The goals of this Johns Hopkins University Environmental Health Sciences Center are: 1) To develop and maintain an environmental health research center focused on advances in understanding the impact of potentially toxic environmental agents on health by investigating mechanisms of action at the molecular, whole animal and human levels of interaction; 2) To enhance research interactions between individual faculty and with other research groups and centers of the University interested in the study of environmental health problems; 3) To provide a suitable environment for the training of future environmental health scientists. The Center is organized into six program areas; namely: Epidemiology - Exposure Assessment; Molecular Dosimetry & Biological Monitoring; Environmental Carcinogenesis; Physiologic responses to Air Pollutants; Immune and Cellular Defense Mechanisms; and Neurotoxicology. Each of these thematic areas addresses scientific questions of exposure, mechanisms of toxicity and measurements of health effects in humans. The program areas are composed of environmental scientists of diverse backgrounds, including toxicologists, physiologists, epidemiologists, pathologists, immunologists, engineers and physicians. The Center also includes four core resource facilities to promote interactions among program areas, to foster collaborations, and to provide essential instrumentation and expertise beyond the reach of any individual scientist or given program area. In order to stimulate and test the viability of new research ideas and approaches the Center sponsors a Pilot Project Program which is available to all Johns Hopkins Faculty. Proposed projects are peer-reviewed and prioritized for funding. The goal of pilot projects is to mature the project to the point of eligibility for extramural funding. The management of the Center is facilitated by the Director, a Deputy Director, and a Business Manager working together with an Executive Committee composed of the Program Directors. Four non-Center affiliated faculty meet with the Executive Committee on a quarterly basis. An External Advisory Committee of 6 members meets annually. Center mechanisms to promote Center goals include Center and Program seminars and workshops, a dedicated Conference Room and Bulletin Board, a Center Newsletter, and plans for a visiting scientist. In addition, to ensure Center dynamism and vitality, Center- supported faculty are reviewed annually to confirm their continuing interest and participation in Center activities.
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