Resa M. Jones, chair of the Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, was awarded a grant from the California-based Water Foundation to study the effects of Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS) water contamination in partnership with the Buxmont Coalition for Safer Water.

The coalition’s vision is for residents of Buck and Montgomery Counties to have clean and safe drinking water and for residents affected by local water contamination to have access to preventive health care, including blood testing and biomonitoring. The coalition is a grassroots community organization that has evolved in response to learning that local public and private drinking water wells were contaminated with PFAS chemicals from current and former military bases in Warminster and Horsham.

 “We are excited to be working with Temple University and Dr. Jones to build community-based programs,” said Joanne Stanton, co-founder of the coalition and an alumna of Temple’s College of Public Health. “[We] have been working over the last year to build partnerships with academic institutions like Temple University so that our community can successfully compete for research, education, and health studies related to our exposures.” 

Read more about research in Temple’s Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics.