Center of Excellence in Environmental Toxicology

University Of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia PA

Investigators

Linked publications & trials

Abstract

This is the fourth competing continuation for a highly accomplished Environmental Health Sciences Core Center (EHS CC), The Center of Excellence in Environmental Toxicology (CEET) at the University of Pennsylvania (Penn). The Director is Trevor M. Penning, PhD (The Thelma Brown and Henry Charles Molinoff Professor of Pharmacology) and the Deputy Director is Sharon McGrath-Morrow MBA, MD (The Robert Gerard Morse Endowed Chair in Pediatric Pulmonary Medicine). The CEET has built an institutional, regional and national identity in environmental health sciences (EHS). The Center is located in Philadelphia, which is one of the poorest large cities in the nation; the majority of its urban population lives in communities that are plagued by environmental pollution, making CEET indispensable to tackle these issues. The Center is comprised of 89 members from 23 Departments and 8 Schools at Penn, with almost equal representation of basic and clinician-scientists drawn from the Perelman School of Medicine and Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. The synergistic combination of basic and clinician-scientists within the CEET promotes translational environmental health research in adult and pediatric populations. The CEET mission is to “elucidate the mechanistic links between environmental exposures and human disease and translate findings into action to improve the health of individuals, and local, national, and global communities.” By translating knowledge into action its mission is consistent with the current NIEHS Strategic Plan. This mission is accomplished through six aims. In Aim 1: We will perform environmental health research on topics relevant to our region: Air Pollution & Lung Health; Environmental Exposures & Cancer; Windows-of-Susceptibility; and Environmental Neuroscience. Each of these thematic areas is poised to respond to advances in exposure science (exposomics) and the effects of extreme weather on health. In Aim 2: We will translate our findings to reduce health issues in our target communities in Southeastern Pennsylvania and use community engagement and needs assessment to inform the research agenda for the CEET. In Aim 3: We provide the infrastructure to perform translational environmental health research using a Translational Research Support Core, Biomolecular Mass Spectrometry Core and Environmental Health Informatics Core. In Aim 4: We will build capacity in environmental health sciences through recruitment of new faculty, appointment of new center members, the funding of pilot projects; and the development of multi-investigator initiatives that would not otherwise be possible. In Aim 5: We will cultivate the careers of Early-Stage Investigators (ESI) by providing a Career Development Program to establish them as the next generation of environmental health scientists. In Aim 6: We will provide access to the Center infrastructure to seven other EHS investigators in the region who do not have access to an EHS CC.