Ferass Sammoura received his PhD in Public Health with a concentration of Environmental Health Sciences from Florida International University (FIU) in 2023. His dissertation research focused on the effects of environmental exposures in neurodegenerative diseases. Specifically, Dr. Sammoura focused on the interplay of organochlorine pesticides DDT and DDE in amyloid pathology, relevant to Alzheimer’s disease. His and his collaborators research is the first to ever discover mechanistic links for organochlorine pesticide exposure in Alzheimer’s disease. Dr. Ferass Sammoura is currently a Postdoctoral Research Associate at Brown University.
DDT is a synthetic insecticide once widely used from the 1940s to the 1960s to control insect-borne diseases like malaria and for farming. In 1972, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) banned DDT in the U.S. because of its harmful environmental impacts. Working in Dr. Richardson's lab at FIU, Ferass explored how DDE (a byproduct of DDT) affects the brain.
Sammoura's research shows that even low levels of DDE can have harmful effects, similar to DDT. Using mice and cell models, he found that DDE increases the levels of a protein called Amyloid Precursor Protein (APP) in the brain. When APP breaks down, it can form amyloid-beta peptides, which can clump together and form plaques. These plaques are a key feature of Alzheimer's disease.
Sammoura hopes his research will help scientists understand how DDT and DDE exposure affects different people and populations. Although his work is just one part of a larger puzzle, it is an important step toward understanding the impact of these chemicals on health.