Environmental/Occupational

Research Focus Research in this program applies the perspectives, theory, and methods of epidemiology to scientific and practical problems related to the control of injury and the relationship of human health to the environment and the workplace. Although the substantive territory is broad, potentially extending to any health outcome and all hazards encountered in the workplace or the ambient environment, program faculty and students have developed several distinct focal points for research, which include: reproductive effects of occupational and environmental exposures cancer risks from occupational and environmental agents environmental justice occupational injuries health effects of air pollution Methodological research is also an important activity in the program. Faculty interested in environmental and occupational causes of cancer, for example, are applying advanced laboratory-based techniques to study gene-environment interactions. Methods for the assessment of exposure, including both statistical methodologies and measurement techniques ranging from biological markers to traditional environmental monitoring, are another important area of methodological research for several faculty members, and others are involved with such areas as quantitative risk assessment, meta-analysis and statistical modeling. Service Activities Program faculty are engaged in a broad range of service activities as part of their professional work. They serve the field as manuscript reviewers and editors for leading journals, and evaluate grant proposals for NIH, CDC, private foundations, and research funding agencies based in several other countries. Local, state and national government agencies are served through consultation and membership on boards and committees, including advisory committees of: Institute of Medicine, National Academy of Sciences, US EPA, CDC, NIOSH and North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services and Department of Labor. Some faculty provide service to international agencies, such as the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), to nongovernmental organizations, including labor unions and environmental groups, and to professional organizations, including: International Epidemiological Association, International Society for Environmental Epidemiology, International Commission on Occupational Health.

Last updated December 06, 2007