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A man in a laboratory, sitting in front of a cell culture cabinet.

Christopher D. Kassotis, Ph.D.

[email protected]

Dr. Chris Kassotis is an Assistant Professor in the Institute of Environmental Health Sciences and Department of Pharmacology. Chris completed his Ph.D. in Endocrinology at the University of Missouri, where he worked to characterize the endocrine disrupting chemicals used in hydraulic fracturing and potential impacts on human/animal health. After graduation, Chris completed a postdoc in Environmental Toxicology at Duke University. His overall interest is in characterizing the role of chemical mixtures (and novel endocrine disruptors) on human health outcomes through a range of research grants and projects.

In his free time, Chris enjoys running, hiking with his retriever mix Lanie, and making wine/baked goods.

Postdoctoral Researcher(s)

​Roxanne Bérubé, Ph.D.

Dr. Roxanne Bérubé is a Postdoctoral Research Fellow in the Institute of Environmental Health Sciences at Wayne State University. She completed her PhD at the Institut National de la Recherche Scientifique, in Québec city, Canada. Her work aimed to evaluate the toxicity of conventional and unconventional oils on freshwater fish. Her MSc was completed at Laval University, where she worked on the accumulation and persistence of UVB-induced DNA damage in the human skin. She is interested in assessing the effects of various contaminants (oils, pesticides, endocrines disruptors) during early development and on cellular division and differentiation. She is currently on an NSERC Postdoctoral Fellowship to evaluate PFAS and PFAS mixtures and potential effects through AhR signaling. 

Outside of the lab, Roxanne is practicing or teaching yoga. She also loves dancing, reading, drawing or soap making!
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Research Assistant(s)

A woman in the mountains, dressed for rock climbing.

Brooklynn Murray

Brooklynn Murray is a Research Assistant in the Institute of Environmental Health Sciences at Wayne State University. She graduated from Michigan State University with a B.S. in Physiology. During her undergraduate years she studied reward seeking pathways in the brain as well as pancreatic islet formation. Brooklynn is interested in understanding how consumer chemicals affect our endocrine system. She is currently working on a PFAS mixture project, seeking to better understand how diverse PFAS may act "cooperatively" towards adverse health endpoints.
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Brooklynn enjoys going to the gym and spending time with her family and friends outside of the lab.

Graduate Student(s)

Samantha Heldman

Samantha Heldman is a fifth year graduate student in the Pharmacology Ph.D. program. She obtained a Bachelor of Science degree in Biology and a Life Science Teacher Certification at Texas A&M University. She's currently continuing her rotation project, investigating the endocrine disrupting potential of liquid crystal monomers released by liquid crystal display (LCD) devices. While she still plans to teach, Samantha hopes a career in environmental toxicology research will seamlessly incorporate her passions for education, scientific inquiry, and environmental advocacy. 

In her free time, Samantha enjoys rock climbing, dance, volunteering at the Detroit Zoo, and getting lost in the woods taking pictures for iNaturalist.
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​Kyle Siegel

Kyle Siegel is working towards a Ph.D. in the Department of Pharmacology. He completed a BS in Biology at The College of New Jersey, researching the physiological effects of climate change on acorn barnacles. Following ~2 years as a PhD student/frog boy in developmental biology at Northwestern University, Kyle joined a Chicago-based contract research organization specializing in cardiovascular pharmacology and toxicology. He’s mostly interested in how endocrine disrupting chemicals affect heart development and function, with some undercurrents of EDC-dysregulated metabolism and hormone receptor evolution.
 
Outside of science places, Kyle is typically found walking, playing with, or cajoling his Australian shepherd, Wes (aka Westopher, Bubby, Bub, Big Bubby, Big Bub, Biggus Bubbus, and/or Lil' Man)

Julia Tweadey

Julia is a first year master’s student in Basic Medical Sciences. She graduated from the University of Michigan, where she studied Spanish Language and Literature. She is interested in environmental interactions with health. She hopes to attend medical school after graduation. 

​In her free time, Julia enjoys reading, swimming, and playing dungeons and dragons with her friends.
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Undergraduate Researcher(s)

​Hussein Ajini​

Hussein is an undergraduate senior majoring in Biological Sciences. He plans to attend medical school after graduation. He maintains a broad interest in human health and its interactions with environmental influences. 
 
In his free time, Hussein enjoys reading, travelling, and spending time with friends and family.
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Omar Ahmad

Omar Ahmad is an undergraduate junior studying public health and chemistry. He plans to attend Physician Assistant school after graduation 

He currently works as a medical assistant and pharmacy technician when he is out of the lab, and he enjoys working out and playing or watching sports. He also enjoys spending time with his family and friends outside of the lab as well. 

Darya Aminioroomi


Laboratory Alumni

Destiny Johnson - Undergraduate Researcher; 9/21 - graduated 12/2021

Yu-Ting (Tiffany) Chiang - Research Assistant; 11/20 - 8/22
Master of Nursing program at Emory University, 8/2022+

Matthew LeFauve - Postdoc; 6/21 - 11/22
Started as Toxicologist at US EPA, 11/2022

Jake Holloway - Undergraduate Researcher; 5/2022 - 7/2023 (graduated; started medical school 8/2023)

​Aicha Khalaf - Undergraduate Researcher; 8/2021 - 8/2023

Praneeth Goli - MS Pharmacology student; graduated 5/24

Victoria Fasakin - Undergraduate Researcher; 9/2022 - 12/2024

Rachelle Hecht - graduate student, 9/2023-5/2025 (graduated with MS)

We're recruiting new members!

We have space available for PhD and/or MS student rotations, so shoot me a message to set one of these up! 
We also have room for undergraduate researchers!

​Right now we are not recruiting additional postdocs, but I encourage potential postdocs to email me early and we can talk about funding and whether I will have room in the group for you!

Reach out if you're interested in joining!

Please feel free to contact me with questions and comments!


Twitter

@cdkassotis

Email

[email protected]
“You cannot get through a single day without having an impact on the world around you. What you do makes a difference, and you have to decide what kind of difference you want to make.” — Jane Goodall