New Mexico Integrative Science Program Incorporating Research in Environmental Sciences (NM-INSPIRES)

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NM-INSPIRES Overall Project Summary This NIEHS P30 Core Center will support basic and translational research pertaining to environmentally induced diseases. NM-INSPIRES will engage unique and diverse populations through multi-directional communication and programs. The Center's theme is Metals, Mining, and Mixtures, and it will support numerous mechanistic and population-based studies. NM-INSPIRES is unique in that it will leverage several ongoing studies in Native American populations and will extend to Center Investigators novel opportunities to leverage current expertise in the UNM Metals Superfund Center, Navajo Birth Cohort Study (NBCS) Environmental influences on Child Health Outcomes (ECHO), and the Native Environmental Health Equity Center. The NM-INSPIRES Center will provide significant value to Center and early stage investigators members who may or may not be associated with these other programs and are well-funded by NIEHS and NIH. The Center will provide significant benefit to newly engaged communities throughout the four quadrants of our state, including communities in Southwestern NM in proximity to active mining, communities in Southeastern NM in proximity to oil/gas development including fracking, and US-Mexico Border Health Communities with air quality issues. Based on currently funded programs, the Center is organized by members into four Research Focus Groups (RFGs) including 1) Environmental Cancer, 2) Immunology, Inflammation, and Infectious Diseases, 3) Inhalation and Cardiopulmonary Toxicology, and 4) Communication and Implementation Sciences (CIS). The CIS RFG is a particularly novel approach that will work throughout the Center and especially with the Community Engagement Core (CEC), to communicate with our diverse communities through culturally appropriate multi-modal outreach strategies, including art and social media. The Center will provide valuable and needed facility core (FC) services through its Integrated Health Sciences FC (IHSFC), BioAnalytical Chemistry FC (BACC), Biostatistics and Data Sciences Core (BDSC), and CEC. The Center will operate a substantial Pilot Project program that will enable investigators to take action on novel ideas and studies to pursue new research grants. The highly integrated nature of the Center will foster novel and innovative research projects, including those brought forward from communities. There will be both quantitative and qualitative measures of success for the Center that will be assessed throughout the year and reported annually. Through the dynamic and inspirational leadership of the Administrative Core and RFGs, NM-INSPIRES will build research capacity, attract new investigators into environmental health research, train the next generation of scientists and environmental health workers, and engage our diverse and unique communities.