NIEHS Awards $3.6 Million to Outstanding New
Environmental Scientists
Today, grants for $3.6 million will be awarded to exceptionally
talented and creative new scientists who are pursuing careers in
environmental health research, according to David A. Schwartz,
M.D., director of the National Institute of Environmental Health
Sciences, part of the National Institutes of Health. Known collectively
as the Outstanding New Environmental Scientist (ONES) Award, the
initial grants will support eight early career scientists over
a five-year period.
“The ONES Program is designed to provide a strong foundation for
outstanding scientists who are in the early, formative stages of
their careers,” said Schwartz. “These grants will assist the scientists
in launching innovative research programs that focus on human disease
and the influence of the environment.”
The program is a key element of the NIEHS 2006 Strategic Plan,
a five-year blueprint for identifying and funding new research
initiatives that will address the diseases and environmental exposures
that are likely to have the greatest impact on human health. One
of the primary goals of the plan is the recruitment and training
of promising young scientists who are prepared to make long-term
commitments to environmental health research.
Research supported by the ONES grants will cover a broad range
of environmental exposures along with the biological responses
they elicit. Each of the awardees will focus on a specific human
disease or condition as it relates to a specific environmental
exposure. The ultimate goal of the research is to link the effects
of these exposures to the cause, moderation or prevention of environmentally-related
diseases.
The following is a list of the 2006 ONES Program awardees:
- Donna D. Zhang, Ph.D., University of Arizona, will study the
mechanism by which cells protect themselves from the toxic effects
of arsenic, a highly poisonous metal that can cause DNA damage
and lead to an increased risk for certain cancers.
- Patricia Lynn Opresko, Ph.D., University of Pittsburgh, will
explore the effects of environmental agents on telomeres, small
segments of DNA located at the ends of chromosomes, which help
control aging and death of cells.
- Thomas J. Begley, Ph.D., State University of New York at Albany,
will examine the way in which damage to DNA from environmental
exposures can trigger the production of certain proteins that help
protect the cell from toxic agents.
- Sven-Eric Jordt, Ph.D., Yale University, will study the way in
which certain airborne pollutants interact with sensory nerve cells
in order to produce eye, nose and throat irritation.
- Michael Borchers, Ph.D., University of Cincinnati, will examine
the relationship between exposure to airborne chemicals from vehicle
exhaust and industrial sources, and increased susceptibility to
respiratory illnesses such as emphysema and chronic obstructive
pulmonary disease.
- Michelle L. Bell, Ph.D., Yale University, will study the relationship
between outdoor concentrations of ozone, a form of oxygen that
is a primary component of urban smog, and the incidence of respiratory
disease and death in exposed populations.
- Stephania A. Cormier, Ph.D., Louisiana State University, will
conduct research on fine particle air pollution — microscopic particles
of dust and soot less than 2.5 microns in diameter — to determine
whether exposure to these tiny particles can produce changes in
immune system function that could result in an increased risk for
developing asthma.
- Gokhan M. Mutlu, M.D., Northwestern University, will study the
effects of fine particle exposure on blood flow and heart disease
risk.
“These scientists will focus on diseases for which there seems
to be a strong environmental component, as well as exposures that
hold the most promise for clarifying their underlying causes,” said
Schwartz. “This knowledge will improve our ability to identify
important environmental hazards and improve the clinical outcome
of environmentally related diseases.”
For more information about the NIEHS Strategic Plan, please visit:
http://www.niehs.nih.gov/external/plan2006/home.htm.
The National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS),
a component of the National Institutes of Health, supports research
to understand the effects of the environment on human health. For
more information on environmental health topics, please visit our
website at http://www.niehs.nih.gov/.
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) — The Nation's
Medical Research Agency — includes 27 Institutes and
Centers and is a component of the U.S. Department of Health and
Human Services. It is the primary federal agency for conducting
and supporting basic, clinical and translational medical research,
and it investigates the causes, treatments, and cures for both
common and rare diseases. For more information about NIH and
its programs, visit www.nih.gov. |