October 2024| Center for Human Health and the Environment | |
A Note from the Director
Hello Everyone,
Today, as I celebrate my one year anniversary with the CHHE, there are many important things on my mind. Although those of us in the eastern half of NC look forward to the cooler Fall weather that is coming our way, there are so many in the Western parts of our state that are reeling from the unprecedented effects of Hurricane Helene. The Center's work in the area of climate change has never felt so important. Please consider ways that you might help those who need basic items like diapers, formula, a warm blanket or cleaning supplies. Our CHHE member, Jen Runkle, who worked at the Asheville NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information (see News below), is safe and will be working from another location until the building can be restored to safe conditions. Students, faculty, and staff from at least three universities (Western Carolina, UNC-Asheville, and App State) are also displaced for an undetermined amount of time. Please keep all of those affected and involved in rescue efforts in your thoughts/prayers. On a happier note, several CHHE members and staff joined me in Baltimore last week at the P30 EHS Core Centers national meeting, hosted by Johns Hopkins University. The meeting was strongly focused on climate change and community engagement (see more below). I then traveled to Washington D.C. to join other P30 Directors in group discussions with Senators and House representatives on the impactful, community-based research and outreach being conducted by the CHHE and other NIEHS-funded Centers in North Carolina. My comments were strongly focused on the uniqueness of NIEHS-required interactions with affected community and engagement audiences and examples of projects where we have made major impacts in understanding mechanisms or exposures linked to health effects. I also highlighted the integrative efforts between Centers both within NC State and across universities in NC. Dana Dolinoy (P30 Director in Michigan, and member of our external advisory board) and I met with staffers in the offices of NC Senator Ted Budd, and Representatives Deborah Ross and Chuck Edwards, as well as 6 others representing districts in Ohio and Michigan (see below). There was major interest in our work on PFAS, heavy metals, and algal blooms. I was also selected by Senator Merkley (D-OR), to testify at the U.S. Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works meeting that was to occur on Sept 26. However, due to the House and Senate quickly agreeing on a continuing resolution on Sept 25th which will fund the government through late December (always good news!), the meeting was postponed last minute until November. More on that later this year.
Wishing you all well -
Sue Fenton
sefenton@ncsu.edu
Toxicology Bldg. 1104E
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Oct 9: 2024 NCSOT Annual Meeting 9:00am RTI International, Research Triangle Park, NC
Numerous CHHE faculty and trainees from NC Central, NC State, and East Carolina will be presenting research and judging posters.
Oct. 11: CHHE Behavior and Neuroscience RIG Monthly Meeting 12:00pm Thomas 3503 (Stephens Room)
Jessica Walsh, "Restoration of Cortico-accumbal E/l Balance via a Two-dose MDMA Regimen Induces a Long-lasting Rescue of Social Deficits in a Mouse Model for ASD"
Oct 14-16: 8th Annual US DOHaD Meeting Rizzo Center Chapel Hill, North Carolina
The meeting's focus is "Exploring Translational DOHaD Science: From Cells to Communities", and CHHE members will be presenting platform talks and posters, as well as chairing sessions.
Oct 17: A Conversation with the Environmental Health Science Cluster 8:45am Raleigh Founded, Partners 1 Bldg. Centennial Campus "Cluster Conversations" is a series which spotlights the Chancellor's Faculty Excellence Program. CHHE faculty will be highlighted.
Oct. 30: Environmental Health Disparities RIG Monthly Meeting Zoom
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2024 NIEHS EHSCC Meeting
Sept 23-25, P30 EHSCC national meeting in Baltimore. David Aylor and Jen Richmond-Bryant represented CHHE in Career Development and Community Exposures discussion panels, respectively. Natalia Duque-Wilckens and Jen Runkle were selected to present posters in the early stage investigator session, and Sue, David, Katy and Lacey attended business and community engagement-focused sessions. Some new information from NIEHS was delivered, including that Council unanimously agreed to continue P30 funding, all EHS grants (NIH and otherwise) will now be considered in the grants base for the Centers (part of the requirement for funding/renewal), and there is a new category of funding depending on carryover history/status. Additionally, there was an active discussion of what is considered "clinical studies" when engaging with affected community members.
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EHSCC Hill Day
Center directors, Sue Fenton (CHHE) and Dana Dolinoy (M-LEEaD), presented P30 research and outreach efforts to House and Senate teams from MI, OH, and NC on Sept 26 for EHSCC Hill Day. Numerous P30 Centers in other states were also separately represented. Together with FNIH, NC State, and Endocrine Society federal liaisons, they met with staffers and explained the critical importance of the P30 work for impacted communities, and how a flat or reduced NIH budget scenario might affect ongoing work.
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Sinan Sousan Receives Patent Cooperation Treaty Funding
Environmental Health faculty Dr. Stephanie Richards and DPH faculty Dr. Sousan presented last week to the ECU Patent Committee and, as a result of that presentation, received funding for the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) application for the wind tunnel that the team developed to assess the efficacy of insecticide formulated products. PCT is an international patent system for applicants seeking patent protection internationally for their inventions in a large number of countries.
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NOAA NCEI Websites, Systems Down due to Helene Devastation in Asheville, NC
Heavy rains from Hurricane Helene caused record flooding and damage like that seen here on September 28, 2024, in Asheville, North Carolina. (Image credit: Melissa Sue Gerrits/Getty
Images) Please keep our NC State colleagues and CHHE members that were displaced due to the storm in your thoughts. See more here
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Share the Good News!
Have you or someone in your research interest group or lab; received an award, served on a special committee, given an invited lecture, published a paper and/or completed a project recently? Share the good news by completing this form. An announcement may be included in the newsletter and/or posted on the website.
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Deep Autoencoder-based Behavioral Pattern Recognition Outperforms Standard Statistical Methods in High-dimensional Zebrafish Studies. Green AJ, Truong L, Thunga P, Leong C, Hancock M, Tanguay RL, Reif DM.
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Assessing Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances in Fish Fillet Using Non-Targeted Analyses. Boatman AK, Chappel JR, Polera ME, Dodds JN, Belcher SM, Baker ES.
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Vitellin/Vitellogenin Is an Important Allergen in German Cockroach. Hadiwinarta C, Blank A, Somers J, Schal C, Bronzert C, Sharma K, Strader MB, Hamilton RG, Slater JE.
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Detection, Quantification, and Elimination of Wolbachia in Bed Bugs. Kakumanu ML, Hickin ML, Schal C.
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Alcohol Activates Cannabinoid Receptor 1 and 2 in a Model of Pathogen Induced Pulmonary Inflammation Parker De'Janna, Muhkopadyay Somnath, Sivaraman Vijay
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Cite the Center
Cite and acknowledge NIH award support and the CHHE’s P30 grant in future publications and presentations by including this –
“Research reported in this publication was supported by the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences of the National Institutes of Health under Award Number P30ES025128. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health.”
Click here for instructions on how to add the CHHE grant to your Publications in MyNCBI
Publications citing the Center grant in the acknowledgements of a manuscript and in the deposit of the manuscript in the NIH Manuscript Submission (NIHMS) system are the currency for the P30 renewal!
PINS: Select "Center for Human Health and the Environment" as the center when submitting your proposals
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CHHE Branding Materials
The CHHE letterhead, logos, and powerpoint slides are all available on the website.
Download these materials for your presentations and communications.
Order Your CHHE Business Cards Today!
We're excited to offer personalized CHHE business cards for all members, complete this form.
Employment Opportunities
The CHHE Website posts job openings in the environmental health sciences field. Send us your postings for new jobs, email Michico (MJ) James. It's a great place for students and post-docs to see new available positions.
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