""""""""Bridging the Gap: Addressing Environmental Health through Science,"""""""" is presented by the Center for Research on Minority Health (CRMH), the first Congressionally-mandated center outside the nation's capital to address minority health issues. The CRMH, part of The University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center (UTMDACC), and Prairie View A & M University are in a unique position to address cancer disparities. (1) We have well-established networks in Houston's highly diverse communities, and 11 of the CRMH's 29 staff members are bilingual in either Spanish, Chinese, or Vietnamese. (2) Our mission and infrastructure were designed for the types of programs that a Project EXPORT center is expected to implement and maintain. (3) We have previous experience using a multi-disciplinary approach that successfully combines the skills of basic and clinical scientists, field epidemiologists, nurses, public health professionals, and community outreach workers with the resources of numerous educational and medical facilities and hearth coalitions. Unlike other centers that are based in schools of public health or similar academic departments, the CRMH has access to numerous clinical and basic research facilities and training grants at UTMDACC and other institutions in and around the Texas Medical Center. Students participating in our programs will receive mentoring and develop professional networks that foster interest in graduate and post-graduate training in health disparities research and related career opportunities in science and medicine. The primary research project will be a molecular epidemiology study of the roles that genetic susceptibility and mutagenicity biomarkers play in assessing exposure risks and synergistic effects of chronic pesticide exposure in children of migrant/seasonal farm workers in Harris County (Houston, Baytown) and Hidalgo County (South Texas). Community outreach and educational efforts will focus on public awareness of environmental factors in cancer and the importance of minorities' participation in clinical trials. We will share resources with the UTMDACC Center for Research on Environmental Diseases (CRED) and other health centers sponsored by the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences to (1) begin educational programs for the kindergarten-12th grade levels promoting healthy eating habits; (2) develop a curriculum for summer training programs for K-12 teachers; and (3) augment the CRED website with translations of its existing materials into Spanish. We will also work with Cancer Information Services and the UTMDACC Office of Public Education to inform the public, health care providers, and potential clinical trial participants about cancer treatment and prevention trials. Our professional training efforts include (1) developing a curriculum that will promote the study of cancer and health disparities in ethnic minorities and the medically underserved and (2) providing experience to minority students seeking a career in environmental nursing. Students will begin training with one of our collaborators at the high school or junior college level and gain access to the resources of our collaborating institutions that offer graduate and post-graduate training. Additionally, the UTMDACC Biostatistics Department will develop a data management system with Prairie View A & M, a historically black university, and will train Prairie View students to maintain and update the system for future research projects. Pilot projects include (1) a study of gene-environment interactions and their relationship to cancer in Latino populations and (2) a health needs assessment of local Asian American populations. These are but a few of the unique features of this application. ? ? ?
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