Kurunthachalam Kannan, Ph.D.
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Kurunthachalam Kannan, PhD

Deputy Director of the Division of Environmental Health Sciences
Professor, Department of Environmental Health Sciences, College of Integrated Health Sciences, University at Albany
(518) 474-0015
Fax: Fax: (518) 473-2895

Research Interests

A significant conceptual change has occurred in recent years in relation to how we think about health and diseases, the role the environment plays in disease etiology, and how best to assess human exposure to environmental pollutants and dietary chemicals. Our research is focused on environmental and biomonitoring studies designed to determine human exposure sources, pathways, and effects of organic contaminants. Biomonitoring is a powerful approach to assessing human exposure to toxic substances or their metabolites in human body fluids or tissues.

Advances in analytical chemistry and toxicology have made it possible to discern biomarkers of exposure and health effects, which has led to the concept of ‘exposome’.   Exposome studies measurements of exposures from our environment, diet, lifestyles, and our behaviors. It also encompasses how our bodies respond to various challenges. When coupled with advances in genetics and medicine, we believe the exposome will help elucidate environmental causes of disease and lead to improved strategies for preventing and treating diseases.  Our current research projects are focused in the field of exposomics.

Our research interests include the development of novel analytical methods to detect organic chemicals in human and environmental specimens, aimed at assessing sources and pathways of exposure and developing biomarkers of exposures as well as health effects.

Our current research projects include biomonitoring of persistent organic compounds, endocrine disruptors, and other emerging environmental chemicals for both assessing exposure and characterizing human exposure pathways, and to allow for evaluation of their associations with health outcomes in populations.

Our overarching theme of research is in understanding environmental sources, pathways, distribution, dynamics, and the fate of chemical pollutants, which is crucial if we are to devise solutions to current and future environmental problems.

Select Publications
Li W, Kannan K. A Simple and Sensitive Method for Simultaneous Analysis of 58 Neutral and Ionic PFAS Using UPLC-MS/MS. Environmental Science and Technology Letters. 2024; 11 308-314.
Xue J, Lin Y, Zhao D, Kannan K. Occurrence, removal, and fate of benzothiazoles (BTHs) and benzotriazoles (BTRs) in two wastewater treatment plants in New York State, USA. Sci Total Environ. 2024; Nov 1 (949): 175090. DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2024.175090
Pubmed Web Address
Pal VK, Kannan K. Stability of volatile organic compound metabolites in urine at various storage temperatures and freeze-thaw cycles for 8 months. Environ Pollut. 2024; Mar 15 (345): 123493. DOI: 10.1016/j.envpol.2024.123493
Pubmed Web Address
Liang HW, Koistinen H, Barrett ES, Xun X, Yin Q, Kannan K, Moog NK, Ng C, O'Connor TG, Miller R, Adibi JJ. Associations of serum perfluoroalkyl substances and placental human chorionic gonadotropin in early pregnancy, measured in the UPSIDE study in Rochester, New York. Environ Health Perspect. 2024; Apr;132 (4): 47008. DOI: 10.1289/EHP12950
Pubmed Web Address
Jacobson MH, Hamra GB, Monk C, Crum RM, Upadhyaya S, Avalos LA, Bastain TM, Barrett ES, Bush NR, Dunlop AL, Ferrara A, Firestein MR, Hipwell AE, Kannan K, Lewis J, Meeker JD, Ruden DM, Starling AP, Watkins DJ, Zhao Q, Trasande L. Environmental Influences on Child Health Outcomes Consortium. Prenatal Exposure to Nonpersistent Environmental Chemicals and Postpartum Depression. JAMA Psychiatry. 2024; Jan 1;81 (1): 67-76. DOI: 10.1001/jamapsychiatry.2023.3542
Pubmed Web Address
Liu Y, Kannan K. Concentrations, Profiles and Potential Sources of Liquid Crystal Monomers in Residential Indoor Dust from the United States. Environ Sci Technol. 2024; Jul 16;58 (28): 12400-12408. DOI: 10.1021/acs.est.4c03131
Pubmed Web Address
Li Z-M, Kannan K. Mass Loading, Removal and Emission of 1,3-Diphenylguanidine, Benzotriazole, Benzothiazole, N-(1,3-dimethylbutyl)-N'-phenyl-p-Phenylenediamine, and Their Derivatives in a Wastewater Treatment Plant in New York State, USA. ACS EST Water. 2024; 4 2721-2730.
Li Z-M, Kannan K. Quaternary Ammonium Compounds in Paired Human Urine and Feces: Relative Significance of Biliary Elimination. Environmental Science and Technology Letters. 2024; 11 533-538.
Li W, Kannan K. Screening for contamination levels of select organic environmental chemicals in medical supplies used for human specimen collection. Chemosphere. 2024; Apr (353): 141528. DOI: 10.1016/j.chemosphere.2024.141528
Pubmed Web Address
Liu Y, Li W-L, Li Z-M, Kannan K. A Method for the Determination of 60 Liquid Crystal Monomers in Biotic and Abiotic Samples. Environmental Chemistry and Ecotoxicology. 2024; 6 51-64.
Shin N, Lascarez-Lagunas LI, Henderson AL, Martínez-García M, Karthikraj R, Barrera V, Sui SH, Kannan K, Colaiacovo MP. Altered gene expression linked to germline dysfunction following exposure of Caenorhabditis elegans to DEET. iScience. 2024; Jan 4;27 (1): 108699. DOI: 10.1016/j.isci.2023.108699
Pubmed Web Address
Kannan K, Wu Q, Li Z-M. Sources and pathways of human exposure to perchlorate in the United States: A comparison of environmental monitoring and biomonitoring approaches. Environment Chemistry and Ecotoxicology. 2024; 6 363-369.
Taibl KR, Dunlop AL, Barr DB, Li YY, Eick SM, Kannan K, Ryan PB, Schroder M, Rushing B, Fennell T, Chang CJ, Tan Y, Marsit CJ, Jones DP, Liang D. Newborn metabolomic signatures of maternal per- and polyfluoroalkyl substance exposure and reduced length of gestation. Nat Commun. 2023; May 30;14 (1): 3120. DOI: 10.1038/s41467-023-38710-3
Pubmed Web Address
Yao YN, Wang Y, Zhang H, Gao Y, Zhang T, Kannan K. A review of sources, pathways, and toxic effects of human exposure to benzophenone ultraviolet light filters. Eco Environ Health. 2023; Oct 19;3 (1): 30-44. DOI: 10.1016/j.eehl.2023.10.001
Pubmed Web Address
Choi G, Kuiper J, Bennett D, Barrett E, Bastain T, Breton C, Chinthakindi S, Dunlop A, Farzan S, Herbstman J, Kargas M, Marist C, Meeker J, Morello-Frosch R, O'Conner T, Pellizzari E, Romano M, Sathyanarayana S, Schantz S, Schmidt R, Watkins D, Zhu H, Kannan K, Buckley J, Woodfruff T. Exposure to melamine and its derivatives and aromatic amines among pregnant women in the United States: The ECHO Program. Chemosphere. 2022; (307(Pt 2)): DOI: 10.1016/j.chemosphere.2022.135599
Pubmed Web Address
Oh J, Shin H, Kannan K, Busgang S, Schmidt R, Schweitzer J, Hertz-Picciotto I, Bennett D. Childhood exposure to per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances and neurodevelopment in the CHARGE case-control study. Environmental Research. 2022; DOI: 10.1016/j.envres.2022.114322
Pubmed Web Address
Li Z, Robinson M, Kannan K. An assessment of exposure to several classes of pesticides in pet dogs and cats from New York, United States. Environment International. 2022; DOI: 10.1016/j.envint.2022.107526
Pubmed Web Address
Liang H, Snyder N, Wang Jm Xun X, Yin Q, LeWinn K, Carroll K, Bush N, Kannan K, Barrett E, Mitchell R, Tylavsky F, Adibi J. A study on the association of placental and maternal urinary phthalate metabolites. Journal Of Exposure Science & Environmental Epidemiology. 2022; DOI: doi: 10.1038/s41370-022-00478-x
Pubmed Web Address
Peterson A, Eckel S, Habre R, Yang T, Faham D, Amin M, Grubbs B, Farzan S, Kannan K, Robinson M, Lerner D, Al-Marayati L, Walker D, Grant E, Breton C, Bastain T. Detected prenatal perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) exposure is associated with decreased fetal head biometric parameters in participants experiencing higher perceived stress during pregnancy in the MADRES cohort. Environmental Advances. 2022; DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envadv.2022.100286
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Yan M, Zhu H, Shi Y, Xu Ke, Chen S, Zou Q, Sun H, Kannan K. Profiling of multiple classes of flame retardants in house dust in China: Pattern analysis and human exposure assessment. Environmental Pollution. 2022; (311): DOI: doi: 10.1016/j.envpol.2022.120012
Pubmed Web Address
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