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Environmental Factor, February 2010, National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences

Local Stakeholders Offer Input on SRP

By Thaddeus Schug
February 2010

In his opening remarks, NIEHS Acting Deputy Director Steve Kleeberger, Ph.D., reinforced NIEHS leadership support for the "enormous undertaking" involved in the SRP strategic planning initiative. (Photo courtesy of
Steve McCaw)

In response to questions about the basic research component of SRP, Director Bill Suk, Ph.D., described the balance between basic and applied research mandated by the program's enabling legislation. (Photo courtesy of Steve McCaw)

Director of the Office of Policy, Planning, and Evaluation (OPPE) Sheila Newton, Ph.D., was one of many NIEHS stakeholders who urged SRP to keep the end product of its research in mind. "Research translation without impact is not research translation," she reminded the audience. (Photo courtesy of Steve McCaw)

Owens, center, brought two stakeholder perspectives - as a student and as an EPA toxicologist - to the meeting, while Di Giulio, right, spoke about the balance of research, outreach, and translation in his program at Duke. (Photo courtesy of Steve McCaw)

Reed, right, yielded the floor to SRP staff, including Thompson, left, who responded to questions about program specifics. (Photo courtesy of Steve McCaw)

A thoughtful Tom Hawkins, OPPE program analyst, center, sat with NIEHS Division of Extramural Research and Training (DERT) Program Administrators Mike Humble, Ph.D., left, and David Balshaw, Ph.D., right. DERT administrators questioned the overlap of programs funded by DERT and SRP. (Photo courtesy of Steve McCaw)

At the Superfund Research Program (SRP) planning session Jan. 5, NIEHS staff heard from a distinctly local and vocal group of stakeholders - Research Triangle area grantees and a contingent of NIEHS colleagues involved in grant administration, basic research in toxicology, and policy analysis. The meeting was the fourth in a series of planning meetings that began in November 2009 (see related story(http://www.niehs.nih.gov/news/newsletter/2010/january/spotlight-superfund.cfm)).

These meetings have been organized to gather feedback on a series of questions SRP plans to address as it develops a long-term strategic plan(http://tools.niehs.nih.gov/srp/about/register.cfm) to direct program focus and effectiveness. Jerry Heindel, Ph.D., acting branch chief of the NIEHS Cellular, Organ and Systems Pathology Branch,(http://www.niehs.nih.gov/research/supported/dert/cospb/index.cfm) was quick to initiate discussion, voicing concerns about whether the SRP should include areas of research that are traditional to NIEHS or limit its focus to "programs unique to SRP, such as remediation of waste and improving technology for cleaning up waste sites."

In response, SRP Director William (Bill) Suk, Ph.D.(http://www.niehs.nih.gov/research/supported/dert/cris/index.cfm), pointed out that to a great extent "SRP operates according to a congressional mandate, and that program balance is dictated by its authorizing legislation." SRP Program Administrator Claudia Thompson, Ph.D., added, "SRP is not attempting to balance specific program topics, but rather a broad range of outcomes so that community groups have what they need to make informed decisions and improve communication through community outreach programs in areas directly impacted by Superfund sites."

SRP plans encourage interdisciplinary science

The audience remained engaged as moderator Larry Reed, from contractor MDB, Inc., shifted discussion to the interdisciplinary approach supported by SRP. Richard Di Giulio, Ph.D.(http://superfund.geneimprint.com/person?type=faculty&id=0) , Duke University SRP Center director, noted, "The most significant issues in environmental health research involve areas such as environmental chemistry and biology, biomedical sciences, engineering, and the social sciences. SRP should place priority on these very significant issues, which will force interdisciplinary interactions among scientists," he suggested.

Diversified training opportunities offered to graduate students

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Toxicologist and former SRP trainee, Beth Owens, Ph.D., endorsed SRP's interdisciplinary training concept, observing that she frequently uses the cross-disciplinary communication skills she learned at the University of Kentucky program. "Graduate students are generally trained to be knowledgeable in an increasingly narrow field," Owens said. "SRP can and should provide a mechanism by which students can broaden their knowledge base on environmental and Superfund issues, and work as an interdisciplinary team." Suk added that funding interdisciplinary training programs has been an on-going challenge for SRP, due to traditional barriers in academic institutions.

In response, UNC professor and SRP program director James Swenberg, D.V.M., Ph.D.(http://www.sph.unc.edu/?option=com_profiles&Itemid=1891&profileAction=ProfDetail&pid=704283985) , commented, "Universities are making gains in interdisciplinary training, particularly in the areas of public health, translational biology, and nanotechnology." Di Giulio added, "SRP has done a good job promoting program diversification, as evidenced by research extensions into emerging chemicals and nanotechnology, as well as recalcitrant problems such as complex mixtures and differential human vulnerabilities."

Cross agency communications encouraged

Pitching the need for an Institute-wide effort to enhance interagency interactions, NTP Deputy Program Director for Science Nigel Walker, Ph.D., advised SRP to improve communication to avoid overlap among stakeholders. Walker stated, "At the end of the day, we are all trying to use the public's money to figure out common problems. And, if we can share resources between federal agencies and other institutions, we will be better at solving these issues."

(Thaddeus Schug, Ph.D., is a postdoctoral research fellow in the NIEHS Laboratory of Signal Transduction.)

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