Duke Ob/Gyn's Liping Feng, MD, (Reproductive Sciences) has received funding for collaborative research through the Duke Provost's Collaboratories Fund for the project "Drinking Water Contamination in NC Water Use, Human Health and Going Beyond GenX."
Dr. Feng will be collaborating with Heather Stapleton, PhD, and her team in the Nicholas School of Environment to study drinking water per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) contamination, including GenX and birth outcomes, and specifically preterm birth. GenX (in the PFAS family) contamination in Wilmington, NC, has been publicized and sparked community concerns about the health effects. Dr. Feng has been investigating PFBS (another PFAS compound) and birth outcomes.
The collaboration is a three-year project. First-year funding for Drs. Feng and Stapleton is $154,396. The funding period starts July 1, 2019.