Faculty, staff, and students (both undergraduate and graduate) at IETC are actively involved in a number of research projects. These projects involve using an ecological risk assessment framework, the Bayesian Network-Relative Risk Model (BN-RRM) developed in-house to assess the potential toxicological risks of specific stressors to valued ecological resources. IETC has also hosted visiting researchers from around the world who come for training in ecotoxicological methods, as well as to conduct research using our methodologies. The tutorial video, “Methods for Incorporating Data into Bayesian Networks,” was produced by an IETC research assistant in 2021.
Current projects being conducted at IETC range from studying the adverse effects of climate change on the environment, microplastics toxicity to marine species, and the toxicological effects of chemical mixtures on salmonid populations to the use of eukaryotic environmental DNA as a measure of benthic community structure.
To view the complete list of graduate student theses click here.
Grant Funding
IETC’s research projects are funded exclusively from grant funds obtained from local and community partners, as well as from regional and international citizen groups, businesses, and governmental agencies. Recent partners have included the City of Bellingham, WA, Washington Department of Natural Resources, Metropolitan Water District of Southern California, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, National Science Foundation, and British Columbia Ministry of Environment & Climate Change Strategy. Private industry partners have included British Petroleum Amoco, the Port Valdez Regional Citizens Advisory Council, and the National Council for Air and Stream Improvement.
Over the years, these research grants have generated approximately $6 million in revenues that have funded graduate and undergraduate student theses, internships, and senior projects, as well as provided employment to more than 70 students. Students work directly with IETC staff and the Director on projects as a team member and present their results at regional, national, and international scientific conferences. Twelve of IETC’s graduate students and 13 of its undergraduate students have won Best Student Presentation Award at the annual Pacific Northwest Society of Environmental Toxicology & Chemistry chapter meeting since 1992. Hundreds of scientific publications in peer-reviewed scientific journals have also been generated as a result of these research projects, many with students as co-authors. View the PDF of complete list of publications here.
Select Grant Project Reports:
- San Francisco Delta Risk Assessment Progress Report Year 1
- DuPont Project Final Report (DuPont Final Report Appendix)
- Port Valdez Project Final Report (Port Valdez Final Report Appendices)
- Puget Sound Partnership Final Report
- USFS Black Hills National Forest Final Report (USFS Black Hills National Forest Final Report Appendices)