Faculty profile
Kestas G. Bendinskas
Distinguished Professor
Contact
Website
Kestas Bendinskas' websiteOffice hours
Walk in or by appointment
Research
My research group works with:
-Exploring effects of toxic metals and semi-metals on human health, i.e. omics of lead (Pb), cadmium, mercury, arsenic in kids and steel mill workers in Oswego and Syracuse in the USA, Kolkata in India, and Tbilisi in Georgia;
-Measuring cortisol and testosterone in saliva/urine/hair/nails to help psychologists and medical professionals in their research
-Studying metal-binding properties of proteins, e.g., the quenching of fluorescence of alpha-macroglobulin due to its binding to Pb
-Developing modern biochemistry and omics teaching laboratory experiments
Publications
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1. Blodgett, J., Walter, D., MacKenzie, J. A., Gump, B. B., Bendinskas, K.* Both Hair Cortisol and Perceived Stress during Fall Exams Decrease after the Winter Break, 2017, February 22, Austin Biochemistry, Volume 2, Issue 1, 1007-1011, open access: http://austinpublishinggroup.com/biochemistry/download.php?file=fulltext/biochemistry-v2-id1007.pdf
2. Brooks B. Gump, Matthew Dykas, James A. MacKenzie, Amy K. Dumas, Bryce Hruska, Craig K. Ewart, Patrick J. Parsons, Christopher D. Palmer, and Kestutis Bendinskas, Exposure to Background Levels of Lead and Mercury: Psychological and Behavioral Problems in Children, Environmental Research, Volume 158, 2017, pp. 576-582, 10.1016/j.envres.2017.06.033
3. Bryce Hruska, Sarah D. Pressman, Kestutis Bendinskas, Brooks B. Gump, Vacation Frequency is Associated with Metabolic Syndrome and Symptoms (GPSH-2018-0493; 5/29/19), Psychology and Health, 2019, Volume 35, Issue 1, 2 January 2020, Pages 1-15, doi: https://doi.org/10.1080/08870446.2019.1628962
4. Bendinskas, K., Canning, A., Smith, A., Identification of Proteins Using Four Methods of Matrix-Assisted Laser Desorption Ionization Time-of-flight Mass Spectrometry, JChemEd, 2019, 96, 11, 2600-2605, http://dx.doi.org/10.1021/acs.jchemed.8b00687
5. Hruska, B., Pressman, S.D., Bendinskas, K., & Gump, B.B., Do Vacations Alter the Connection Between Stress and Cardiovascular Activity? The Effects of a Planned Vacation on the Relationship Between Weekly Stress and Ambulatory Heart Rate, Psychology and Health, 2019 Nov 6:1-16 doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/08870446.2019.1687699
6. Brooks B. Gump, Matthew Dykas, James A. MacKenzie, Amy K. Dumas, Bryce Hruska, Craig K. Ewart, Patrick J. Parsons, Christopher D. Palmer, and Kestutis Bendinskas, Dietary contributions to increased background lead, mercury, and cadmium in 9–11 Year old children: Accounting for racial differences, American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 2020, Volume 185, 109308, doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envres.2020.109308
Conferences
• Denisse Vega Ocasio*, Timothy Dye, Anna Stewart Ibarra, Craig Morrell, Brooks B Gump, Kestas G Bendinskas, Psychosocial distress and its impact on immune modulation of arbovirus infection in Machala, Ecuador, International Health program of the American Public health association, American Public Health Association's 2019 Annual Meeting & Expo, Philadelphia, PA
• Dylan Charland and K. Bendinskas* “Elucidation of binding constants for HSA, BSA, and alpha-2-macroglobulin to heavy metals through fluorescence spectroscopy” oral presentation; Christina Li* and K. Bendinskas* “Complete and partial restriction endonuclease digest of plasmid DNA for teaching laboratories” poster at NERM in Saratoga Springs, NY,June 2019
Education
Post-doctoral fellow, Johns Hopkins University, 1996–1997
Ph.D., Bowling Green State University, 1996