Phillips, Rose A – Environmental Health Sciences Research Center

Dr. Michael Welsh, Professor of Internal Medicine and longtime EHSRC member, has won the 2025 Lasker-DeBakey Clinical Medical Research Award for his fundamental research on cystic fibrosis (CF), which paved the way to new therapies that have transformed the health and life expectancy of people with CF.

Lasker Awards, sometimes called “America’s Nobels,” are among the world’s most prestigious biomedical and clinical research awards.

Welsh shares the award with Jesús (Tito) González (formerly, Vertex Pharmaceuticals) and Paul A. Negulescu (Vertex Pharmaceuticals) for their key roles in developing a novel treatment for CF – a triple-drug combination that saves the lives of people with this lethal genetic disease.

Click here to read more about Dr. Welsh’s Lasker Award.

Spotlight on EHSRC’s role in protecting Iowans’ health

April 22, 2025 By Phillips, Rose A

The 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

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

March 11, 2025 By Phillips, Rose A

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

November 18, 2024 By Phillips, Rose A

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.

Spring 2025 Pilot Grant RFA

October 15, 2024 By Phillips, Rose A

The RFA for the Spring 2025 Pilot Grant Program (PGP) is now available! The PGP provides up to $40,000 for innovative, environmental health-related research proposals aligned with the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) Strategic Plan. Community engagement supplements up to $5,000 in additional funds are also available.