College of Charleston receives grant to study pharmaceuticals

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Undergraduate students and two professors of chemistry and geology will study the changes to drugs, such as pain and allergy medications, introduced into the environment after receiving a $334,000 National Science Foundation grant.

Staff Report
Published Aug. 28, 2012

Two College of Charleston professors will conduct research into the effects of putting pharmaceuticals into the environment after receiving a $334,000 National Science Foundation grant.

Wendy Cory, chemistry professor

Vijay Vulava, geology professor

Undergraduate students will work with chemistry professor Wendy Cory and geology professor Vijay Vulava to look at what happens to a variety of pharmaceuticals, including common pain and allergy medications, when introduced into the environment.

The three-year grant provides laboratory research opportunities for at least 18 undergraduate students, the College of Charleston said in a news release. The grant also supports an outreach program under the college’s Literacy Outreach Initiative to teach students at seven disadvantaged elementary schools in Charleston about water quality.

Tyrone Hayes, a biology professor at University of California at Berkeley who grew up in South Carolina, will come to Charleston to work with the elementary schools, the college said. Hayes has done research with frogs and aquatic environments and was the subject of a book, The Frog Scientist.

The research, to begin Sept. 1, will try to determine the effects of pharmaceuticals on human health and the aquatic environment.

“Ultimately, the results of this study will be used to further the understanding of these risks and potentially lead to solutions for more effective removal of these compounds during wastewater treatment,” the college said in a statement.