The ShARP Center advances interdisciplinary research and community action to address PFAS contamination and its health impacts. By combining expertise in public health, engineering, and biomedical science, we study PFAS effects on liver health, develop technologies to detect and remove them from water, and partner with communities to promote prevention and resilience. Our mission is to protect public health and the environment through innovation, collaboration, and equitable solutions.
The problem: PFAS contamination is a growing national crisis with direct implications for the Superfund program. More than 200 million U.S. residents are estimated to receive PFAS-contaminated drinking water, and over 3,000 sites, including at least 245 designated Superfund sites, are known or suspected to be contaminated.
- PFAS enter the environment through industrial waste, landfills, and wastewater treatment plants, where they can leach into soil and groundwater. These chemicals are extremely persistent and are difficult to remove using current remediation methods. This is why they are often referred to as “forever chemicals.”
- Health risks are also a major concern. PFAS accumulate in the human body and have been linked to immune dysfunction, endocrine disruption, cancer, and liver damage. One emerging area of focus is the potential link between PFAS exposure and liver disease, an increasingly common condition with serious health consequences.
- Despite growing concern, major gaps remain in our understanding of how PFAS mixtures affect human health, particularly the liver, and and how best to remediate these substances.
- ShARP is the first Superfund Research Center specifically designed to investigate the connection between PFAS exposure and liver disease while developing effective technologies to detect, model, and treat PFAS at contaminated sites.
Our Approach
We focus our efforts across four interconnected research projects, each aligned with the core goals of the NIEHS Superfund Research Program:
Understanding How PFAS Affects Human Health
Project 1 uses advanced 3D human liver models to study how PFAS harms the liver and contributes to disease.
Project 2 investigates long term PFAS exposure in real world populations to uncover links to liver disease and related health conditions.
Tracking PFAS in the Environment
Project 3 develops new tools to detect PFAS in water, soil, and air. It also creates a predictive groundwater model to track how PFAS moves, focusing on contamination from the March Air Force Base Superfund site.
Removing PFAS from the Environment
Project 4 creates innovative methods to break down PFAS using microbial, chemical, and thermal treatments, with a goal of meeting EPA drinking water standards and supporting Superfund site cleanups.
How We Work
Our research is supported by four core teams that keep the Center running and amplify our impact:
Administrative Core
Coordinates leadership, communication, and operations across the Center.
Data Management and Analysis Core (DMAC)
Ensures high quality data collection, integration, and dissemination.
Community Engagement Core
Partners with affected communities to guide research and ensure results are meaningful and accessible.
Research Experience and Training Coordination Core (RETCC)
Supports mentorship and career development for the next generation of environmental health scientists.
Together, our research and community driven approach aim to reduce exposure, improve public health, and create long-lasting solutions to PFAS contamination.