Too many firefighters are dying of cancer. UCLA ’s Derek Urwin aims to change that

They ’re our modern-day superheroes — charging into burning buildings without hesitation, rescuing those in peril, staving off destruction. Butin risking their lives for us, firefighters pay a heavy price, with cancer rates that far outpace the public at large.Derek Urwin, a longtime firefighter who expects to complete his Ph.D. in chemistry during the winter quarter, is out to change that, using his knowledge of chemistry to  improve firefighter health and safety and, ultimately, bring these cancer rates down. It’s a mission that had a very personal origin.In 2014, Urwin ’s brother Isaac, then 33, died of leukemia. Urwin, who was serving with the Los Angeles County Fire Department, took time off to care for him through his chemotherapy treatments.“When I was sitting by his bedside,” Urwin recalled, “I was thinking, I was a firefighter exposed to all kinds of toxic chemicals in my work, and he wasn’t, and I couldn’t reconcile how he was sick and I wasn’t. Many of my firefighter mentors and colleagues had been diagnosed with cancer , and many had died, in my first 10 years on the job.”He began thinking deeply about the huge number chemical carcinogens in the world and how exposure to them can be a major contributing factor to cancer diagnoses. Finding ways to mitigate those exposures, he figured, could save many firefighters ’ lives. “That’s why I decided to come back to UCLA and study chemistry,” he said.Surprisingly, his chemistry courses hadn...
Source: UCLA Newsroom: Health Sciences - Category: Universities & Medical Training Source Type: news