Little Rock, AR/Anchorage, AK – At the end of February, Dr. Igor Koturbash, Professor and Chair of the Department of Environmental Health Sciences at the Fay W. Boozman College of Public Health, co-chaired a session at the Environmental Health Symposium during the 2025 Western Regional IDeA Conference in Anchorage, Alaska. The session, hosted by Alaska INBRE, was led by Dr. Patrick Tomco of the University of Alaska Anchorage and Dr. Koturbash, and focused on critical environmental health issues.
As part of his visit, Dr. Koturbash delivered an invited presentation and met with Dr. Tomco and his colleagues at the University of Alaska Anchorage’s Department of Chemistry to initiate collaborative efforts between the two institutions. Despite their geographical differences, Alaska and Arkansas face common environmental concerns, including oil spills and microparticle pollution.
“Merging expertise in analytical chemistry and biomedical research that the University of Alaska and UAMS possess, respectively, promise to elevate the research conducted at our institutions to the next level and tackle the environmental challenges in our states,” said Dr. Koturbash.
Dr. Tomco echoed the enthusiasm for collaboration, stating, “We are excited to work together with colleagues in Arkansas to better understand the biological consequences of environmental exposures. We also hope to offer our students at both institutions a combined training that will include both analytical chemistry and biomedical perspectives.”
The partnership aims to advance research and education, fostering interdisciplinary approaches to environmental health challenges affecting both regions.