The Core has the following overall objectives: 1) To develop community-based studies in order to characterize exposures sustained by urban dwellers and 339 associated health effects. 2) To characterize the factors determining exposures to environmental agents as a basis for implementation and evaluation of control measures. 3) To develop resources of biological materials for studies of biomarkers of exposure, dose, and response. The Core will facilitate the translation of these biomarkers into the community for the purpose of risk characterization and prevention. 4) To develop new methodologic approaches to investigating the environment and human health. These approaches will draw on the Core 's researchers in epidemiology, biostatistics, and environmental health sciences and on resources more generally throughout the Center. 5) To work collaboratively with the Risk Sciences and Public Policy Institute to develop initiatives in risk assessment. Emphasis will be placed on development of locally relevant risk assessments. 6) To continue the development of training programs in environmental epidemiology and exposure assessment. The design and conduct of contemporary studies on the environment and health typically involve initial, multi-disciplinary discussions, an extensive design phase, vigorous data collection, and analysis using state-of-art biostatistical methods, often requiring de nova development to handle methodological challenges. For a major project, an interdisciplinary team might work together for years, as the project progresses. There will also be a need for interaction with the study community, beginning with he planning of the study and ending with the prevention of findings and imposed situation to problems. Overall, this Core is intended to facilitate and foster the development of epidemiologic studies of adverse effects and also of studies that characterize environmental exposures. Core faculty recognize the need to work together and support the concept of the core as a basis for facilitating interactions. Core meetings are a venue for elaborating a new agenda of urban health research.
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