The Wise Laboratory of Environmental and Genetic Toxicology conducts state-of-the-art research aimed at understanding how environmental toxicants affect the health of humans and marine animals.

This mission is accomplished through the pursuit of the following general objectives:

• Conduct innovative and multidisciplinary research in toxicology and molecular epidemiology to further our understanding of disease in humans and marine organisms, particularly as they relate to cancer, asthma and reproductive/developmental effects.
• Discover the mechanisms used by metals to turn normal cells into tumor cells, particularly as they relate to genomic instability and DNA repair.
• Establish new cell culture models from lung, skin, testis and ovary to investigate how metals and particulates cause cancer, asthma and reproductive/developmental effects in humans and marine organisms.
• Study and compare contaminant-induced DNA damage and repair in models of humans and marine organisms.
• Determine how environmental contaminant exposure may affect the recovery of critically endangered species including marine mammals, turtles and birds.
• Investigate how marine pollution may impact the health of marine invertebrates such as lobsters, oysters, and corals.
• Create a national resource and repository of marine cell lines and tissues.