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Research Agendas for Centers, Institute, and Offices

CCEHIP: NCEH/ATSDR Research Agenda

NCEH Research Agenda

ATSDR Research Agenda

NCEH Research Agenda

1) Decreasing Health Risks from Environmental Exposures
  1. Detect and identify environmental causes (including chemical and radiation) of childhood diseases and chronic diseases, such as cancer, asthma, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.
  2. Improve estimates of exposure and health risks from environ-mental exposures, including the use of biomonitoring and health tracking data.
  3. Develop, implement, and evaluate the effectiveness of environmental programs to prevent disease, with special emphasis on lead poisoning, asthma, and cancer.
  4. Determine which environmental factors influence infectious disease outbreaks.
  5. Research enhancements to municipal heat wave response plans.
  6. Develop and evaluate guidelines and model codes for designing built environments that promote health.

2) Improving Children’s Health

  1. Develop and validate new and better disease biomarkers for newborn screening.
  2. Research methods to reduce the burden of asthma on inner city children.

3) Enhancing Emergency Preparedness and Response

  1. Research enhancements to response planning for natural and technologic disasters and chemical and radiologic terrorism.
  2. Develop newer, faster, and better ways to measure people’s exposures to chemical terrorism agents.
  3. Assess geospatial technology to establish post-disaster health and medical needs.
  4. Develop interventions for micronutrient malnutrition, sexually transmitted diseases, mental health disorders and improving sanitary conditions for displaced populations.

4) Laboratory Research to Improve the Detection and Prevention of Environmental and Other Disease

  1. Develop new and better methods to measure human exposure to toxic substances, including those found in tobacco smoke.
  2. Use biomonitoring in human exposure studies to determine dose-toxic response relationships.
  3. Enhance the screening, diagnosis, treatment and prevention of diabetes by developing improved laboratory tests.
  4. Improve the diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of cardiovascular diseases by standardizing clinical measurements of risk factors (e.g. LDL cholesterol, blood folate, homocysteine).
  5. Develop new and better instrumentation and technologies for measuring disease biomarkers (e.g. home assessment of blood glucose).
  6. Determine associations between genetic variants and chronic diseases like diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and cancer.

ATSDR Research Agenda

1) Exposure Assessment

  1. Improve methods to measure and characterize human exposures to odorous and hazardous substances in the air.
  2. Determine total human exposure from exposure to hazardous substances from all pathways using new approaches.
  3. Review methods and develop reference ranges for body burden measurements and biomarkers of exposure for priority hazardous substances.

2) Toxicology of Chemicals and Chemical Mixtures

  1. Review existing information to characterize toxic chemical mixtures commonly found at hazardous waste sites and identify possible human health outcome relationships.
  2. Conduct dose-response and mechanistic studies to predict human health outcomes from exposure to toxic chemicals and mixtures.
  3. Evaluate adverse health outcomes in children and other susceptible populations from exposures to toxic chemicals and mixtures.
  4. Provide a solid basis of toxicity information for human health assessment.

3) Susceptible Populations

  1. Establish a database of exposure information in children residing near hazardous waste sites.
  2. Assess long-term exposure to hazardous substances and latent health effects in the elderly.
  3. Explore differences in genetic susceptibility to hazardous substances.
  4. Identify and study contaminants in the environment, subsistence resources, and people in Alaska Native populations.

4) Community and Tribal Involvement

  1. Develop community-based approaches to identify and evaluate sources of environmental exposure and potentially exposed populations.
  2. Evaluate the potential impact of community cultural practices on exposure to hazardous substances and adverse health outcomes.
  3. Develop methods and new approaches for evaluating environmental exposure and human health risks in small populations.
  4. Identify essential factors for successful community involvement in public health activities focused on hazardous waste sites.

5) Evaluation and Surveillance of Health Effects

  1. Conduct epidemiologic investigations on the relationship between exposure to environmental contaminants and selected priority health conditions.
    1. Assess and prevent childhood asthma attacks related to odorous and hazardous air pollutants from specific point sources.
    2. Conduct epidemiologic investigations of the relationship between exposure to environmental contaminants and adverse pregnancy outcomes and developmental disabilities in specific minority communities.
    3. Evaluate adverse health effects in communities exposed to asbestos contaminated vermiculite: respiratory and carcinogenic effects.
  2. Develop and enhance surveillance systems for disease or conditions that can be used to monitor trends and assist studies in evaluating environmental causes.
    1. Identify populations near hazardous waste sites containing chemicals with endocrine disrupting potential and evaluate adverse health outcomes in exposed individuals.
    2. Develop a national registry for individuals with delayed health effects from acute, high-dose toxic chemical exposures.
    3. Conduct surveillance of autoimmune and neurodegenerative diseases and conduct follow-up activities to evaluate relationships with hazardous substance exposures.

6) Health Promotion and Intervention

  1. Assess primary care physicians’ knowledge, attitude, and practice of environmental health in communities exposed to hazardous substances.
  2. Identify worker-to-family hazardous substance exposures and develop practices to reduce such exposures.
  3. Assess medical readiness of hospitals for hazardous substance emergencies, disasters, and terrorism.
  4. Evaluate the public health implications of heightened levels of community stress in areas affected by hazardous substances.
  5. Assess environmental medicine needs and interventions in communities impacted by hazardous substances.

7) Social and Behavioral Science Initiative (being drafted) to improve prevention efforts through assessment and community engagement, intervention design/application, and evaluation

 

Page last reviewed: March 31, 2008
Page last modified: October 6, 2006
Content source: Office of the Chief Science Officer (OCSO)