Partnerships for Environmental Public Health (PEPH)

Upcoming Annual Meetings: PEPH 2012 and Children’s Environmental Health and Disease Prevention
Two great meetings are only five weeks away! Our PEPH 2012 meeting is March 7–8, 2012 at the Natcher Conference Center in Bethesda, MD. The theme of the PEPH meeting is “Strengthening a Dynamic Environmental Public Health Network for Tomorrow: Advancing science through critical reflection” (http://www.niehs.nih.gov/news/events/highlight/annual-meeting-2012/index.cfm) The program includes plenary presentations, group discussions, training sessions, and poster sessions. Plenary sessions will focus on the contributions of community-engaged research as well as environmental health disparities. A series of group discussions will focus on three topic areas: Research Translation, Capacity Building and Communication. There will also be 90-minute training Institutes on March 7th to provide participants with information and skills to bolster their PEPH projects. For more details and registration, go to our conference website (http://www.niehs.nih.gov/news/events/highlight/annual-meeting-2012/index.cfm). Deadlines for the PEPH meeting: travel scholarship applications, February 6th; hotel block reservations, February 6th; poster abstracts and project descriptions, February 15th; and registration February 28th.

Also that week is the Centers for Children's Environmental Health and Disease Prevention annual meeting (http://www.niehs.nih.gov/news/events/highlight/children/index.cfm) on March 6–7, 2012 at the Natcher Center. This meeting will highlight the latest science research and strategies in environmental children’s health. We hope to see you there!

Pink Ribbon Girls and University of Cincinnati Work Together for Breast Cancer Support and Education
A PEPH partnership (http://www.eh.uc.edu/mythfactchoices/)   is growing between the University of Cincinnati Department of Environmental Health (http://www.eh.uc.edu/)   and Pink Ribbon Girls (PRG) (http://www.pinkribbongirls.org/)  , a non-profit organization committed to supporting young women diagnosed with breast cancer. PRG was founded in October 2011. Their mission is “to provide personalized support to young women throughout all phases of the breast cancer journey.” They accomplish this through “education, outreach, awareness, and one-on-one support to women and their families.” And their vision is “that no one travels this road alone.” The UC Department of Environmental Health has an outreach program that partners with organizations to inform communities about current research on breast cancer and the environment. Dr. Shuk-Mei Ho’s research project is “Breast Cancer: Susceptible Window of High Fat Diet/Bisphenol A Programming of Breast Cancer Risk,” funded through the NIEHS Breast Cancer & the Environment Research Centers program (http://www.niehs.nih.gov/research/supported/centers/breast-cancer/index.cfm). PRG plays a key role in helping Dr. Ho inform communities about links between breast health and diet, environment, genetics and epigenetics through their website (http://www.pinkribbongirls.org/)  , newsletters (http://eh.uc.edu/mythfactchoices/newsletters/PRG-DEH_Issue_12.pdf)    and seminars (http://eh.uc.edu/mythfactchoices/ppp/Public-TalkNov2010.pdf)   .

As an umbrella program, Partnerships for Environmental Public Health (PEPH) includes programs led by NIEHS and programs led by other Institutes and Centers (ICs) at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in which NIEHS participates.

For the list of programs and descriptions of how they relate to PEPH, you can read more on the Programs page (http://www.niehs.nih.gov/research/supported/programs/peph/prog/index.cfm). If you would like to know about the context of how the program was developed, our goals and the background of PEPH take a look in our about section (http://www.niehs.nih.gov/research/supported/programs/peph/about/index.cfm).

Featured Materials
Superfund Research Program Research Brief on “Ramping Up Mixed Metals Removal” in Drinking Water

In the PEPH Resource Center (https://connect.niehs.nih.gov/peph/index.cfm?fuseaction=peph.landing): the Superfund Research Program posted the latest of a series of research briefs discussing cutting-edge research in environmental health science. “Ramping Up Mixed Metals Removal (http://tools.niehs.nih.gov/srp/researchbriefs/view.cfm?Brief_ID=205)” discusses new advances in technology for removing metals from contaminated liquids. A new system developed by researchers at the Brown University NIEHS Superfund Research Program removes low concentrations of copper, nickel and cadmium simultaneously from liquids to levels that meet federally accepted standards of cleanliness. This system was developed by Joseph M. Calo, Ph.D., P.E., and reduces metal content in very large volumes without producing toxic sludge as a byproduct.

The Draft PEPH Evaluation Metrics Manual (http://www.niehs.nih.gov/research/supported/programs/peph/metrics/index.cfm) provides examples of tangible metrics that PEPH grantees and program staff can use for both planning and evaluation. Example logic models are used as a means to develop evaluation metrics for cross-cutting PEPH themes such as Partnerships, Leveraging, Products and Dissemination, Education and Training and Capacity Building. PEPH grantees (including all project partners) are the primary target audience for this document. It is our intent to make it as useful as possible.

Current Issue of the PEPH eNews (http://tools.niehs.nih.gov/pephevents/lists/currentissue.cfm)
In this issue, see how PEPH partners are responding to the crisis in Japan, how to give your input on new NIEHS strategic plan, and much more.

Environmental Justice Dimensions of Air Pollution Exposure
PEPH partners Marie Lynn Miranda and Christopher Paul published an article, “Making the Environmental Justice Grade: The Relative Burden of Air Pollution Exposure in the United States (http://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/8/6/1755/)  .” They reported that substantial areas of the U.S. lack monitoring data. For those that have it, there tends to be higher pollution levels in low income and minority communities.

Environment and Inflammation Webinar
The first PEPH webinar on February 28, 2012 will be “Connecting Environmental Exposures to Chronic Inflammation and Diseases (http://bit.ly/wS58ZT)  ,” presented by Dr. Michael Humble, Dr. Sri Nadadur and Dr. Rodney Dietert.

Funding Opportunity
An EPA 2012 environmental justice grant solicitation for incorporated non-profits or tribal organizations (http://www.epa.gov/environmentaljustice/resources/publications/grants/ej-smgrants-rfp-2012.pdf)    is now open with $1 million available for grants for organizations that work to empower communities to improve environmental public health. Pre-application informational teleconference calls will be held in February. Deadline: February 29, 2012.

National EJ Conference Call for Abstracts
Individuals and groups are invited to submit abstracts (http://www.lm.doe.gov/Office_of_the_Director/Environmental_Justice/Conference_Files/2012_Conference/2012_Call_for_Abstracts.aspx)    for the 2012 National Environmental Justice Conference and Training Program (http://www.lm.doe.gov/Office_of_the_Director/Environmental_Justice/Conference_Files/2012_Conference/2012_Call_for_Abstracts.aspx)   . The conference theme is "Enhancing Communities Through Capacity Building and Technical Assistance," and will be held in Washington, DC on April 11–13, 2012. Abstracts are due February 20, 2012.

Upcoming PEPH Meetings (http://www.niehs.nih.gov/research/supported/programs/peph/events.cfm)

• March 6-8, 2012: "PEPH Program Meeting," Natcher Center, Bethesda, MD.