Wong, Lachapelle Receive 2025 NESOT Awards

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Kameron Wong (left) and Adam Lachapelle (right) holding their NESOT award certificates

Environmental health sciences doctoral student Kameron Wong and biochemistry and molecular biology major Adam Lachapelle received awards at the annual meeting of the Northeast Chapter of the Society of Toxicology (NESOT) held on October 24, 2025.

Wong received the received the best oral presentation award for a presentation titled " Developmental PFOS exposure increases sensitivity to secondary ROS-driven stress in pancreatic β-cells in zebrafish (Danio rerio) embryos." Her research investigates how early life exposures to PFAS, fluorinated organic non-stick molecules often referred to as “forever chemicals,” increase susceptibility to subsequent conditions that generate reactive oxygen species in the insulin-producing pancreatic β-cells.

Lachapelle received the best undergraduate poster award for a poster titled " Assessment of developmental and endocrine pancreatic toxicity of aqueous film forming foams (AFFF) in larval zebrafish (Danio rerio) and its potential modulation by the Nrf2 pathway " His research focuses on understanding how different mixtures of environmentally relevant PFAS can cause oxidative stress and affect development of the islet of Langerhans in the pancreas.

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Timme-Laragy lab members (from left to right): Sushmita Emani, Andrew Bo, Adam LaChapelle, Davis Miller, and Kameron Wong

Wong and Lachapelle are both members of Professor Alicia Timme-Laragy’s lab in the Department of Environmental Health Sciences. Fellow lab member Davis Miller (molecular and cellular biology) also gave an oral presentation at the meeting, while undergraduate lab members Sushmita Emani (microbiology) and Andrew Bo (biochemistry and molecular biology) presented posters.

“I’m incredibly proud of the hard work that these students have put into their projects,” says Timme-Laragy. “Their exciting findings will help us better understand the health impacts of PFAS exposures. Everyone who presented did a fantastic job, and I’m especially appreciative of the lab team as a whole for the practice sessions and feedback that went into preparing for the conference.”

The Northeast Chapter of the Society of Toxicology includes members from diverse sectors including academia, government, chemical, environmental, and pharmaceutical industries. It strives to promote continued learning and scientific excellence, in addition to networking and collaboration opportunities, for regional toxicologists and students through its annual regional chapter meeting in the fall and through sponsored events at the Society of Toxicology's annual meeting in the spring.