Research Training Program in Pediatric Exposomics

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Project Summary The Developmental Origins of Health and Disease (DOHaD) theory posits that early-life environment contributes to nearly all common pediatric diseases (asthma, learning disorders, birth defects, obesity) and to diseases in adult life. Recently the nascent field of “exposomics” -the study of all health relevant environment across the lifespan has also taken hold, with new research initiatives such as the NIH Environmental influences on Child Health Outcomes (ECHO) program and the Human Health Exposure Analysis Resource (HHEAR) program. Multiple IOM reports state that there is a national need to expand research to address environmental medicine issues, and new NIH initiatives (HHEAR and ECHO) have emphasized that children's environmental health is a research priority. There is a clear need for scientists trained in the principles and methodologies of exposomics who can then translate research into environmental pediatrics. To address that need, the Mount Sinai School of Medicine seeks both to renew its 2-3 year transdisciplinary, post-doctoral research training program in environmental pediatrics that began in 2007 and to expand its scope to Exposomics, the study of all health relevant environment. Two fellows are admitted per year. Focus is on training in epidemiology, biostatistics, data science, lab assays, geospatial statistics, environmental medicine and of course, child health and development. An MS or MPH degree in epidemiology is available as well. Our program excels in mentored research that produces publications, meeting presentations/posters, NIH K awards and fosters transition toward independent research. Our fellows develop a methodological base in child development and exposure science principles giving them a versatile set of skills and resources that they can apply to study a wide range of scientific questions. Each fellow is guided by an interdisciplinary mentoring team. Courses and experiential training are provided in grant writing, ethics and responsible conduct of research. Supervised clinical experience in environmental pediatrics ensures that research training is grounded in clinical translational principles. Formal evaluation of fellows is conducted semi-annually. An Executive Faculty Committee and an External Advisory Board are in place. Our program builds on a unique base of NIH funded children's environmental health research, including 2 HHEAR Lab Hubs, the HHEAR Data Center, 2 ECHO cohorts, a P30 Core Center grant, multiple child health research cohorts, a Pediatric Environmental Health Specialty Unit, and a unique Exposome Lab that specializes in exposure biomarkers. In its first 14 years, our program has successfully recruited 30 fellows and graduated 24 (6 are still in training) of whom 14 have academic faculty positions; 2 are doing additional research training fellowships, and the remaining 8 are in industry or government. Seven have secured NIH funding; 4 in the last 5 years. Graduates are faculty at UC-Davis, Columbia, NYU, U Minnesota, U of Cincinnati, Mount Sinai, work at the CDC and for Industry, have published >400 papers and are now leaders in the nascent field of pediatric exposomics.