Home Department: Chemical Engineering
Mentor: Rebecca Pinals (Chemical Engineering)

"Assessing Blood-Brain Barrier Integrity and Neurotoxicity in Human Brain Cells Induced by PFAS Exposure"

Polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are a class of lab-made chemicals that are present in the environment, food, and consumer product. Alarmingly, these “forever chemicals” have been detected in the human brain, with little known about their neurotoxicity, neuroinflammation, and neurotransmitter disruption. In Jaydon’s summer research project, Jaydon will characterize blood-brain barrier (BBB) integrity after PFAS exposure and evaluate downstream PFAS effects on other brain cells. The Pinals lab hypothesizes that PFAS will pass through the BBB while damaging its integrity and exhibit neurotoxic and neuroinflammatory properties.