Austin M
- Research Program Mentor
PhD candidate at Cornell University
Expertise
Toxicology, Endocrinology, Microscopy, Food Science,
Bio
Hello there! My name is Austin Martini and I am a 5th year Ph.D student at Cornell University. I am a Trans-Disciplinary Toxicologist focusing on chemicals that humans are ubiquitously exposed too (Bisphenols, Phthalates, Parabens etc). I am incredibly familiar with the Zebrafish & Yeast models, as well as cutting edge genomics and microscopy. On a more personal level I am a goofball who is incredibly genuine about things that excite me! In my personal life I am passionate about: coffee, cooking, working out, video games. On a more professional side I have a huge internal motivation for mentoring. I think that scientific communication at the moment is pushing people away from science because of how hard it is to get into science. If a person who has never read a scientific paper would want to learn about COVID-19, they would first have to pay for access to the paper. Once receiving the paper attempting to decipher all of the scientific jargon makes the information unapproachable. I want a way to make science more approachable, attractive, and enjoyable which is what I hope to put forward through my mentorship style.Project ideas
OH MY GOD BECKY LOOK AT THOSE CHEMICALS
Despite one's best effort to live clean & natural there is no avoiding exposure to chemical additives found in consumer products. A percentage of these chemicals have been linked to health related risks (for example BPA, DEHP) and while consumer products are transitioning into reducing chemical load there are still hundreds of chemicals in use. While it is impossible to avoid industrial chemicals entirely, lifestyle choices make a significant impact on your daily chemical intake. This project can give quantitative data of industrial chemicals in a human body before actively changing lifestyle and after changing lifestyle.
Innocent until proven guilty
In industry chemicals majority of chemicals get Generally Recognized As Safe (GRAS) testing which treats the chemical as safe at a certain concentration. What this testing fails to recognize is low-dose response or chronic exposure. A perfect sample of this is BPA which was "safe" when released then studies started showing effects at low concentrations. Because of the new data BPA got "proven" to be guilty and industries started phasing out BPA for different Bisphenols alternatives. Now this is not just Bisphenols but any commonly used This can be proven qualitatively and quantitatively, and in this project will be investigating chemical level changes with the american people.
Neuro-Endo-Toxicology....um what?
Neuro-Endo-Toxicology is my research expertise and I think has been criminally overlooked in science class. Neuro-Endo pathways are some of the most delicate and transformative in terms of body regulation and composition. Now when toxins are introduced into this system things get really out of wack and I think that is really interesting to investigate. This project mostly revolves around the first session talking about what pathway (Neuro-Endo) is interesting to you then start investigating toxins that have played rolls in disruption. From there we flesh out either a paper, poster or project that excites YOU.