Environmental health sciences has evolved from studies that link a single exposure with a disease, to a new understanding of complex mechanisms by which agents in the environment interact at the molecular level to induce disease in individuals who are susceptible by virtue of age, genetics, nutrition, underlying disease or concurrent exposures. While methods of characterizing exposure and disease have improved, challenges remain when there are multiple exposures and the pathogenesis involves complex genetic and host factors. This is particularly apparent among rural populations with a multiplicity of chemical and biological exposures. This application is to continue funding of the Iowa Environmental Health Sciences Research Center (EHSRC) which has as its overarching theme, research and outreach on the adverse health effects of environmental contaminants among rural and agricultural populations. The EHSRC is at the forefront of research on environmental health problems such as rural asthma and other environmental lung diseases, bioaerosol-induced inflammation, innate immune responses to inhaled microorganisms, mechanisms of oxidative stress, and pesticide metabolism. The Center's focus on the rural environment provides the opportunity to conduct innovative mechanistic and population-based research and to translate that research to prevention and treatment through public health initiatives and clinical advancements. Junior scientists are trained to characterize biological response mechanisms and elucidate gene-environment interactions underlying environmental disease. The interdisciplinary research is organized around three Research Clusters: Inflammation &Innate Immunity, Oxidative Stress &Metabolism, and Environmental Lung Disease. A new initiative is the formation of an Environmental Genomics Research Cluster. Three Facility Cores provide cutting edge services and equipment: Integrative Health Sciences Facility, Pulmonary Toxicology Facility, and Environmental Modeling &Exposure Assessment Facility. An Administrative Core manages a highly effective Pilot Grant Program, Career Development Program, and Community Outreach &Education Core. Center goals are: 1) To coordinate and nurture innovative interdisciplinary EHS research with a focus on reducing adverse health effects of environmental contaminants, especially among rural populations;2) To promote and enhance multi-disciplinary collaborations among basic scientists and physician researchers;3) To recruit investigators from within and outside EHS by providing support for Research Clusters and dedicated Facility Cores;4) To provide mentoring, research resources, and salary support to stellar junior investigators to develop their research careers in EHS;and 5) To provide outreach and education to translate research findings to improve the health and environment of rural people. BACKGROUND The Environmental Health Science Research Center (EHSRC) is located in the upper Midwest at the University of Iowa. With its main activities focused in the Schools of Medicine and Public Health, the Center has concentrated on environmental health problems located primarily in Iowa and neighboring areas, although wider collaborations nationally and internationally have been features since the early beginnings of this Center. The EHSRC has been funded by the NIEHS since 1993. During that time it has had two Directors, Dr. James Merchant (1993-2003) and Dr. Peter Thorne (2003-present). The primary areas of research focus have been in areas of respiratory biology and airborne environmental exposures, environmental epidemiology and health surveys in relation to environmental exposures, exposure assessment, and the control of environmental exposures, primarily through engineering methods. An occupational medicine component was dropped in 2003. During the previous review, concerns in several areas of the Center were noted that resulted in only three years of funding. Significant changes in the Center's structure have occurred in over the past years, partly in response to the concerns of the previous review and from input from NIEHS staff. The structure of the Center's Research and Facility Cores since 2003 is well described in the application. The changes in structure were decided and implemented by the Director based on input from the Internal Advisory Committee and the External Advisory Committee. The most significant changes were a greater focus on environmental lung diseases and dropping the former Environmental Assessment and Control Core and the Exposure Assessment Facility. These latter components have been included in a new Iowa Superfund Program funded by the US EPA. The former Exposure Assessment Facility has been replaced by an Environmental Modeling and Exposure Assessment Facility that focuses on airborne exposures. In addition, elements of the Clinical Sciences Facility, with components of the Laboratory for Radiologic Imaging and the Asthma Center, were combined to form the Integrative Health Sciences Facility Core. The Inhalation Toxicology Facility was renamed the Pulmonary Toxicology Core. Reallocation of resources from five to three facility cores has provided three well funded cores that are responsive to the revised vision of the center. Over the same period, the Research Cores underwent some consolidation and restructuring also. Elements of the Environmental Epidemiology Core and Health Registry Facility were refocused and combined with other components to create the areas of pulmonary health outcomes research and the new Environmental Lung Disease Research Cluster. The basic science components were defined from several previous areas to create an Inflammation and Innate Immunity Cluster and an Oxidative Stress and Metabolism Cluster in order to take advantage of areas of growing expertise at the University of Iowa that complemented the new focus of the Center. The resulting redefinition of the EHSRC, in terms of its core research and facilities, now demonstrates a more focused and clearer vision, with better defined goals and objectives. ESSENTIAL CHARACTERISTICS Strategic Vision and Impact on Environmental Health
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