Environmental Factor, September 2008, National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences
NIEHS Spotlight
Council Meets in Public Session
Members of the NIEHS National Advisory Environmental Health Sciences Council met in public session on September 9 in Rodbell Auditorium. The group heard reports during the morning and approved unanimously a concept clearance for the Partnerships for Environmental Public Health program ...read more
NIEHS Invests $21.25 Million to Find Environmental Causes of Parkinson’s Disease
On September 16, NIEHS announced that it will award three new grants totaling $21.25 million over a five-year period to study how environmental factors contribute to the cause, prevention and treatment of Parkinson’s disease and other related disorders. ...read more
NTP Finalizes Report on Bisphenol A
Current human exposure to bisphenol A (BPA), a chemical used in many polycarbonate plastics and epoxy resins, is of “some concern” for effects on development of the prostate gland and brain and for behavioral effects in fetuses, infants and children, according to a final report released on September 3 by the National Toxicology Program (NTP). ...read more
Virtual Environmental Training for Latin American Women
During a three-day workshop held September 3-5 in Washington, DC, a group of scientists, health professionals and educators met to discuss and plan a new virtual training program module for Hispanic women in the environmental health sciences. ...read more
NIEHS Distinguished Lecturers Honored
On September 29 during an award ceremony at the White House, Duke University investigator Robert Lefkowitz, M.D., and Baylor College of Medicine researcher Bert O’Malley, M.D., received the 2007 National Medal of Science. ...read more
NRDC Scientist Gives Labor Day Seminar
Throughout this country’s history women have taken the lead in social reform issues, most notably the suffrage movement and the Equal Pay Act of 1963. ...read more
NIEHS and University of Cincinnati Host Environmental Health Town Hall Meeting
The September 15 town hall meeting, “Your Home, Your Health, Your Voice,” was about empowerment for individuals dealing with environmental exposures , and it was held appropriately in a monument to empowerment during extreme adversity, the Underground Railroad Freedom Center in Cincinnati, Ohio. ...read more
Johnson-Thompson Retires
On September 30, microbiologist Marian Johnson-Thompson, Ph.D., began a well-deserved hiatus from her work as a researcher, science educator, mentor, advocate for women and minorities in science when she retired from the NIEHS after 16 years of service. ...read more
Upcoming Symposium on Children and the Built Environment
The Children’s Environmental Health Institute announced that it is accepting registrations for the Fifth Biennial Scientific Symposium to be held at the historic Barr Mansion in Austin, Texas October 30-31. ...read more
Inside the Institute
NIEHS Honors Long-Time Director
Although he’s officially a retiree now, Director Emeritus and Principal Investigator Ken Olden, Ph.D., will still be going into the office regularly after he moves to New York for his next challenge in public health. ...read more
Tennant Looks Forward to New Adventures
With 42 years of government service to his credit, Principal Investigator Ray Tennant, Ph.D., bid farewell to friends and colleagues at his retirement party on the afternoon of August 30 in Rall Building F193. ...read more
Event Celebrates Johnson-Thompson’s Career
Marian Johnson-Thompson, Ph.D., served as NIEHS director of Education and Biomedical Research from 1994, when she was recruited by former Director Ken Olden, Ph.D. On September 22, people from NIEHS, the greater scientific community and her family filled Rodbell Auditorium to celebrate her career. The retirement ceremony was organized by friends at NIEHS and moderated by NIEHS Acting Deputy Director Bill Suk, Ph.D. ...read more
Seminar Examines Aging and Arthritis
One of North Carolina’s leading authorities on the public health implications of arthritis was the guest lecturer at a seminar sponsored by the NIEHS Disability Advocacy Committee (DAC) on September 9 in the Rall Building D-250 conference room. ...read more
Extramural Research
Extramural Update
Partnerships for Environmental Public Health Program Takes Shape
With concept clearance approval by the NIEHS National Advisory Environmental Health Sciences Council on September 9, a Division of Extramural Research and Training (DERT) workgroup prepares to implement the Partnerships for Environmental Public Health (PEPH) program. The program is an important step as NIEHS establishes a sustainable commitment to the environmental public health community.... read more
Extramural Papers of the Month
Science Notebook
UNC Researcher Discusses Causes and Treatment of Cystic Fibrosis
NIEHS opened its 2008–2009 Distinguished Lecture Series on September 8 with a seminar about cystic fibrosis (CF), an inherited chronic disease that causes mucus to clog the lungs and other organs of the body. Richard Boucher, M.D., a specialist in the field of pulmonary pathophysiology, presented “Cystic Fibrosis: A Failure of Lung Defense Against the Environment.” ...read more
Environmental Cardiology Grantees Meet
Air pollution researchers funded by grants from NIEHS and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) attended a fullday workshop September 3 in Rodbell Auditorium. They gathered to share the results of their studies on the effects of particulate matter (PM) on cardiovascular disease (CVD) and to speculate on future directions. ...read more
Meeting Explores Genetic Susceptibility to Cardiopulmonary Disease
Health Science Administrators from the NIEHS Division of Extramural Research and Training (DERT) joined their grantees, NIEHS intramural investigators and other experts in the fields of genetics and air pollution on September 4 and 5 for a meeting on genetic susceptibility to the health effects of air pollution exposure. ...read more
High Levels of Pesticides and Endocrine Disruptors in Pregnant Women in the Netherlands
In an NIEHS-led study published online September 4 in the journal Environmental Research, a team of American and European researchers reported finding high levels of organophosphorous (OP) pesticides and some suspected endocrine disrupting compounds including bisphenol A (BPA) and phthalates, in pregnant women and their offspring in the Generation R Study in the Netherlands. ...read more
NTP Holds Meeting on High-Throughput Screening
The National Toxicology Program (NTP) took an important step forward in the development of a more rigorous and comprehensive high-throughput screening program for toxicology studies by hosting a Request for Information (RFI) meeting September 11 – 12 in Rodbell Auditorium at NIEHS. ...read more
Upcoming Distinguished Lecturers Tom Ellenberger and C. Ronald Kahn
The NIEHS 2008 – 2009 Distinguished Lecture Series features two talks during October. On October 14, Tom Ellenberger, D.V.M., Ph.D., will explore the topic of “Structural Biology of DNA End Joining.” Later in the month on October 28, C. Ronald Kahn, M.D., will deliver the 2008 Falk Lecture titled “Public-Policy Issues of Diabetes and Obesity.” ...read more
Calendar of Upcoming Events
- October 6 (Offsite Event)
Radisson Hotel in RTP. 8:30 – 5:00
Fall Meeting of the Genetics and Environmental Mutagenesis Society (GEMS) - October 7 – 9 (Offsite Event)
Hyatt Regency Hotel in Chicago
2008 International Environmental Nanotechnology Conference: Applications and Implications, sponsored by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency - October 9
Rodbell Auditorium, 1:00 – 2:00
LSB Seminar Series, featuring Graham Walker, Ph.D., speaking on "Dealing with DNA Problems: Template Lesions and Replication Blocks" - October 14
Rodbell Auditorium, 11:00 – 12:00
Distinguished Lecture Series with Tom Ellenberger, D.V.M., Ph.D., speaking on “Chemical Genetics of DNA Repair Pathways” - October 16 – 17 (Offsite Event)
Sheraton Chapel Hill Hotel
Worker Education and Training Program Workshop on "Implications for Safety and Health Training in a Green Economy" - October 17
Rodbell Auditorium, 9:00 – 10:00
Frontiers in Environmental Sciences Lecture Series, speaker and topic T.B.A - October 23
Rodbell Auditorium, 12:00 – 5:00
North Carolina Chapter of the Society of Toxicology Fall Meeting, “Pharmaceuticals and Personal Care Products in the Environment” - October 28
Rodbell Auditorium, 11:00 – 12:00
Distinguished Lecture Series, "Public-Policy Issues of Diabetes and Obesity" by C. Ronald Kahn, M.D. - October 30 – 31 (Offsite Event)
Barr Mansion in Austin, Texas
Fifth Biennial Scientific Symposium sponsored by the Children's Environmental Health Institute of Texas - October 31
Rodbell Auditorium, 9:00 – 10:00
Frontiers in Environmental Sciences Lecture Series, speaker and topic T.B.A
View More Events: NIEHS Public Calendar
Intramural Research
Intramural Papers of the Month
Director of Communications: Christine Bruske Flowers | Writer-Editor: Eddy Ball | Science Editor: Robin Arnette
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