Programs

Partnerships for Environmental Public Health (PEPH)

As an umbrella program, Partnerships for Environmental Public Health (PEPH) will include programs led by NIEHS and programs led by other Institutes and Centers (ICs) at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in which NIEHS participates. This section lists and describes the various programs that currently fit under the PEPH umbrella. This list will change as new programs are developed and other programs end.

NIEHS-sponsored Programs

Research

Breast Cancer and the Environment Research Centers Program

Community partnerships and the translation and dissemination of research findings are major components of the Breast Cancer & the Environment Research Centers(http://www.bcerc.org/home.htm) , a four-center research consortium jointly funded by the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences and the National Cancer Institute. Basic scientists, epidemiologists, health communication experts, and community advocates work together to study how environmental exposures during specific periods of susceptibility impact future risk of breast cancer. A major aim of the Centers is to develop public health messages that will inform the public about environmental stressors associated with breast cancer. Each center has a Community Outreach & Translation Core (COTC)(http://www.bcerc.org/cotc.htm)  that is responsible for ensuring the participation of local community members and breast cancer advocacy groups in the research process and working with researchers to disseminate information about study findings and their implications. COTC members assist in the recruitment and retention of study subjects. Breast cancer advocates play a vital role in each center, bringing their perspectives as survivors of breast cancer to the research.

 Back to top

Centers for Children’s Environmental Health and Disease Prevention Research

The Centers for Children's Environmental Health and Disease Prevention Research(http://www.niehs.nih.gov/research/supported/centers/prevention/index.cfm) examine the effects of environmental exposures on children's health. Through a multidisciplinary research approach including basic, applied, and community-based participatory research, the Centers translate and communicate their findings to clinical and public health professionals and policy makers to alleviate the burden of environmentally induced diseases in children.

In 2003, NIEHS and EPA formalized the establishment of a Community Outreach and Translation Core (COTC) in each Center. The COTC develops, implements, and evaluates strategies to translate the Center’s scientific findings into information that can be used to protect the health of children.

 Back to top

Centers for Population Health and Health Disparities

The purpose of the Centers for Population Health and Health Disparities (CPHHD)(http://www.niehs.nih.gov/research/supported/centers/disparities/index.cfm) is to conduct multi-disciplinary, multi-level, integrated research projects with the purpose of elucidating the complex interactions of the social and physical environment, mediating behavioral factors, and biologic pathways that determine health and disease. To achieve this goal, centers support three or more thematically linked research projects, facility cores that support two or more projects, an administrative core, and pilot projects. CPHHDs present opportunities to concurrently study biological, behavioral, psychological, cultural, and social precursors of disease.

CPHHDs have created environments conducive to interdisciplinary and reciprocally beneficial collaborations among biomedical scientists, social scientists, and affected communities with the common goal of improving population health and reducing health disparities. A key objective is to generate a research program that embraces the concept of 'multiple levels of analysis' in health sciences to examine factors operating at the social/environmental, behavioral/psychological, and biological (organ system, cellular, and molecular) levels. Centers are engaged in mechanistic and intervention studies across multiple levels of analysis and across diseases and conditions relevant to the mission of the sponsoring institutes. The NIEHS, the National Cancer Institute, the National Institute on Aging, and the NIH Office of Behavioral and Social Sciences Research, collaboratively made awards to seven CPHHD centers. Three are funded by NIEHS, and four by the other Institutes.

 Back to top

Environmental Health Sciences Core Centers, Community Outreach and Education Cores

The Environmental Health Sciences (EHS) Core Centers(http://www.niehs.nih.gov/research/supported/centers/core/coe/index.cfm) have the option to develop and sustain community outreach and education activities. The objective of the Community Outreach and Education Core (COEC) is to translate research information into knowledge for various professional and public stakeholders. COECs focus on one or more of the following three target audiences: Community, Policy-makers, and Public Health and/or Health Care Professionals.

 Back to top

Environmental Justice Program: Partnerships for Communication

The purpose of the Environmental Justice (EJ) and Community-based Participatory Research programs(http://www.niehs.nih.gov/research/supported/programs/justice/index.cfm) has been to enable community residents to more actively participate in the full spectrum of research. To achieve this goal, the Environmental Justice program brings together three partners: a community organization, an environmental health researcher, and a health care professional to develop models and approaches to improving communication and trust and building capacity of community residents, researchers, and health care professionals.

 Back to top

Obesity and the Built Environment

In September 2005, the NIEHS and its partners began funding the Obesity and the Built Environment (OBE)(http://www.niehs.nih.gov/research/supported/programs/justice/index.cfm) program. This program was initiated to promote research in two specific areas related to the built environment and obesity: understanding the role of the built environment in causing/exacerbating obesity and related co-morbidities; and developing, implementing, and evaluating prevention/intervention strategies that influence parameters of the built environment in order to reduce the prevalence of overweight, obesity and co-morbidities.

Because of the wide range of built environmental issues to be addressed and the diversity of communities, the OBE program required interdisciplinary partnerships between a scientist with expertise in health research (e.g., an epidemiologist, behavioral, or social scientist), a clinical specialist (e.g., a nutritionist, pediatrician, cardiovascular specialist, healthcare provider, occupational therapist, nurse) and an expert on planning, design, or transportation (e.g., representative of a local or state planning, transportation agency, zoning departments). The inclusion of additional scientists and experts was encouraged. With its current set of projects representing longitudinal, cross-sectional and intervention studies in rural, urban, and suburban areas, the NIEHS OBE program represents an integrated research initiative to better understand how the environment has contributed to obesity and how environmental interventions can prevent or treat this condition.

 Back to top

Research to Action

The PEPH Research to Action (RFA-ES-09-001(http://www.niehs.nih.gov/research/supported/programs/peph/prog/rta/index.cfm) ) is the first funding opportunity released under the PEPH umbrella program and is being announced in partnership with the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH). Research applications will bring together community members and environmental and occupational health researchers to investigate the potential health risks of environmental and occupational exposures that are of concern to the community. Data collection, translation of research into public health action, and project evaluation are all required. Data collected can include information on a community’s exposure to environmental/occupational agents (i.e., quantify exposure levels or determine exposure sources), the prevalence of a disease known or strongly suspected to be associated with an environmental or occupational exposure, or the interplay between multiple exposures and social factors which impact the health of community members. Information collected will be translated into public health action using a variety of strategies; applicants must develop an education, outreach, prevention, or intervention program(s) designed to improve community members’, healthcare professionals’, or policymakers’ understanding of the problems and to promote actions that will prevent or reduce harmful environmental or occupational exposures and improve human health. Finally, applicants must implement an evaluation plan to assess project outputs and impacts relevant to the proposed project’s goals and objectives.

 Back to top

Superfund Research Program

The Superfund Research Program (SRP)(http://www.niehs.nih.gov/research/supported/srp/index.cfm) is committed to the concept that the program is more than just a basic research program, and that to truly be effective it must be proactive in translating the scientific accomplishments emanating from the program to its stakeholders -- whether to the public through community outreach, to industry via technology transfer, or to government through partnerships. Throughout the life of the SRP, there has always been an “Outreach” component of the program. While the intent of this activity has consistently been to provide the program's stakeholders with information emanating from SRP in a manner and format that is useful and informative, the intended “audience” has evolved over time.

Since 2005, the SRP has focused the efforts of its Outreach Cores(http://www.niehs.nih.gov/research/supported/srp/outreach/index.cfm)specifically on community outreach, with an emphasis on health-related issues. This focus on outreach to communities positions the SRP to support the Environmental Protection Agency Superfund Program's mandate to more actively involve the community in the decision-making process. The SRP considers translation and communication of its research findings to be important in realizing the full potential of the program.

 Back to top

Training and Supplements

Partnerships for Environmental Public Health Supplement Program

The purpose of the Partnerships for Environmental Public Health Supplement Program(http://www.niehs.nih.gov/research/supported/programs/peph/prog/sup/index.cfm) is two-fold: first, to provide support for environmental public health research grantees to enhance their current grant activities within the scope of the peer-reviewed application; second, to encourage scientists with a traditional research focus to communicate/translate their research into materials or messages that are useful to other groups, such as the lay public, health care professionals, decision makers, or educators. Activities sponsored within this program include: building new partnerships with community groups/stakeholders, developing and/or disseminating educational outreach materials, enhancing communication with partners through town meetings and forums on environmental health topics, evaluating strategies to quantify public health impact, and engaging community members and researchers in Environmental Health Science research projects.

 Back to top

Short Term Educational Experiences for Research (STEER) in the Environmental Health Sciences for Undergraduates and High School Students

An essential element of the NIEHS Strategic Plan is to recruit and train the next generation of environmental health scientists who will further the understanding of the impact of environmental exposures on human health. The NIEHS Short Term Educational Experiences for Research (STEER) in the Environmental Health Sciences program is designed to attract talented high school students and undergraduates to research opportunities in the environmental health sciences. The NIEHS supports eleven STEER programs with each program supporting between four and eight high school students and/or college undergraduates for full-time summer employment. STEER programs select student participants from their own pool of applicants. Students selected to participate by the various STEER programs will find themselves participating in both research projects with university faculty and educational experiences/seminars on health outcomes related to environmental exposures. Research projects cover a wide spectrum of exposures and scientific areas relevant to the mission of the NIEHS.

 Back to top

Worker Education and Training Program

The Worker Education and Training Program (WETP)(http://www.niehs.nih.gov/careers/hazmat/index.cfm) was given major responsibility for initiating a training grants program under the Superfund Amendments and Reauthorization Act of 1986 (SARA). The primary objective of this program is to fund non-profit organizations with a demonstrated track record of providing high quality occupational safety and health training to workers who are involved in handling hazardous materials or in responding to emergency releases of hazardous materials. These activities are covered by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s (OSHA) Hazardous Waste Operations and Emergency Response (HAZWOPER) standard (CFR 1910.120). The NIEHS awardees have trained over 2 million workers and conducted courses in all 50 states and many US provinces. WETP has led the way in developing innovative curricula based on the use of “worker trainers” and hands-on, site-specific training and activated its trainers through the National Response Team (NRT) during national disasters like the World Trade Center and Katrina. Within the framework of WETP, small businesses have joined forces with universities and government agencies, labor unions have forged partnerships with entrepreneurs and large contractors, and community colleges have established a national training consortium. A variety of organizations have undertaken joint development of site-specific curricula to address the differences in preparation, language, and work skills that may characterize individual trainee groups.

Information on the six WETP training programs listed below can be found at our website at http://www.niehs.nih.gov/careers/hazmat. The training programs include the Hazardous Waste Worker Training Program(http://www.niehs.nih.gov/careers/hazmat/programs/hwwt/index.cfm), NIEHS/Department of Energy Nuclear Worker Training Program(http://www.niehs.nih.gov/careers/hazmat/programs/doe/index.cfm), Brownfields(http://www.niehs.nih.gov/careers/hazmat/programs/bmwt/index.cfm) and Minority Worker Training Programs(http://www.niehs.nih.gov/careers/hazmat/programs/mwt/index.cfm), Advanced Training Technologies(http://www.niehs.nih.gov/careers/hazmat/programs/att/index.cfm) (SBIR/STTR Program), and the Hazmat Disaster Preparedness Training Program(http://www.niehs.nih.gov/careers/hazmat/programs/hdpt/index.cfm). Many of the curricula and other training resources developed under WETP can be found on our National Clearinghouse for Safety Health and Safety Training website at http://tools.niehs.nih.gov/wetp/index.cfm.

 Back to top

Trans-NIH Programs

NIEHS participates in a variety of programs and funding opportunities sponsored by other Institutes and Centers (ICs) within the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Several of these programs are aligned with the goals and objectives of the PEPH program and are described below.

Research

Community Participation in Research (R01)

The Community Participation in Research program announcement (PA-08-074(http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/pa-files/PA-08-074.html) ) is an active funding opportunity that solicits intervention research on health promotion, disease prevention, and health disparities that is jointly conducted by communities and researchers. For the purposes of this funding opportunity announcement, intervention research is quasi-experimental research projects that seek to influence preventive behaviors, treatment adherences, complementary behaviors, and related attitudes and beliefs. Natural experiments also may fall under the interventions rubric.

 Back to top

Community Participation Research Targeting the Medically Underserved (R01 & R21)

This active funding opportunity solicits research on health promotion, disease prevention, and health disparities that is jointly conducted by communities and researchers and that targets medically underserved areas (MUAs) and medically underserved populations (MUPs) as defined by the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA). Funding opportunity announcements are available for both the NIH R01 (PAR-08-075(http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/pa-files/PAR-08-075.html) ) and R21 (PAR-08-076(http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/pa-files/PAR-08-076.html) ) grant mechanisms.

 Back to top

Ethical, Legal, & Social Implications of Genomic Research

While genomic and environmental health research may improve our understanding of the effects of genetic variants and environmental exposures on human health and gene-environment interactions, this research may also generate a number of complex ethical, legal, and social implications. Some of these concerns relate to the protection of human subjects, the privacy of genetic information, and the possibility of discriminatory uses of the data generated by the project. The Ethical, Legal, & Social Implications (ELSI) of Genomic Research(http://www.niehs.nih.gov/research/supported/programs/peph/index.cfm) program focuses on developing policies to effectively deal with these ethical, social, and legal issues.

The NIEHS has previously developed several ELSI funding opportunities that have examined ethical, legal, and social implications relevant to the Environmental Genome Project and have supported research and education activities that improve public and professional understanding about genetics, genome technology, and the ethical, legal, and social implications of this information and technology. The “Partnerships to Address Ethical Challenges in Environmental Health,” developed in partnership with the National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI) as an extension of the Environmental Justice and the Environmental Genome programs, aimed to develop educational projects addressing social, ethical, and legal concerns of the public in research endeavors related to gene-environment interactions, environmental health hazards, and disease susceptibility. The “Ethical, Legal, and Social Implications of Human Genetics and Genomic Research Education Grant Program” was a flexible program aimed at developing innovative educational approaches that helped increase knowledge and understanding of genetics and genomics research and its ethical, legal, and social implications. The “Ethical, Legal, and Social Implications of Human Genetics and Genomic Regular Research Grant Program” was designed to solicit research projects that anticipate, analyze, and address the ethical, legal, and social implications of the discovery of new genetic technologies and the availability and use of genetic information resulting from human genetics and genomic research.

 Back to top

NIH Partners in Research

This is a two-year program supporting pilot and/or feasibility research studies of innovative interventions and/or techniques designed to improve public understanding of biomedical and behavioral research, to develop strategies for promoting collaboration between scientists and the community to improve the health of the public, and to identify the conditions that will enhance the effectiveness of such interventions and/or techniques. The long-term objectives of this initiative are to (1) raise the level of public awareness and understanding of biomedical and behavioral research related to health, the role the community can play in the research enterprise, and the value of public funding; (2) increase scientists’ awareness of the importance of public engagement; and (3) provide a menu of techniques for researchers and communities to implement to facilitate the participation of lay communities in the health research endeavor. NIEHS is funding four projects within this trans-NIH program.

 Back to top

Understanding and Promoting Health Literacy (R01, R03, R21)

Health literacy is defined as the degree to which individuals have the capacity to obtain, process, and understand basic health information and services needed to make appropriate health decisions. The purpose of this trans-NIH program is to support research on health literacy concepts, theory, and interventions as they relate to the United States. DHHS public health priorities. NIEHS recognizes the importance of health literacy in addressing environmental public health issues facing communities. Funding opportunity announcements are available for the NIH R01 (PAR-07-020(http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/pa-files/PAR-07-020.html) ), R03 (PAR-07-019(http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/pa-files/PAR-07-019.html) ) and R21 (PAR-07-018(http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/pa-files/PAR-07-018.html) ) grant mechanisms.

 Back to top

Supplements and Training Grants

Research Supplements to Promote Diversity in Health-Related Research

The NIH recognizes a unique and compelling need to promote diversity in the biomedical, behavioral, clinical and social sciences research workforce. The purpose of Research Supplements to Promote Diversity in Health-Related Research supplement program (PA-08-190(http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/pa-files/PA-08-190.html) ) is to encourage institutions to diversify their student and faculty populations and thus to increase the participation of individuals currently underrepresented in the biomedical, clinical, behavioral, and social sciences, including individuals from underrepresented racial and ethnic groups; individuals with disabilities; and individuals from socially, culturally, economically, or educationally disadvantaged backgrounds that have inhibited their ability to pursue a career in health-related research. Principal Investigators at domestic institutions who hold an active research grant can request an administrative supplement to the parent grant to provide support for research experiences for individuals from the above identified groups throughout the continuum from high school to the faculty level.

 Back to top

Research Supplements to Promote Reentry into Biomedical and Behavioral Research Careers

The Research Supplements to Promote Reentry into Biomedical and Behavioral Research Careers supplement program (PA-08-191(http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/pa-files/PA-08-191.html) ) provides support for individuals with high potential to re-enter an active research career after a qualifying interruption for family or other responsibilities. The aim of these supplements is to encourage such individuals to re-enter research careers within the missions of all the program areas of NIH. This program will provide administrative supplements to existing NIH research grants for the purpose of supporting full-time or part-time research by these individuals in a program geared to bring their existing research skills and knowledge up to date.

 Back to top