Identify major health risks of melamine and implementing mitigation strategy  Following the 2008 melamine-contaminated milk scandal in China, my research team identified melamine tableware as a major source of melamine exposure in daily life. We further demonstrated that replacing melamine tableware with stainless steel alternatives could reduce melamine exposure by ~68%, gaining recognition both domestically and internationally. We also used pragmatic intervention trials in engineering improvements in melamine tableware-manufacturing factory, resulting in a 70% reduction in workplace melamine exposure and a 58% decrease in workers’ oxidative stress levels. In addition to these interventions, we first using urinary melamine concentration to establish reference values for daily tolerable intake (TDI) for vulnerable population, including individuals with kidney stones, chronic kidney disease, and pregnant women, aiming to reduce the risk of kidney disease linked to melamine exposure.

Identify major health risks of phthalates such as Taiwan's Phthalate-tainted Food Scandal and implementing mitigation strategy  In response to the 2011 Taiwan’s phthalate-tainted food scandal, in collaboration with Kaohsiung Medical University, we promptly established a “Phthalates Clinic for Children, PCC” with the goal of immediately analyzing urinary phthalate concentration to assess phthalate exposure in children who had consumed contaminated food, thereby providing the most accurate exposure assessment close to the time of the incident. We revealed that children under 10 years of age with higher levels of DEHP exposure had correspondingly higher concentrations of DEHP metabolites in their urine, which was associated with reduced thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) levels. Following our government policy and our health education, a significant reduction in urinary DEHP metabolites was observed in follow-ups conducted 6 and 44 months later, along with a decrease in oxidative stress markers in children. These findings were subsequently provided to Taiwan’s NHRI and the Consumers’ Foundation as scientific evidence to support public health policies aimed at reducing environmental exposure to phthalates. We now continue monitoring their long-term health consequences.

Establish Taiwan Maternal and Infant Cohort Study (TMICS) and its food safety-related research  Following the 2011 phthalate-tainted food scandal, we established the Taiwan Maternal and Infant Cohort Study (TMICS), providing critical scientific evidence showing that DEHP and other phthalate exposure levels among pregnant women in Taiwan had significantly decreased, although low-level exposure remained. We continued to develop a long-term database to monitor environmental exposures and health impacts on pregnant women and their offspring, aiming to protect child health and prevent exposure to environmental pollutants. I also focused on different biospecimens such as placenta tissue closer to real exposure to link environmental exposures and health outcomes between the mother and developing fetus. Furthermore, the research led to practical preventive strategies, such as showing that washing hands with soap could reduce phthalate exposure on hands by 95% , offering a simple yet effective method to lower phthalate exposure in children.

International Collaborations on adducts-related research  I have been working with Professor Robert J Turesky from the Masonic Cancer Center at the University of Minnesota focusing on the innovative use of biologically effective biomarkers in DNA adductomics, which is the study of adducts that uniquely form between toxins and biological molecules in humans. We have received an international R01 project funded by the US National Institutes of Health (NIH), spanning five years since 2019, entitled “DNA adductome of human bladder from tobacco exposome”. We first identified various carcinogenic compounds in smoke condensates induced differential cytotoxicity, oxidative stress, and lipid peroxidation in human bladder cell lines; additionally, high-resolution mass spectrometry was used for the first time to provide evidence of DNA damage linked to these exposures. Furthermore, I received the most prestigious award in a two-year Shackleton Breakthrough Research Grant under our Taiwan’s Ministry of Science and Technology, and have continued collaborating with Prof Turesky on the topic cooking oil fumes (COFs)-induced DNA damages that may contribute to non-smoking lung adenocarcinoma.