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Meet Alaska INBRE’s newest External Advisory Committee (EAC) member, Amie Lund. She is an associate professor of environmental toxicology and director of the University of North Texas Advanced Environmental Research Institute.  Her research interests include investigating the effects of environmental (air) pollutants on progression of cardiovascular disease and neurovascular blood brain barrier disruption.

What drew you to wanting to serve as an External Advisory Committee member with Alaska INBRE? 

As a professor in biological sciences and director of a Research Institute of Excellence at the University of North Texas, an Hispanic-Serving- and Minority-Serving- Institution, I have enjoyed the opportunity to foster research collaborations and education activities among a diverse group of faculty and students.  

Serving as an External Advisory Committee member with Alaska INBRE will allow me the unique opportunity to understand resources and challenges encountered by faculty and students at Alaska INBRE institutions and facilitate continued growth in interdisciplinary research and education programs.  As an EAC member I also get the chance to expand my knowledge of the research areas in the INBRE programs to assist with building collaborative research networks.

What do you like about research and your discipline focus?

I have always been interested in understanding how things we come in contact with in our environment impact human health.  As a toxicologist, I investigate the effects of environmental pollutants on common human diseases, such as cardiovascular disease, obesity 

and neurodegeneration.  Understanding the mechanisms by which environmental pollutants initiate and/or promote disease can facilitate the identification of preventative strategies, therapeutic targets, and necessary information to prompt policy change that can improve overall environmental conditions and human health outcomes.

When did you know you wanted to be a scientist?

As a child, I was always intrigued – and curious – about living things.  I remember receiving a microscope for Christmas when I was 7 years old, and I loved to find small things to investigate under the microscope.  I was so amazed by the microscopic details you could see in plants, bugs, and even dirt!  Throughout high school and college, I became more intrigued by learning about the human body and disease.  Losing loved ones to heart attacks and cancer and watching my grandmother deteriorate from Alzheimer’s disease piqued my curiosity toward understanding why these diseases occur and my desire to be involved in research to find the cures.  During my undergraduate studies in biology, I wavered between my love for clinical work and research.  However, my curiosity for understanding “how” and “why” motivated me towards scientific research. 

What is something surprising that most people don't know about you?

In addition to my four grown “bonus” sons and 12-year-old twin daughters, our family sponsors 13-year-old twin boys  who were orphaned after losing both of their parents to HIV/AIDS through the Mighty Acorn Foundation at Seeds Children’s Academy in Kitale, Kenya.  We get to chat virtually with our boys in Kenya often. After COVID derailed our plans to visit them we are looking forward to meeting them in person in the near future.

This article was supported by an Institutional Development Award (IDeA) from the National Institute of General Medical Sciences of the National Institutes of Health under grant number 2P20GM103395.  The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily reflect the official views of the NIH.

UA is an AA/EO employer and educational institution and prohibits illegal discrimination against any individual:  www.alaska.edu/nondiscrimination.

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