Community Engagement Core

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Project Summary Community-engaged research (CEnR) is becoming increasingly viewed as a keystone to translational medicine and plays an integral role in accomplishing the NIEHS Strategic Goals. The Community Engagement Core (CEC) is a key integrating element in the University of Cincinnati (UC) Center for Environmental Genetics (CEG). The core has the major responsibility of assisting CEG investigators in fostering mutually beneficial, bidirectional partnerships with community members, health care professionals, and policy makers involved in environmental health science (EHS). The ultimate goals of the CEC are to increase awareness and understanding of CEG EHS research, and serve as a liaison between the community and the Center. In order to achieve these goals and in support of the vision of the CEG to “minimize the impact of environmental exposures on health”; the CEC will innovatively address three specific aims. Specific Aim 1: Translate and disseminate Center research into environmental public health knowledge for our target audiences (community members, health care professionals, and policy makers) in order to increase awareness and understanding of environmental health. Specific Aim 2: Develop and facilitate bidirectional community-engaged research partnerships between Center investigators and members of our target audiences in order to address identified environmental health issues, needs, and concerns. Specific Aim 3: Advance the field of community engagement in environmental health through implementing citizen science practices, novel communication approaches, and data disclosure. With expertise in public health, outreach and education, and environmental health communication, the highly active and committed CEC community-academic leadership team in partnership with its Stakeholder Advisory Board (SAB) is poised to significantly contribute to seven of the 11 NIEHS Strategic Goals (#5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, and 11). The innovative ability of the CEC to leverage and expand existing UC resources for EHS, integrate with other Cores within the CEG, and utilize the independent UC Evaluation Services Center, will allow for the proposed objectives of the CEC to have local, regional, and national impact.