With fishing and other outdoor activities now allowed as part of the state's phased approach to reopening during the COVID-19 pandemic, recreational fishing is ramping up on local waterways.


Congratulations to Superfund Research Program (SRP) trainees, Dr. Hao Wang and Jogen Atone for being awarded a mutual exchange KC Donnelly externship! Dr. Wang is a trainee on the University of Washington (UW) SRP Project Two supervised by Dr. Zhengui Xia. Jogen Atone is a trainee with the University of California, Davis (UC Davis) SRP under the supervision of Director Dr. Bruce Hammock.

The KC Donnelly externship will support Dr. Wang to spend two months training at the UC Davis SRP under the guidance of Dr. Hammock while Atone will train with Dr. Xia at the UW SRP.


On April 9th, Megumi Matsushita, a trainee on UW SRP Project Two advised by Dr. Zhengui Xia, was the featured speaker for the monthly meeting of Washington's chapter of the Collaborative on Health and the Environment (CHE-WA).


Design students at Seattle‘s School of Visual Concepts (SVC) have been working with the UW Superfund Research Program to develop templates for a virtual map of the Duwamish River. The maps are designed to integrate information about the Lower Duwamish Waterway Superfund Site with the river’s environmental and cultural history, while giving users the experience and feel of visiting the river itself.


On March 4th, Dr. Judit Marsillach, an investigator on project 3, joined with more than 50 Parkinson’s researchers and medical professionals in Washington D.C. for The Michael J. Fox Foundation’s Researcher Hill Day. As the only researcher from Washington State, Dr. Marsillach partnered with a group of four scientists from Massachusetts to meet with staff of six members of Congress, including Representative Pramila Jayapal and Senators Maria Cantwell and Patty Murray from Washington State. Dr.

On February 19th, UW SRP co-hosted a webinar with the Northwest Toxic Communities Coalition titled "Institutional Controls 101." Institutional Controls (ICs) are administrative tools that are used to protect the environment and people's health at hazardous waste cleanup sites. They can often be confusing. Some ICs are legal tools, like restrictive covenants, while others are educational, like fishing advisories.


Recently, Dr. Yadong Wang joined the Gallagher lab as a trainee on UW SRP Project One. Originally from China, Dr. Wang has a Ph.D. in marine biology and fisheries from the University of Miami. In the Gallagher lab, she will be working on the role of glutathione S-transferases and other antioxidant enzymes in maintaining olfactory function during metal exposures in zebrafish.

Below is a short interview with Dr. Wang.

Q: What first got you interested in science?


Environmental and occupational health faculty, students and staff from the U.S. and Canada convened at Cascadia 2020 in Abbottsford, British Columbia on January 9–10. UW Superfund Research Program Community Engagement Manager BJ Cummings and Department of Environmental and Occupational Health researcher Bill Daniell delivered a presentation on community health research and action projects in the Duwamish Valley that were conducted from 2009–2013, policy outcomes of the projects to date, and an impact evaluation currently being planned in partnership with the affected community.