Alison Watson

"Investigating Early Life Arsenic Exposure in Yaqui Communities"

Advisor: Dr. Paloma Beamer

Arsenic is a naturally occurring element that has been used for centuries in mining, pharmaceuticals, and agriculture. Exposure to arsenic can arise through drinking water, food, soil, and dust. Increased arsenic exposure in humans has been associated with respiratory symptoms and decreased lung function, including health effects in every other organ system, therefore has become a worldwide concern. The Yaqui tribe in Sonora face challenges such as arsenic contaminated water sources that contributes to environmental health disparities for Indigenous communities. This research aims to address the effect of arsenic exposure on early life lung function development in association with pulmonary biomarkers through collected water and dust samples from three Yaqui communities. This goal of this study is to build on prior work focused on arsenic exposures in the Southwest to develop a culturally refined and feasible arsenic risk assessment paradigm that may be applied to other Indigenous communities in Arizona.