Eric Rimm, associate professor of epidemiology and nutrition in the Departments of Epidemiology and Nutrition, is 'fishing' for collaborators in studies involving analyses of toxins and a whole lot of salmon.

At a recent luncheon in Kresge cafeteria, Rimm described the research opportunity to fellow faculty. (The salmon entrée may have had something to do with prompting the announcement.)

Several projects have been initiated looking at n3 polyunsaturated fatty acids in fish. Consuming n3 polyunsaturated fatty acids has been associated with health benefits such as lower levels of triglycerides and inflammatory markers and reduced risk of fatal heart disease.

The government maintains food composition databases with values for fish. Rimm was concerned that the data may not account for differences between farm-raised and wild fish. So he and his colleagues set about obtaining more than 100 pounds of salmon from different areas of the world, both wild and farm-raised populations. It turns out that the amount of n3 fatty acids in a salmon depends on what food the fish eats, since salmon do not produce n3 fatty acids endogenously. So while farm-raised salmon may theoretically have more n3 fatty acids than wild fish because their diets are more controllable, the levels of the acids vary from farm to farm. The analyses will continue.

In addition, Rimm is beginning to measure levels of PCBs, mercury and other contaminants found in frozen samples of the fish.

Researchers interested in collaborating with Rimm and his colleagues on the salmon projects may e-mail him at eric.rimm@channing.harvard.edu.