Center for PFAS Research

Dr. Kari Sant is an environmental toxicologist who specializes in the health consequences resulting from developmental exposures to emerging and common water pollutants. Most of her research has examined how exposures to endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs), especially per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS, affect embryonic and juvenile development and predispose to metabolic diseases such as diabetes, exocrine pancreatic insufficiency, and obesity later in life. Her work has demonstrated that the developing pancreas, which produces digestive enzymes and hormones such as insulin, is a sensitive target for chemical exposures during the embryonic and fetal periods and that these changes may persist throughout childhood. She uses the zebrafish model to investigate how these emerging contaminants influence both human and aquatic reproduction and health throughout the lifespan.