For the past 2 years, PRCCEH and its members have conducted research and launched translational programs on our 4 focus areas: lead, air pollution, asthma and endocrine disrupting chemicals.
Thanks to a new 1-year NIEHS Administrative Supplement, the Center will now have a fifth focus: climate change!
Climate change is both a unique focus – researchers study how extreme heat can impact child development and mental health – as well as intertwined with the other PRCCEH focus areas. For instance, climate change is beieved to increase air pollution which may result in increased asthma rates, and could exacerbate the developmental effects of lead and EDCs. They are all connected, and clearly adding climate change as a focus was the next step forward in our Center research and programs.
The Supplement of more than $300,000 will allow PRCCEH to:
- Fund climate change and children’s health research pilot projects;
- Lead new research to investigate the role of ambient temperature, heat index, and air pollution on birth outcomes and placental health;
- Launch workshops and translational programs for community groups and public-school teachers on climate change and child health; and
- Enhance the capacity of early stage investigators and trainees on the research and translation in the area of climate change and child health.
The Center looks forward to adding the climate change focus, and will announce a new pilot project RFP soon. For updates on all climate change related work at PRCCEH, sign up for our newsletter.