CUREing Exposure to Environmental Chemicals from Personal Care Products

This series of laboratory modules presents students the opportunity to perform in-classroom research while building their working knowledge of the scientific process and growing their skills in analytical methods. In the laboratory, students analyze samples of urine collected as part of an intervention study focused on reducing exposure to potentially harmful compounds, phthalates, found in personal care products. Students propose methods of extraction and detection, analyze samples from the intervention study, analyze data, present results, and propose future iterations of the intervention-study. In this workshop, participants experience the online student experience through the steps of extracting phthalates from urine samples, analyzing HPLC data, and proposing future research directions based on their HPLC data-derived conclusions.