Project EXPORT: Addressing Environmental Health

描述(由申请者提供)：《弥合鸿沟：通过科学解决环境健康问题》由美国国会授权的首个研究少数群体健康问题的中心少数民族健康研究中心(CRMH)提出。CRMH是德克萨斯大学安德森癌症中心(UTMDACC)的一部分，它和Prairie View A&M大学在解决癌症差异方面处于独特的地位。(1)我们在休斯敦高度多元化的社区建立了良好的网络，CRMH的29名工作人员中有11人会说西班牙语、中文或越南语。(2)我们的任务和基础设施是为项目输出中心预计要实施和维护的项目类型而设计的。(3)我们以前有过使用多学科方法的经验，这种方法成功地将基础和临床科学家、现场流行病学家、护士、公共卫生专业人员和社区外展工作者的技能与众多教育和医疗设施以及壁炉联盟的资源结合在一起。与设在公共卫生学院或类似学术部门的其他中心不同，CRMH可以使用德克萨斯医学中心及其周围的UTMDACC和其他机构的大量临床和基础研究设施和培训补助金。参与我们计划的学生将接受指导，并发展专业网络，培养对健康差距研究和相关科学和医学职业机会的研究生和研究生培训的兴趣。主要研究项目将是一项分子流行病学研究，研究遗传易感性和突变性生物标记物在评估哈里斯县(休斯顿、贝敦)和伊达尔戈县(南得克萨斯州)移民/季节性农场工人的子女长期接触杀虫剂的风险和协同影响方面所起的作用。社区外展和教育工作将集中于公众对癌症环境因素的认识以及少数群体参与临床试验的重要性。我们将与UTMDACC环境疾病研究中心(CRED)和其他由国家环境健康科学研究所赞助的健康中心共享资源，以(1)开始为幼儿园-12年级推广健康饮食习惯的教育计划；(2)为K-12教师制定暑期培训计划课程；以及(3)通过将现有材料翻译成西班牙语来增强CRED网站。我们还将与癌症信息服务和UTMDACC公共教育办公室合作，向公众、医疗保健提供者和潜在的临床试验参与者通报癌症治疗和预防试验。我们的专业培训工作包括(1)制定课程，促进少数族裔和医疗服务不足者的癌症和健康差距的研究；以及(2)为寻求环境护理职业的少数族裔学生提供经验。学生将开始与我们的其中一名合作者一起接受高中或专科水平的培训，并获得我们提供研究生和研究生培训的合作机构的资源。此外，UTMDACC生物统计系将与历史上的黑人大学Prairie View A&M开发一个数据管理系统，并将培训Prairie View的学生为未来的研究项目维护和更新系统。试点项目包括(1)拉美裔人群中基因-环境相互作用及其与癌症关系的研究，以及(2)当地亚裔美国人群体的健康需求评估。这些只是这个应用程序的几个独特功能。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): "Bridging the Gap: Addressing Environmental Health through Science," is presented by the Center for Research on Minority Health (CRMH), the first Congressionally-mandated center outside the nation's capital to address minority health issues. The CRMH, part of The University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center (UTMDACC), and Prairie View A & M University are in a unique position to address cancer disparities. (1) We have well-established networks in Houston's highly diverse communities, and 11 of the CRMH's 29 staff members are bilingual in either Spanish, Chinese, or Vietnamese. (2) Our mission and infrastructure were designed for the types of programs that a Project EXPORT center is expected to implement and maintain. (3) We have previous experience using a multi-disciplinary approach that successfully combines the skills of basic and clinical scientists, field epidemiologists, nurses, public health professionals, and community outreach workers with the resources of numerous educational and medical facilities and hearth coalitions. Unlike other centers that are based in schools of public health or similar academic departments, the CRMH has access to numerous clinical and basic research facilities and training grants at UTMDACC and other institutions in and around the Texas Medical Center. Students participating in our programs will receive mentoring and develop professional networks that foster interest in graduate and post-graduate training in health disparities research and related career opportunities in science and medicine. The primary research project will be a molecular epidemiology study of the roles that genetic susceptibility and mutagenicity biomarkers play in assessing exposure risks and synergistic effects of chronic pesticide exposure in children of migrant/seasonal farm workers in Harris County (Houston, Baytown) and Hidalgo County (South Texas). Community outreach and educational efforts will focus on public awareness of environmental factors in cancer and the importance of minorities' participation in clinical trials. We will share resources with the UTMDACC Center for Research on Environmental Diseases (CRED) and other health centers sponsored by the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences to (1) begin educational programs for the kindergarten-12th grade levels promoting healthy eating habits; (2) develop a curriculum for summer training programs for K-12 teachers; and (3) augment the CRED website with translations of its existing materials into Spanish. We will also work with Cancer Information Services and the UTMDACC Office of Public Education to inform the public, health care providers, and potential clinical trial participants about cancer treatment and prevention trials. Our professional training efforts include (1) developing a curriculum that will promote the study of cancer and health disparities in ethnic minorities and the medically underserved and (2) providing experience to minority students seeking a career in environmental nursing. Students will begin training with one of our collaborators at the high school or junior college level and gain access to the resources of our collaborating institutions that offer graduate and post-graduate training. Additionally, the UTMDACC Biostatistics Department will develop a data management system with Prairie View A & M, a historically black university, and will train Prairie View students to maintain and update the system for future research projects. Pilot projects include (1) a study of gene-environment interactions and their relationship to cancer in Latino populations and (2) a health needs assessment of local Asian American populations. These are but a few of the unique features of this application.