We are applying for support for years 41 to 45 of the Environmental Pathology/Toxicology (EP/T) Training Program at the University of Washington. The long-term goal of this program remains mentoring pre- and post- doctoral trainees to become successful independent scientists who are well equipped to respond to the environmental health research needs of the US in the coming generations. Our Training Program builds on our long-standing and successful collaboration between the Departments of Pathology and Genome Sciences in the School of Medicine and the Department of Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences in the School of Public Health. The current application incorporates the themes and goals of the current NIEHS Strategic Plan. We have maintained our demonstrated successful approach of organizing our EP/T Training Program Faculty into five Research Clusters. These include; Exposure Science and Translational Research, Neurologic, Reproductive and Developmental Disorders, Cardiorespiratory Diseases, Molecular Mutagenesis and Carcinogenesis, and GI, Liver, Kidney Diseases and the Environmental Microbiome. In this submission, we have added to the last cluster a new focus on the Environmental Microbiome. This builds on emergent expertise at the University of Washington exploring the interactions of environmental factors and the microbiome and their impact on metabolism and chronic disease and will provide new research and training opportunities. We will also continue with the expansion of our translational research and will facilitate interactions with a larger University of Washington Initiative on Population Health. The EP/T Training Program is directed by Drs. Michael E. Rosenfeld and Elaine Faustman (Program Directors), and Drs. Terrance Kavanagh, Mary-Claire King, and Julia Cui (Associate Directors). Our EP/T Training Program (i) embraces most NIEHS-supported investigators at UW, including the addition this cycle of several experts in the Microbiome, (ii) is closely linked with NIEHS supported centers at UW focused on exposures, diseases, genomics, and environment (EDGE), toxicogenomics, children's health and risk assessment, among others, (iii) and is highly integrated with a wide array of well-funded, complementary research centers and projects. The Training Plan for the 7 pre-doctoral fellows includes a required course in Organ Systems Toxicology and Pathology and Translational Research and enrollment in one of a number of relevant elective courses. All trainees are required to attend our monthly ?Research Works in Progress? meeting, the semi-annual research retreats, the Biomedical Integrity Series, and submit an Individual Development Plan and yearly progress reports. The 3 post-doctoral fellows are also encouraged to audit relevant courses. Given our excellent track record of training, as well as the outstanding and growing opportunities at the UW, we are requesting renewal of our training grant, so that we can build on our successes in training future leaders in environmental health science.
Environmental exposure to chemical and physical agents that result in human health impacts continues to be a major public health problem in the United States and worldwide, and there is a need for well-trained scientists to conduct research on such pressing health challenges. We believe that to understand how the environment can affect human heath, environmental health scientists need transdisciplinary training in how to conduct fundamental research in pathology, toxicology, exposure research, and translational sciences. However, it is not sufficient to simply learn how to conduct the best cutting edge research, it is also essential to train our future scientists how to translate their research to solve problems within a context of addressing health disparities. Emerging research opportunities with the environmental microbiome and population variability is a tangible and effective way to contribute to this national and international need within the vision set by the NIEHS .
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