Community Outreach and Education Core

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Excellent biomedical research is not an end in Itself, but must be judged by the impact that it has on human health, disease, death and quality of life. "Translation" refers to the complex processes by which research results in tangible benefits for people. In the NIH Roadmap Initiative, it is seen as quickly transforming basic research discoveries Into drugs, treatments or methods for prevention. Translation is complex, and requires an integrated vision and a chain of disciplines that can take a discovery from the bench to the bedside successfully. Translation to decrease disease and mortality and to improve quality of life by reducing environmental exposures requires that scientific advances alter the fabric of our lives and our society. Effective translation of this type is neither routine for the biomedical research establishment or the health care delivery system. Our COEC aims to facilitate and lead translation of advances in environmental health sciences into the lives, behaviors and practices of the three NIEHS Identified target audiences; communities, health care professionals, and public and private sector decision and policy makers. Meaningful interaction with these target audiences Is bi-directional: these audiences help identify the environmental health problems that need to be solved, frame research questions, and help ensure practical application; researchers ensure that questions are answered in a scientifically rigorous and defensible way. Effective translation requires integration of COEC activities within CEET, so that there is coordinated transfer of information between basic and clinical scientists, and with the target audiences who have an interest in the results. Within CEET, translation is an integrated responsibility, and part of the vision and mission of the center. This is essential because the process of translation usually involves competencies and time commitments that are beyond the reasonable scope of any one individual, and because translation needs capabilities from various CEET components. The roles of the COEC are to develop and maintain close working relationships and partnerships with the stakeholder communities, health care professionals and decision and policy makers; to enhance two-way communication and provide education to those groups; to facilitate the dissemination of research results to target audiences; and to help bring research needs of these communities to the attention of Center researchers. Since the COEC Is proscribed from doing research it must rely on the expertise and research findings from the wet and dry research laboratories within CEET.