Translational Research Support Core

University Of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia PA

Investigators

Linked publications & trials

Abstract

TRANSLATIONAL RESEARCH SUPPORT CORE (TRSC): ABSTRACT The Translational Research Support Core (TRSC) is the single entity that enables CEET to perform translational environmental health research that impacts individuals and communities. In the transition from an Integrative Health Sciences Facility Core (IHSFC) to the TRSC, we have renewed our focus to support translational science, as conceptualized by NIEHS, among CEET basic scientists, clinical researchers, community engagement experts, and public health practitioners. In alignment with the NIEHS framework for translational research, the TRSC mission is to accelerate research in environmental health sciences leading to improvements in clinical and population health outcomes. To achieve this mission, the TRSC will provide infrastructure to (1) support the translation of basic science observations that relate environmental exposures to adverse outcomes into human studies that detect, prevent and/or manage diseases induced or exacerbated by these exposures and (2) translate findings from human studies to approaches that can be implemented to improve public health. A major focus of this core is to predict who is at risk of exposure, who is at risk for disease, and the identification of predictive and prognostic biomarkers. The TRSC interfaces with the Community Engagement Core (CEC) to enhance the partnership between CEET investigators and community-based organizations to identify community concerns and develop research questions so that CEC can ultimately implement and disseminate findings of CEET investigators back to local, national, and global communities. Community-based questions relating to healthy individuals or patients are communicated by the CEC and framed into scientifically relevant questions by the TRSC for CEET investigators to address. Services provided by the TRSC to CEET investigators include: (a) Human Study Design and Implementation Science Services, (b) Environmental Exposure Services, (c) Preclinical and Human Exposure Laboratories, (d) Population-based Cohorts and CEET Biorepository resources, and (e) Training Opportunities in Translational Research. The TRSC will work collaboratively with the Environmental Health Informatics Core (EHIC) and the Biomolecular Mass Spectrometry Core (BMSC), to provide comprehensive support of research across our Thematic Areas and in the cross-cutting themes of exposomics and the effects of extreme weather on health, as well as partner with investigators, CEC members and communitybased organizations to impact clinical practice and public health research. The TRSC will lead the development of studies across the Center’s Thematic Areas that focus on the translation of mechanistic findings to investigations in humans to advance exposure measurement, risk assessment, and develop and test interventions that will impact prevention and treatment strategies.