The Global Health Biomarker Laboratory (formerly the Snodgrass Human Biology Research Laboratory) is co-directed by Dr. Josh Snodgrass and Dr. Zachary DuBois, and focuses on the development and application of minimally invasive techniques (e.g., dried blood spots [DBS], saliva, hair, and urine) for assessing health and physiology in population-based research.
We have active research projects in the US and Ecuador, and we provide training and technical support for projects in the US (including Oregon and Puerto Rico), Russia/Siberia, Laos, Tunisia, UAE, Cameroon, Kenya, Republic of Congo, Tanzania, and the SAGE countries (China, Ghana, India, Mexico, Russia, and South Africa).
The Global Health Biomarker Lab is located in Pacific Hall 12 on the UO campus. The lab is an endocrinology and immunology lab that provides equipment that allows for the analysis of hormones and various health markers from human blood, saliva, and urine samples. The lab also provides facilities for data analysis.
The lab also houses portable metabolic equipment for studies of human biology, including a MedGraphics VO2000 unit, which allows the measurement of energy expenditure in lab or field conditions. Additional equipment is available for the assessment of physical activity (e.g., Actical and Actigraph activity monitors and Polar heart rate monitors), body composition (e.g., bioelectrical impedance analysis instruments), body temperature (Vitalsense telemetric physiological monitoring systems), and cardiovascular/metabolic health (e.g., blood pressure monitors, Cardiochek PA, Cholestech LDX & GDX, and Hemocue instruments).
The Snodgrass Lab has regularly supported several community outreach activities, including the annual Huerto de la Familia (The Family Garden) health fair, which serves low-income Latino families in the Eugene/Springfield area. Snodgrass co-sponsors this event along with Head Start of Lane County, Volunteers in Medicine, and White Bird Clinic. Starting in March 2014, the Snodgrass Lab developed an intensive training program for volunteers and health care, professionals. Working with Huerto and the Holden Leadership Center, we train and mentor approximately 20 UO undergraduate students per year who participate in the project.
Since it started in 2011, the program has served >500 community members without access to health care and has included approximately 75 undergraduates and 10 graduate students.
Our primary research in the lab involves the use of biomarkers, such as cortisol, amylase, cytomegalovirus (CMV), and Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) antibodies, to better understand how psychosocial stress contributes to the development and progression of cardiovascular and metabolic diseases. We also use testosterone in our work on life history tradeoffs between reproductive investment and immune function among the Shuar of Ecuador. Further, we work with a number of markers of immune function, including immunoglobulins E and G (IgE and IgG) and the inflammatory markers C-reactive protein (CRP) and interleukin-6 (IL-6). For more information on the types of biomarker analyses performed in the lab click here. This publication also contains information on the biomarkers that can be measured from DBS samples.
UO Biomarker Cluster 