Environmental Factors in Neurodegenerative Diseases

Dr. Michael Aschner is currently the Harold and Muriel Block Chair in Molecular Pharmacology at Albert Einstein College of Medicine where he is also a Professor in the Departments of Molecular Pharmacology, Neuroscience, and Pediatrics. He is a leading expert in neurotoxicology and neurodevelopmental and neurodegenerative diseases. In addition to serving as a past president of the Society of Toxicology (2022-23), he served on numerous toxicology panels (U.S. EPA and CDC), been an expert reviewer for multiple federal agencies in the US and abroad, and is a member of the Neurotoxicology and Alcohol study section (NIH). He is a past recipient of the prestigious Society of Toxicology Merit Award (2010) and the Distinguished Neurotoxicologist Award (2020). He is a co-editor of the Elsevier series, Advancements in Neurotoxicology in addition to edited other Elsevier titles. He has published numerous articles and has served as an associate editor for multiple high impact factor journals.Dr. Lucio G. Costa is Professor of Toxicology at the University of Washington in Seattle, and of Pharmacology/Toxicology at the University of Parma Medical School. He received a doctorate in Pharmacology from the University of Milano in 1977, and was a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Texas at Houston. He is a member of several national and international professional organizations, a Fellow of the Academy of Toxicological Sciences, and a European Certified Toxicologist. He received various award for his scientific accomplishments, including the Achievement Award from the Society of Toxicology. He serves in various editorial capacities for several toxicology journals, and is an active manuscript and grant reviewer. Dr. Costa has been the member of dozens of panels and committees at the national and international level dealing with toxicology and risk assessment issues. He has chaired and/or organized symposia at scientific meetings in the United States and internationally. He has been teaching classes in the area of toxicology, neurotoxicology and pharmacology to graduate and medical students for 30 years. He keeps an active research program in the area of neurotoxicology.

• 1. Traffic-Related Air Pollution and Neurodegenerative Diseases: Epidemiological and Experimental Evidence, and Potential Underlying MechanismsLucio G. Costa2. The Catecholaminergic Neurotransmitter System in Methylmercury-Induced NeurotoxicityMarcelo Farina, Michael Aschner and João B.T. da Rocha3. Pesticides and Parkinson’s Disease: Current Experimental and Epidemiological EvidenceSamuel M. Goldman, Ruth E. Musgrove, Sarah A. Jewell and Donato A. Di Monte4. Metals and Circadian RhythmsNancy L. Parmalee and Michael Aschner5. Aluminum and Neurodegenerative DiseasesStephen C. Bondy and Arezoo Campbell6. Manganese NeurodegenerationDavid C. Dorman7. Roles of Microglia in Inflammation-Mediated Neurodegeneration: Models, Mechanisms, and Therapeutic Interventions for Parkinson’s Disease Hui-Ming Gao, Dezhen Tu, Yun Gao, Qiyao Liu, Ru Yang, Yue Liu, Tian Guan and Jau-Shyong Hong8. Mitochondrial Dynamics in Neurodegenerative DiseasesJennifer Pinnell and Kim Tieu9. Food Plant Chemicals Linked With Neurological and Neurodegenerative DiseasePeter S. Spencer and Valerie S. Palmer