Environmental Health Sciences Research Center

University of Iowa College of Public Health

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Spotlight on EHSRC’s role in protecting Iowans’ health

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Closeup of a woman farmer with a straw hat on a small tractorThe EHSRC has released a new fact sheet detailing its role in environmental health sciences research aimed at protecting Iowans’ health. Funded by the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, the EHSRC is the only environmental health research center in the Great Plains/Midwest region. We focus on pressing state and regional issues including:

  • Protecting people from naturally occurring carcinogens like radon and arsenic
  • Keeping farmers healthy by controlling exposure to dust, fumes, and pesticides
  • Helping people with lung disease adapt to extreme weather and floods

Click here to view the fact sheet

Environmental health sciences research is an economic powerhouse in Iowa, with $2.38 in economic activity for every dollar invested. The economic benefits from EHSRC include:

  • $64.6 M in economic activity generated since 2007
  • Over 100 patents by EHSRC researchers since 2007
  • $9 in additional grants awarded for each $1 invested in our Pilot Grants

Call for proposals – community engaged research lightning talks

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The yearly training titled “Enhancing Your Research with Equitable Community Engagement” is seeking proposals for lightning talks (7-10 mins).

This call is open to anyone in the University of Iowa community (students, staff, faculty, post-docs, community partner) and the topic is community engagement in a Public Health project. The event will be the morning of June 25th.

Please submit your proposal using the qualtrics form by Monday April 21st. https://uiowa.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_6ljGTFz3wLtLTng

Proposal components: Title of proposed talk, describe the project (200 words or less), and describe the community engagement component (100 words or less)

People in a classroom sitting at tables with speaker presenting
The 2024 Community Engaged Research training

 

This event is sponsored by the Community Engagement Cores of the Environmental Health Sciences Research Center and Iowa Superfund Research Program.

 

Questions? Email Jackie Curnick at jcurnick@uiowa.edu

 

New fact sheet highlights the vital role that P30 EHS Core Centers play in fighting chronic disease

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Infographic showing increase in certain chronic diseases in US from 1990-2021 - 28% to 283%, depending on the disease. 133% for Parkinson's Disease, 75% for Alzheimer's and other dementias, 175% for total cancers, 283% for diabetes.Chronic diseases including cancer, diabetes, Parkinson’s Disease, chronic respiratory disease, and childhood neurodevelopmental disorders have increased dramatically in the United States over the past few decades. Research shows that these diseases are linked to environmental factors such as air pollution, microplastics, and harmful chemical exposures.

The P30 Environmental Health Sciences Core Centers supported by the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS), an institute in the National Institutes of Health (NIH), have released a fact sheet describing the essential role we play in combatting chronic diseases.

Click here to view the fact sheet 

 

Dr. Emma Stapleton Thornell using a pipette on a lab bench and smiling.NIEHS is at the forefront of conducting research that protects public health by revealing how environmental factors impact health and disease and supporting communities in responding to environmental disasters such as chemical spills and extreme weather events like hurricanes. NIEHS P30 environmental health research centers are at the core of this mission by advancing scientific understanding, addressing emerging public health threats, improving community health, and reducing health care costs.

NIH’s $47 billion investment in research in 2023 resulted in nearly double the economic activity, at $92 billion. NIEHS’ 2025 budget request is only 2 percent of this total, about $917 million. But the return on these dollars far exceeds this small investment. Environmental health research also informs public health policy actions, which can yield $1.25 to $39 for every $1 invested.

Click here for more details on how our environmental health research saves lives and boosts the economy.

Save the Date: 2025 Iowa PFAS Conference

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EHSRC is sponsoring the 2025 Iowa PFAS Conference, hosted jointly by the Iowa State Hygienic Laboratory and the College of Engineering at the University of Iowa. The conference will be held April 15-16, 2025, at the Graduate by Hilton Iowa City and the University of Iowa campus.

The conference is designed to exchange ideas and findings, provide learning and networking opportunities, and explore new ways to test and deal with PFAS in environmental and biological samples. It has the following objectives:

  • Create a learning environment to share ideas and findings about PFAS
  • Bring faculty members, researchers, staff, and students to one place where they can discuss PFAS-related projects
  • Create highly collaborative environment to work on current and future PFAS-related projects
  • Share information and resources with local agencies and public health officials
  • Discuss current and future plans to test and monitor for PFAS contamination
  • Establish collaborative work between faculty, researchers, local agencies, and public health professionals to address current and future PFAS exposure and health-related issues.

Introducing the 2024-2025 CERT Fellows

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The EHSRC Community Engagement Core is pleased to announce the 2024-2025 Community Engagement and Research Translation Fellows.  The CERT fellowship funding will facilitate developing relationships and solving environmental health challenges in collaboration with audiences appropriate to the Fellow’s research, including community members, community-based organizations, clinicians, or others, to create new outputs of their research that are produced in collaboration with these stakeholders.

 

Selected projects:

Improving Environmental Health Literacy and Dissemination within the Latino Community; Principal Investigator: Olivia Croskey DNP, ARNP, Clinical Assistant Professor, UI College of Nursing

Manufactured Home Residents Advocacy and Organizing for Environmental Health Concerns; Co-Principal Investigators: Jessica Andino, MPH, PhD Candidate in Community and Behavioral Health and Sophia Wilson, Masters of Public Affairs Student

 

For more info about the CERT fellowship visit https://ehsrc.public-health.uiowa.edu/member-resources-opportunities/cert-fellowship/