Germ cells are little known, yet essential parts of our bodies. Also known as sex cells, they mature into gametes. They are the material basis of reproduction and transmission of the genome across generations. While it was long held that germ cells were protected from outside influences, a recent body of literature shows that they are susceptible to injuries that…
Methionine is an amino acid that humans and farm animals must derive from food. This metabolite, a tightly regulated resource in ecosystems, has become a mass commodity in the global economy, with well over 1 million tons being produced annually from petroleum to fortify livestock feed. Viewed from the standpoint of planetary health, anthropogenic methionine synthesis is an important enabler…
We live in a complex chemical environment where there are an estimated 350,000 chemical compounds or mixtures commercially produced. A strong body of literature shows that there are time points during early development when an organism’s epigenome is particularly sensitive to chemicals in its environment. What is less understood is how gene-environment and epigenetic-environment interactions change with age. This question…
This project explores the environmental influences on the germline epigenome and their effects over multiple generations. Led by ISG faculty Patrick Allard, researchers at the UCLA Allard Lab are taking advantage of various innovative models and genetic tools to detect chemical disruption of the germline chromatin and in particular of evolutionary conserved epigenetic marks such as histone modifications. Through the…
This project investigates the history and current practices of the United States medical examiner/coroner system. The work reveals how the entanglement of law enforcement, forensic pathology, and ethical nihilism produce forms of state violence and biomedical racism that target communities of color who are killed while in police custody in the streets and in carceral institutions throughout the United States.…
Directed by Bharat Venkat, the UCLA Heat Lab is an interdisciplinary effort to study the experience of thermal inequality. We aim to bring together undergraduates, graduate students, postdocs, and faculty with members of the community to study heat from a diversity of disciplinary perspectives, ranging from architecture and urban planning to biology, climate science, economics, geography, anthropology, and history. At present, we…