Agenda

Jerry Heindel, NIEHS
Earl Gray, EPA

Open Discussion: Routes of exposure, Number per group, Number of doses, Internal dose, animal species and strain, diets, endpoints that translate across species, positive controls, statistics, integrating endocrinology and toxicology.

Posters organized by disease focus. First hour for lunch and open discussion. Last hour within each session go poster to poster with a 5 minute overview of the results and impact.

• Reproduction/fertility/oogenesis/spermatogenesis
• PCOS/Endometriosis/Fibroids/Premature Menopause
• Behavior/ADHD/neurodegeneration
• Obesity/Diabetes
• Cancer (Breast/Prostate/Ovarian)
• Testicular Dysgenesis Syndrome
• Puberty
• Cardiovascular

• The breakout groups should discuss the literature and come to conclusions on some overarching issues related to the role of EDCs in the disease under discussion including:
• Assess state of science across lifespan
  
  Developmental exposures
  Neonatal
  Childhood
  Pubertal
  Adult
• Define endpoints used in wildlife or laboratory animal studies that could be developed into biomarkers of exposure or effect
• Determine biomarkers that are needed to be developed
• Determine how to assess mixtures/ multiple exposures
• Determine the Human data needed to prove role for EDCs in that disease
• Examine the degree to which in vitro studies identify mechanism and bioactive doses that predict in vivo effects in laboratory animal studies.
• Examine the strength of the data on mechanism.  What is needed?
• Examine the degree to which monitoring studies of levels in the environment relate to exposure studies in wildlife and the degree to which this information relates to doses that cause effects in laboratory animal studies.
• What should be done to develop the specific data that would provide data in humans that mimic animal data and thus provide once and for all "strong compelling data" of EDC effects in humans?
• Examine the degree to which doses used in animal studies relate to levels found in humans. Do we know enough about human exposure and routes and metabolism to compare to animal studies?
• What biomarkers of exposure (ongoing or previous) and effect are needed to improve epidemiology or clinical studies?
• What study designs are needed to assure impact on risk assessment and public policy?

Speaker 1- Mixtures 101 for in vitro, Animal and Human Studies
Speaker 2- How to use CDC biomonitoring studies in human EDC assessment
Speaker 3-Advances in Personal exposure assessment

Open Discussion: How can we tackle the problem of assessing the effects of mixtures of EDCs with similar and/or different mechanism in animal studies? How can we improve exposure assessment in human studies taking into account mixtures? How to use CDC biomonitoring studies in epidemiology studies. Can one develop TEQs for CDC biomonitoring studies?

Focus on mechanisms, omics technology, biomarkers, exposures, exposure assessment.

Six breakout groups (20 per group) focused on same translational questions.

These breakout groups will approach questions in a more global manner with a focus on the field and not a particular EDC or disease. The goal of putting people with differing expertise and EDC focus in the same room is to stimulate translation of data from one area to another...to stimulate new ideas and synergy...TO MOVE THE FIELD...

Questions for consideration include :

• What suite of biomarkers could/should be developed for estrogenic EDCs, for those that alter thyroid activity, for antiandrogenic edcs… and which ones would be needed for developmental exposures and which ones for adult exposures.
  • How can the development and validation of these biomarkers of exposure and effects be stimulated?
  • What role should basic researchers, epidemiologists and clinicians play in the development of these biomarkers?
  • What role should NIEHS play?
• What needs to be done to improve translation of animal exposure data to that of humans and vice versa?
  • How can we integrate the date and studies from individual researchers to develop a holistic view of the sites and mechanism of action of an EDC.... perhaps focus on syndromes...instead of disease?
  • What are the major data gaps that keep the current data from having an impact?