Jenny Roberts, PhD

Adjunct Assistant Professor

Organization:

West Virginia University School of Medicine

Department:

Microbiology, Immunology & Cell Biology

Classification:

Adjunct Faculty

• PhD, West Virginia University, 2006
• BA, Boston University Biology, 1996
• BA, Boston University Psychology, 1996

Select Pier Reviewed Publications:
Roberts JR, McKinney W, Kan H, Krajnak K, Frazer DG, Thomas TA, Waugh W, Kenyon A, MacCuspie RI, Hackley VA, Castranova V. Pulmonary and Cardiovascular Responses of Rats to Inhalation of Silver Nanoparticles. J Toxicol Environ Health Part A, 76:651-668, 2013.

Roberts JR, Antonini JM, Porter DW, Chapman RS, Scabilloni JF, Young SH, Schwegler-Berry D, Castranova V, Mercer RR. Lung Toxicity and Biodistribution of Cd/Se-ZnS Quantum Dots with Different Surface Functional Groups after Pulmonary Exposure in Rats. Particle Fibre Toxicol. 2013, 10:5. DOI: 10.1186/1743-8977-10-5. 

Roberts JR, Mercer RR, Chapman RS. Guy GM, Bangsaruntip S, Schwegler-Berry D, Scabilloni JF, Castranova V, Antonini JM, and Leonard SS. Pulmonary toxicity, distribution, and clearance of intratracheally-instilled silicon nanowires in rats. J. Nanomaterials, Vol 2012, Article ID 398302, 2012.
Antonini JM, Zeidler-Erdely PC, Young S-H, Roberts JR, and Erdely A. Systemic immune cell response after lung treatment with welding particles that contained different levels of manganese. J Immunotoxicol, 9:184-192, 2012.

Roberts JR, Reynolds JS, Thompson JA, Zaccone EJ, Shimko MJ, Goldsmith WT, Jackson M, McKinney W, Frazer DG, Kenyon A, Kashon ML, Piedemonte G, Castranova V, and Fedan JS. Pulmonary effects after acute inhalation of oil dispersant (COREXIT®EC9500A). Toxicol. Environ. Health Part A, 74:1381-1396, 2011.

Roberts JR, Chapman RS, Tirumala VR, Karim A, Chen BT, Schwegler-Berry D, Stefaniak AB, Leonard SS, and Antonini JM. Toxicological evaluation of lung responses after intratracheal exposure to non-dispersed titanium dioxide nanorods. J. Toxicol. Environ. Health, 74: 790-810, 2011.

Sriram K, Lin GX, Jefferson AM, Roberts JR, Wirth O, Hayashi Y, Krajnak KM, Soukup JM, Ghio AJ, Reynolds SH, Castranova V, Munson AE, and Antonini JM. Mitochondrial dysfunction and loss of Parkinson’s disease-linked proteins contribute to neurotoxicity of manganese-containing welding fumes. FASEB J., 24: 4989-5002, 2010.

Roberts JR, Young S-H, Castranova V, and Antonini JM. The soluble nickel component of residual oil fly ash alters pulmonary host defense in rats. J. Immunotoxicol, 6: 49-61, 2009.

Young S-H, Antonini JM, and Roberts JR. Single pre-exposure to a high dose of 1, 3--glucan enhances lung defense mechanisms and accelerates the pulmonary clearance of a bacterial pathogen in rats. Exp Lung Res. 34: 559-578, 2008.

Antonini JM and Roberts JR. Chromium in stainless steel welding fume suppresses lung defense responses against bacterial infection in rats. J Immunotoxicol, 4: 117-127, 2007.

Roberts JR, Young S-H, Castranova V, and Antonini JM. Soluble metals in residual oil fly ash alter innate and adaptive pulmonary immune responses to bacterial infection in rats. Toxicol Appl Pharmacol, 221: 306-319, 2007.

Book Chapters:
Roberts JR. Effects of residual oil fly ash on pulmonary host defense. In: Fly Ash: Reuse, Environmental Problems, and Exposure Issues, P. H. Telone (ed.) Nova Science Publishers, Inc. Hauppauge, NY. 2010.

Dr.  Roberts’s research focuses on in vivo models to evaluate lung inflammation, injury, immunomodulation, and development of pulmonary disease that may occur after exposures to a variety of different occupational particulates and aerosol mixtures, including metals, fly ash, diesel, welding fume, oil dispersant.  This includes an infectivity model that employs pulmonary exposure to live pathogens to assess alterations on lung immune responses following workplace particulate exposures.  Most recently, her research has employed these models to characterize hazards associated with a variety of different nanomaterials including, silver, titanium dioxide, quantum dots, silicon nanowires, silver nanowires, and graphenes. She is a co-investigator on a team project investigating the potential health effects of crude oil and oil dispersant after pulmonary exposure and a second team project designed to evaluate pulmonary toxicity of co-exposure to diesel and silica occurring during hydraulic fracturing for natural gas extraction.  Dr. Roberts currently leads a team investigation on pulmonary, cardiovascular, and neurological toxicity following respiratory exposure to graphene-based nanomaterials.