Honors Program Enrichment Reflections Blog

Reflection: I am currently taking an undergrad seminar in chemistry. For this class, we had to create a research literature review and proposal. First, we created a literature review/bibliography, and we are currently working on the proposal. The topic I chose was endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs) in hair products and the racial disparity in preterm birth. I cultivated my resources by going to the AUC database and using PubMed Central and ScienceDirect to find my sources.  The sources I reviewed connected exposure to the chemical through hair products targeted towards black women to the mechanisms in the chemicals and how they are harmful to the direct outcome on black women. We learned that the hair products have EDCs and that Black Women are exposed to them at higher rates because the products target black women. The Phthalates and other chemicals cause disruption to pathways involved with preterm birth. A study detailed in one of our sources indicated that consistent and p...