Exposure Science Facility

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PROJECT SUMMARY - EXPOSURE SCIENCE FACILITY (ESF) The primary goal of the Exposure Science Facility (ESF) is to facilitate the research efforts of EHSRC investigators as they seek to understand the external environmental stressors that adversely affect outcomes following an exposure. The ESF addresses this goal through the following specific aims: Aim 1) Provide resources and expertise for modeling of airborne contaminants and exposure assessment; Aim 2) support EHSRC Thematic Areas, pilot studies, CEC activities, and mentored Associate Members; Aim 3) facilitate multidisciplinary research among EHSRC investigators; Aim 4) provide expertise, as well as facilitate interaction, in the continuum of exposure assessment and health-based investigation; and Aim 5) facilitate pre-doctoral, post-doctoral and Associate Member training in modeling and exposure assessment methods. The ESF is supported by a team of investigators with longstanding expertise in the wide-ranging aspects of its Aims, including expertise in environmental pollutant sampling, industrial hygiene practices, health physics, air dispersion modeling, computational fluid dynamics modeling, and chemical analytical methods related to all routes of exposure. The ESF provides a critical role within the EHSRC by aiding investigators at all levels and pilot grant recipients to properly identify, quantify and model environmental contaminants, and quantify risk. The ESF strives to develop and maintain instrumentation and modeling capabilities, which help investigators link environmental contaminants with health outcomes. The ESF is therefore of fundamental importance to EHSRC investigators as they seek to understand the complicated linkages between human health and the exposome. The ESF achieves its goals through its collection of state-of-the-art instruments and laboratories. Combined, they include a wide variety of instruments used to sample gases, vapors, and aerosols in addition to those capable of analyzing various chemical compounds in complex matrices, including water, food, air, blood, and tissue samples. ESF modeling capabilities include those used to determine the spatial distribution of air pollutants and the deposition of particles in the human lung. ESF leadership faculty and staff provide consultation and training to EHSRC investigators planning research projects involving the assessment of environmental exposures on human health. The ESF is a unique facility on the University of Iowa campus that has strong associations with its central facilities. Together with these facilities and its collection of instruments and related support, the ESF allows EHSRC investigators to prepare cost-effective budgets when soliciting extramural funds for their research.