Pacific Northwest Center for Translational Health Research Admin supplement

Oregon State University, Corvallis OR

Investigators

Linked publications & trials

Abstract

OVERALL SUMMARY The Pacific Northwest Center for Translational Environmental Health Research (PNW EHSC) has been instrumental in leading, growing and enhancing collaborative translational environmental health science (EHS) research in the Pacific Northwest region for over 40 years. As its lead institution, Oregon State University (OSU) has capacity for PNW EHSC members and partners to make deep inquiries spanning the spectrum of exposure biology using synergistic cutting-edge technologies and expertise. The strategic vision of the PNW EHSC is and has been to facilitate innovative and engaged research to improve environmental public health, reduce risks of exposure, and advance co-development of knowledge of interactions between environmental factors and human biology. The specific aims of the PNW EHSC are to 1) Advance environmental health science, 2) Promote the translation of data to knowledge to action, and 3) Enhance environmental health science through stewardship and support. The Administrative Core (AC) will continue to provide crucial leadership through the Executive Leadership Team, including career development opportunities for Center members. The Integrated Health Sciences Facility Core (IHSFC) and the Community Engagement Core (CEC) will continue active collaboration to facilitate and maintain multi-directional connections and communications among Center members and partners. The IHSFC will continue to accelerate collaborations among Center members to address environmental health questions and provide technical support across a range of needs including human subjects research, biospecimen collection and handling, biostatistics, and bioinformatics. The CEC will remain committed to advancing research translation across Cores and building best practices in community engagement practice, science communication, and evaluation science to support EHS research needs. The incredibly innovative and synergistic Facility Cores will continue with support of transformative and translational interdisciplinary research. The Chemical Exposure Core (CXC) enables minimally invasive and relatively low-cost identification of over 1,500 individual chemicals through various passive sampling devices. The Zebrafish Biomedical Research Core (ZBR) is capable of developing transgenic and gene-edited zebrafish lines and other customizable assays to provide deep dives into mechanistic toxicology. The CXC and ZBR will continue to enable a full spectrum of exposure biology services and when combined with the leadership of the AC, the translational support available through the IHSFC, and the best practices developed and implemented by the CEC for engaged research, EHS research in the region will continue to accelerate and generate impact due to the benefits of having an operational PNW EHSC.