Dr. Kavita Dhanwada has received his PhD in Loyola University of Chicago during the period of 1992 currently, he is working as Professor in University of Northern Iowa.  

Effects of pesticides on human cells: Pesticides are commonly used chemicals in the United States, particularly in the Midwest with its primarily agricultural economy. Atrazine is one of the most widely used herbicides in this region along with metolachlor (herbicide) and diazinon (insecticide). Thus, the frequent use of pesticides has lead to the contamination of natural water systems and drinking water. In fact, a recent study by the National Association of Water Quality Assessment (NAWQA) found that in surface and ground water in the United States, atrazine, metolachlor and diazinon were the most frequently detected pesticides. The research question that we are very interested in asking is do these pesticides affect normal human cells when they are in contact with them and if so can they lead to any human health effects? We have shown that when normal cells are exposed to very low levels, even below the allowable limits of each pesticide, these normal cells grow slower compared to cells that have never been exposed to the pesticides. We are currently asking what happens inside the cell, at the molecular level, to produce the slower rate of growth in pesticide treated cells and how that may lead to alterations in human health.