Cancer, Reproductive, and Cardiovascular Diseases
Inputs: Partners
Partnerships
Partnerships are integral to the NIOSH CRC. Input from customers and stakeholder groups, who have inherent knowledge and concern about the safety and health of workers in the sector, helps in setting research priorities. Collaborative research with our partners may include in-kind contributions that help to leverage NIOSH research dollars. Partners also add expertise or specialized experience to the research team, which benefits the research, analysis, interpretation, and communication of the results.
For information about partnering with the NIOSH Cancer, Reproductive, and Cardiovascular Diseases Program, contact the Program Coordinator. For general information about partnerships with NIOSH, contact the NIOSH Office of Research and Technology Transfer.
Partners, Stakeholders, and Customers
The NIOSH CRC collaborates and works closely with a broad spectrum of partners, stakeholders, and customers, including representatives of industry, labor, academia, government agencies, nongovernmental organizations, and professional organizations both domestic and international. These organizations may be research partners, users of our technology and scientific findings, peer reviewers, recipients of research grants and contracts, or sources of equipment, technology, or knowledge for advancing research. The following list of partners, stakeholders, and customers, while not exhaustive, conveys the wide range of organizations served by this Cross-Sector Program. Input from these groups, which have inherent knowledge and concern about the safety and health of workers in the sector, helps in setting research priorities. Collaborative research with our partners may include in-kind contributions that help to leverage NIOSH research dollars. Partners also add expertise or specialized experience to the research team, which benefits the research, analysis, interpretation, and communication of the results.
CDC
The NIOSH CRC receives valuable input from a variety of sources within CDC, including different parts of NIOSH as well as from other Centers. For example:
- The NIOSH Education and Information Division may request risk assessments for specific substances.
- Work-Related Lung Disease Surveillance Report,
2002.
DHHS (NIOSH) Publication No. 2003-111
- The National Occupational Respiratory Mortality
System
- CDC National Center on Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities
The National Birth Defects Prevention Study is a case-control study of birth defects being conducted by CDC
National Center on Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities with collaboration from several States
and researchers from NIOSH. This collaboration allows for an investigation of an important occupational
research question while leveraging valuable funds.
- Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry, Food and Drug Administration, and the National
Cancer Institute
A workshop on CLL/MBL (chronic lymphocytic leukemia/monoclonal B-cell lymphocytosis) is being developed
collaboratively by NIOSH researchers and researchers from these organizations. The draft agenda includes
the following discussion topics: review of NIOSH CLL research, review of the Agency for Toxic Substances
and Disease Registry studies, the National Cancer Institute familial cohort studies, public health burden;
human pathobiology/biomarkers of B-cell malignancies; animal models, and discussion of how to further
research in these areas.
Other Government Agencies
U.S. Department of Labor
The U.S. Department of Labor includes several organizations that may provide input to help guide ongoing
and future research of the CRC.
- Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA)
The NIOSH CRC partners with OSHA and the Mine Safety and Health Administration in many ways—for
example, OSHA or the Mine Safety and Health Administration may request risk assessment research from
NIOSH. OSHA provides information relevant to carcinogens in the workplace (OSHA’s Carcinogens Page can be found at http://www.osha.gov/SLTC/carcinogens/index.html.
- Employment and Training Administration
The Employment and Training Administration partnered with NIOSH to administer an injury and illness survey to hired farm workers, with health outcomes including heart disease and cancer.
- Bureau of Labor Statistics
The Bureau of Labor Statistics provides surveillance data that is often used by NIOSH researchers. BLS Workplace Injury and Illness Summary
External link: http://stats.bls.gov/news.release/osh.nr0.htm
- National Agricultural Workers’ Survey
The U.S. Department of Labor is partnering with NIOSH in performing this survey.
- Mine Safety and Health Administration
Collaboration with the Mine Safety and Health Administration includes determination of the presence and concentration of acrylamide in process solutions within plants and assessments of exposure based on biomonitoring (hemoglobin adducts).
National Institutes of Health: National Cancer Institute
Division of Basic Science, Laboratory of Cellular Carcinogenesis and Tumor Promotion, Carcinogen-DNA Interactions Section and University of Oregon
Collaborations have been established between NIOSH researchers and researchers from these groups for the project Chemoprevention of Occupational Carcinogenesis - Division of Cancer Epidemiology and Genetics, Occupational and Environmental Epidemiology and Radiation Epidemiology Branches
NIOSH researchers have had a number of collaborative projects with the National Cancer Institute, including feasibility studies, cohort mortality studies, cancer biomarker studies—many funded through the InterAgency Agreement. Recent collaborative projects include (1) A nested case-control study of bladder cancer in a benzidine-exposed cohort in China (published 2006), (2) an on-going case-control study of brain cancer among rural residents, (3) an on-going case-control study of brain cancer among cell phone users (National Cancer Institute), and (4) a cross-sectional study of ethylene oxide-exposed and unexposed hospital workers, evaluating genetic polymorphisms in DNA repair and metabolic genes in relation to several biomarkers of exposure and effect of ethylene oxide.
National Toxicology Program
The National Toxicology Program publishes a Report on Carcinogens that provides information NIOSH researchers may use in ongoing and future research. The 11th Report on Carcinogens was released on January 31, 2005. The 11th Report on Carcinogens contains 246 entries, 58 of which are listed as known to be human carcinogens and the remaining 188 are listed as reasonably anticipated to be human carcinogens. Seventeen of the listings are new to the Report on Carcinogens.
United States Department of Agriculture/National Agricultural Statistics Service
This group partnered with NIOSH to administer both an injury and illness surveillance survey to farm operators (managers). Health outcomes included chronic diseases such as hypertension and cancer.
U.S. Department of Justice, National Institute of Justice
Researchers from the National Institute of Justice are directed to study the effects of stress on law enforcement personnel and family well-being. NIOSH researchers are partnering with National Institute of Justice researchers on two research efforts: (1) the Analysis of Cardiovascular Effects of Stress in Police Study and (2) the Fatigue in Buffalo Police Officers Study.
International Partners
International Agency for Research on Cancer
External link: http://www.iarc.fr/
The International Agency for Research on Cancer publishes independent assessments by international experts of the carcinogenic risks to humans posed by a variety of agents, mixtures, and exposures. The assessments group agents by evidence available for rating as human carcinogens. The international Agency for Research on Cancer publishes priority lists for recommended future evaluation. NIOSH researchers are also collaborating with the international Agency for Research on Cancer researchers to study nuclear workers across many countries.
World Health Organization
CRC collaboration with the World Health Organization includes direct collaboration concerning the World Health Organization electromagnetic field research agenda and the International Electromagnetic Field Project in general. The collaboration also involves the goal to produce a document reviewing all types of occupational exposures to electromagnetic field. Such a document will be the first occupationally focused part of the World Health Organization library of web-based electromagnetic field information.
Pan American Health Organization
Among the CRC collaborations with Pan American Health Organization is technical assistance for developing countries for exposure assessments to respirable crystalline silica; this work is also applicable to small business in the United States.
Other Partners
International Association of Fire Fighters and International Association of Fire Chiefs
NIOSH has partnered with these organizations in the Fire Fighter Fatality Investigation and Prevention Program since 1998. This congressionally mandated program that investigates line-of-duty fire fighter deaths, including cardiovascular deaths, makes recommendations for preventing occupational deaths and serious injuries among the nation's 1.1 million fire fighters.
State University of New York at Buffalo
Researchers from the State University of New York at Buffalo have significant experience in law enforcement stress research, particularly in the design, implementation, and analysis of police-related stress and health studies.,NIOSH researchers are partnering with State University of New York at Buffalo researchers on two research efforts: (1) the Analysis of Cardiovascular Effects of Stress in Police Study and (2) the Fatigue in Buffalo Police Officers Study.
Spectral Genomics Inc.
A Cooperative Research and Development Agreement has been established with Spectral Genomics Inc., in order to assess the applicability of the observed gene expression and gene copy number changes detected in our studies in the research project Genetic Susceptibility to Occupationally Induced Cancer. The research in this project is intended to advance technologies to aid in the early detection, diagnosis, and staging of lung cancer and melanoma.
Highmark Blue Shield and Independence Blue Cross
NIOSH is working with these insurance companies on a project that uses group health plan claims data to compare rates of a variety of diseases by industry, and to produce reports for employers that may indicate where prevention efforts should be targeted. Employers will be encouraged to consider an appropriate mix of prevention activities with respect to both occupational and nonoccupational risk factors. Eleven diseases are currently included in the project, including some types of cardiovascular disease and cancer.
University of Toronto
NIOSH has had extensive interactions with leading researchers from the University of Toronto concerning social and health disparities epidemiology and research concerning job stressors and coronary heart disease.
Department of Environmental and Occupational Health, Rollins School of Public Health, Emory University
NIOSH is collaborating with researchers from Emory on epidemiological research using Adult Blood Lead Epidemiology and Surveillance data to assess the association of lead to various health outcomes, including cancer, stroke, diabetes, and digestive and nonmalignant kidney disease.
National Health Institute, Chile
NIOSH researchers are collaborating with researchers from Chile on a project concerning controlling silica exposures in construction and general industry at selected Chilean facilities.
Harvard School of Public Health
The Nurses Health Study is a long-standing prospective study of female registered nurses. This study has provided a wealth of information about lifestyle factors and disease, but almost no occupational data have been collected. NIOSH researchers collaborated with the Harvard School of Public Health to send a supplemental questionnaire concerning potential occupational risk factors to a subset of the Nurses Health Study II cohort resulting in published work reporting an increased risk for miscarriage among nurses who worked night shift during their first trimester.
Many other partnerships have been established with numerous entities; the lists below provide further examples.
Academia
- University of Alabama
- University of Arizona Cancer Center
- University of Pittsburgh
- University of Colorado
- Oregon State University
- West Virginia University
- University of New Mexico
- University of California, Irvine
- Emory University
- Colorado State University
- McMaster University
- UCLA Center for Occupational and Environmental Health
- University of Cincinnati
- Wayne State University
- Albert Einstein School of Medicine
- Yale University, School of Medicine
Government
- Environmental Protection Agency
- Department of Energy
- Federal Highway Administration
- National Institute for Environmental Health Sciences
- Hamilton County, OH: General Health District and Clandestine Drug Lab Program
- Minnesota Pollution Control Agency, Minnesota State Department of Health
- WA State Dept of Health
- Northern Kentucky Drug Task Force
International
- Institute for Occupational Medicine, China
- University of Trier, Germany
- University of Hong Kong
- National University of Singapore
- International Fabricare Institute
Labor
- Union of Needletrades, Industrial, and Textile Employees
- Center for the Protection of Workers Rights
- Association of Flight Attendants
- Service Employees International Union
- International Union, United Automobile, Aerospace and Agricultural Implement Workers of America
Business
- General Motors
- Research Triangle International
- NALCO Company
- Shaw Environmental and Infrastructure Company
- SKC Corporation
Professional and Trade Associations
- ASTM International
- Neighborhood Cleaners Association
- International Police Mountain Bike Association
- Brain Tumor Epidemiology Consortium
- National Marine Manufacturing Association
- Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI)
- Asphalt Institute
