(Targeted Analysis Resource) The primary objective of the Michigan Children?s Health Exposure Analysis Resource (M-CHEAR) Laboratory Hub is to contribute to large-scale national efforts to advance our knowledge of the impact of the environment on children?s health by offering high-quality, advanced laboratory support for a wide assortment of targeted and untargeted analyses in biological samples from external researchers conducting epidemiology and clinical studies of children?s health. The overarching goal of the M-CHEAR Targeted Analysis Resource is to provide external investigators with highly sensitive, selective, state-of-the-art targeted analysis of a broad array of biomarkers that can be effectively applied to epidemiology and clinical studies of children?s health. This will be done through leveraging core facilities at University of Michigan and the modern facilities and equipment at its partnering laboratory (NSF International), offering highly sensitive measurement methods that we have already developed in these settings and successfully applied to ongoing high-impact epidemiologic studies of children?s health, implementing and adhering to standard operating procedures and strict quality assurance/quality control processes, continually expanding our analysis capabilities, and effective internal and external communications to respond efficiently to investigator and CHEAR program needs. Specific analyses to be offered include: 1) High-throughput trace level analysis of biomarkers of exposure to a range of environmental exposures, including phthalates, bisphenol A (BPA) and other phenols (e.g., triclosan, benzophenone-3, dichlorophenols), parabens, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH), flame retardant chemicals, persistent and non-persistent pesticides, polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), perfluoroalkyl chemicals (PFCs), tobacco smoke, metals/metalloids, and others; 2) Targeted analysis of markers related to nutrition and metabolic factors including mineral nutrients, vitamins, phytoestrogens, lipids, amino acids, fatty acids, bile acids, oxysterols, phytosterols, and more; and 3) Efficient analysis of additional targeted assays of endogenous measures such as hormone levels, immune indicators, and markers of inflammation, oxidative stress, and psychosocial stress. We will work closely with the Developmental Core in the development of methods for targeted analysis of new exogenous or endogenous markers, as well as methods for measurement of these markers in novel biological matrices. The Targeted Analysis Resource will also conduct timely and high-quality data processing to identify potential errors and maximize ease of use, communicate with other CHEAR Laboratory Hubs to capitalize on one another?s capabilities and expertise, and participate in round-robin assessments to determine reproducibility of existing or new methods and to compare accuracy and precision of specific methods across CHEAR Laboratory Hubs. Finally, we will be able to offer our diverse and unique expertise in analysis, interpretation and application of the various biomarkers to epidemiology studies of children?s health to investigators and the CHEAR program.
