The mission of the Southern California Environmental Health Sciences Center is to help reduce the burden of environmentally related diseases by providing the scientific basis for interventions to protect and enhance health, and by translating scientific findings through outreach and community engagement. The Center focuses on exploring the effects of environmental exposures across the lifecourse with an emphasis on susceptible populations, critical developmental periods, and major diseases which are mediated through shared molecular and toxicologic processes. The Center's theme is Environmental Exposures, Host Factors and Human Disease across the Lifecourse. Scientifically, the Center is organized around six Environmental Health Research Programs (Cardiorespiratory Effects, Cancer, Obesity/Metabolic Effects, Neurological Effects, Study Design and Statistical Methods, and Exposure Sciences) that are integrated by five Cross-Cutting Research Focus Areas. These programs are led by collaborative multidisciplinary teams and supported by the Center's Administrative and three Facility Cores, while findings are translated and communicated to the public through the Community Outreach and Engagement Core. The Center fosters innovative research in environmental health sciences (EHS) using the Pilot Projects Program, state-of-the-art facilities and collaborative mechanisms including the seminar series, workshops, retreats, and career development activities. Over the past 19 years, the Center has functioned as an integrated program of research excellence. The investigators have a strong research base in EHS as evidenced by our ongoing peer-reviewed research projects. The EHS identity has been further distinguished by our success in bringing together multidisciplinary research teams tackling compelling issues in EHS, attracting new and accomplished investigators to EHS, and fostering new lines of research. The Center is a national leader in community outreach and engagement, improving environmental health literacy and employing innovative approaches for community involvement and multi- directionally communicating EHS research results to community organizations, policy makers, the public health community, the news media, and the public. In the renewal period, the investigators propose to build on these approaches to promote cutting-edge science, translational research, and outreach efforts. The Center's mission, theme, structure, goals, strategic approaches, and future directions will contribute to advancing many elements of the NIEHS Strategic Plan. The broad spectrum of disciplines and expertise among their diverse Center membership's strong track record in collaborative multidisciplinary research, career development, and community engagement, positions the Center to effectively address today's critical problems and tomorrow's emerging EHS issues.

Public Health Relevance

The mission of the Southern California Environmental Health Sciences Center is to reduce the burden of environmentally related diseases through better characterization of environmental threats to public health, increased understanding of the basis for personal vulnerability, community engagement and translation of research to support prevention efforts now and into the future.

Agency
National Institute of Health (NIH)
Institute
National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS)
Type
Center Core Grants (P30)
Project #
5P30ES007048-23
Application #
9462099
Study Section
Environmental Health Sciences Review Committee (EHS)
Program Officer
Thompson, Claudia L
Project Start
1997-04-01
Project End
2021-03-31
Budget Start
2018-04-01
Budget End
2019-03-31
Support Year
23
Fiscal Year
2018
Total Cost
Indirect Cost
Name
University of Southern California
Department
Public Health & Prev Medicine
Type
Schools of Medicine
DUNS #
072933393
City
Los Angeles
State
CA
Country
United States
Zip Code
90089
Kalkbrenner, Amy E; Windham, Gayle C; Zheng, Cheng et al. (2018) Air Toxics in Relation to Autism Diagnosis, Phenotype, and Severity in a U.S. Family-Based Study. Environ Health Perspect 126:037004
Stram, Douglas A; Jiang, Xuejuan; Varma, Rohit et al. (2018) Factors Associated with Prevalent Diabetic Retinopathy in Chinese Americans: The Chinese American Eye Study. Ophthalmol Retina 2:96-105
Dong, Jing; Levine, David M; Buas, Matthew F et al. (2018) Interactions Between Genetic Variants and Environmental Factors Affect Risk of Esophageal Adenocarcinoma and Barrett's Esophagus. Clin Gastroenterol Hepatol 16:1598-1606.e4
Gao, Lu; Liu, Xiaochen; Millstein, Joshua et al. (2018) Self-reported prenatal tobacco smoke exposure, AXL gene-body methylation, and childhood asthma phenotypes. Clin Epigenetics 10:98
Cortessis, Victoria K; Azadian, Moosa; Buxbaum, James et al. (2018) Comprehensive meta-analysis reveals association between multiple imprinting disorders and conception by assisted reproductive technology. J Assist Reprod Genet 35:943-952
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Ghosh, R; Gauderman, W J; Minor, H et al. (2018) Air pollution, weight loss and metabolic benefits of bariatric surgery: a potential model for study of metabolic effects of environmental exposures. Pediatr Obes 13:312-320
Toledo-Corral, C M; Alderete, T L; Habre, R et al. (2018) Effects of air pollution exposure on glucose metabolism in Los Angeles minority children. Pediatr Obes 13:54-62
Maitre, Léa; de Bont, Jeroen; Casas, Maribel et al. (2018) Human Early Life Exposome (HELIX) study: a European population-based exposome cohort. BMJ Open 8:e021311
Gao, Lu; Urman, Robert; Millstein, Joshua et al. (2018) Association between AXL promoter methylation and lung function growth during adolescence. Epigenetics :1-12

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