The proposed conference support will add substantial value in strengthening U.S. partnerships with scientists and environmental health practitioners in Jamaica and beyond on topics related to emerging multidisciplinary, multination environmental health threats. The conference support will enable two leading women in environmental health science to engage with six sponsored junior scientists, at least 300 attendees, roughly 30 undergraduate EHS students, and many livestream participants. The One Health, One Global Environment Conference in 2017 included leadership from the One Health Commission, the U.S. Army?s food safety program, national practitioner associations from six continents, and scientists from environmental and veterinary public health. In 2017, key thematic areas emerged as threats to U.S. and global environmental health security, mostly in infectious disease prevention and research capacity.
The aims of this proposal are to 1) identify and address environmentally- and occupationally-mediated infectious disease risks (including COVID-19) impacting low- and middle- income nations, and 2) to enhance the capacity and resource-sharing among universities and environmental health organizations to address emerging infectious disease threats in environmentally-impacted landscapes and workplaces. Project activities will include a 1.0-day of information exchange between selected participants through a dedicated track, while supporting 2.0 ? 2.5 additional presentation days to 30 undergraduate students and 300 attendees of the Jamaica Association of Public Health Inspectors joint meeting with the One Health, One Global Environment Conference. The proposal seeks to leverage the expertise (including pandemic disease prevention/response expertise) of speakers to facilitate discussion. Funding will enable greater representation of women in scientific leadership positions, enhancement of the career pipeline, and knowledge to action. The support will promote translation through action-oriented partnerships with Caribbean (and other international) researchers and practitioners lacking resources for such a conference. We are committed to promoting translation through greater research engagement and partnership in the Caribbean (and beyond) on addressing emerging borderless environmental health threats as all five keynotes will be livestreamed via social media (at no charge). Support will also enhance the EHS career pipeline by engaging a diverse group of junior EHS scientists in collaborative global health science.
Recent Academic World Conferences of the International Federation of Environmental Health revealed opportunities for enhancing global engagement among environmental health science (EHS) practitioners and One Health researchers through the use of EHS exposure assessment methods in chemically contaminated landscapes or workplaces that have substantial human, wildlife, and/or livestock interaction. With support for the One Health ? One Global Environment meeting, we will engage a diverse pool of junior and senior scientists in characterizing research needs and intervention opportunities related to environmental contaminants that may be facilitating antimicrobial resistance development and/or altering pathogen transmission dynamics between reservoirs and human hosts. Our ultimate objective is to enhance diversity in the pipeline of collaborative global health scientists focused on preventing and managing emerging environmentally-mediated infectious disease threats including possible pandemic pathogens.
