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Timely Topics-The Effects of Plastics on Human Health
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About this event

Join the Environment Committee as they host our April Timely Topics on Tuesday, April 22nd from 12pm-1:30pm at Highland UMC. Guest speakers will present "Plasticized! The Plastics in Our Bodies and Their Effect on Our Health".
Mindful Merchants, a Cary-based small business, will have a selection of items available for purchase.
This event is open to the public. Please bring your own lunch and guests! Light refreshments will be provided.
GUEST SPEAKERS
MICHELLE NOWLIN, JD MA
Michelle Nowlin is a Clinical Professor of Law and the co-director of the Environmental Law and Policy Clinic at Duke University School of Law and the Nicholas School of the Environment. She supervises clinic students from the Law School and the Nicholas School of the Environment in their work for non-profit and community-based organizations. Since joining the Clinic faculty in 2008, Nowlin has worked with students on a range of matters, including the development of a precedent-setting settlement with the state of North Carolina to protect endangered sea turtles, filing an amicus curiae brief with the U.S. Supreme Court on behalf of low-wealth communities challenging mountaintop-removal mining practices, crafting regulatory measures to protect children from lead poisoning hazards, and collaborating with community partners for innovative approaches to reduce marine debris and plastic pollution. Nowlin enjoys bringing scientists, policy makers, lawyers, and students together to collaborate on research, policy development, and legal interventions to address current environmental problems. To this end, she has designed and led several research-based classes and organized workshops, most recently collaborating on a workshop to explore the Social Cost of Plastics.
Nowlin currently serves on the steering committee for Duke University’s Plastic Pollution Working Group and on Duke’s Climate Commitment Advisory Council. She also chairs the American Association of Law School’s Environmental Law Section and serves as a faculty advisor to a number of student organizations. She received the Law School’s Faculty Award for Excellence in Community and Public Service in 2024, and the University’s Faculty Award for Outstanding Leadership in Sustainability in 2013.
Prior to joining Duke’s faculty, she was a senior attorney with the Southern Environmental Law Center in Chapel Hill, where she led the organization’s initiative to develop and implement pollution control programs for Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations and litigated cases pursuant to the Clean Water Act, Coastal Area Management Act, Endangered Species Act, and National Environmental Policy Act.
Nowlin is a member of the North Carolina Bar and the D.C. Bar, and is admitted to practice in the state and federal courts of North Carolina, the U.S. Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals, and the U.S. Supreme Court. She earned her B.A. with Highest Honors from the University of Florida and earned a dual J.D./M.A. from Duke Law School and the School of the Environment in 1992.
JASON SOMARELLI, MD
Dr. Somarelli is currently an Assistant Professor in the Department of Medicine at Duke University and Director of Research for the Duke Comparative Oncology Group. He has 21 years of experience as a molecular biologist, including three years as an American Cancer Society Post-Doctoral Fellow and three years as an EPA STAR Pre-Doctoral Fellow. His federally funded research laboratory uses systems-level analyses, functional genomics, and novel organoid platforms to understand adaptation to extreme environments. His work spans diverse topics, such as the molecular adaptations of whales to low oxygen conditions, the evolutionary pressures faced by cancer cells during drug treatment, and the evolution of microbes to use plastic as a nutrient source.
In addition to his scholarly activities, Dr. Somarelli is active as an educator, leading multiple outreach and research training programs for high school students and undergraduates. He has received multiple recognitions for his teaching and mentoring and is passionate about providing opportunities in science for all.
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