Center for Appalachian Research in Environmental Sciences-Integrated Health Sciences Facility Core (IHSFC)

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PROJECT SUMMARY – Integrative Health Sciences Facility Core The University of Kentucky Center for Appalachian Research in Environmental Sciences (UK-CARES) Integrated Health Sciences Facility Core (IHSFC) will facilitate translational research in environmental health science (EHS), ranging from basic, clinical, exposure assessment, and communication research, to support and sustain collaborative, multidisciplinary connections, and academic-community partnerships. A key element of the IHSFC is the formation of four EHS translational research hubs: 1-Molecular Toxicology; 2-Clinical Research and Data Sciences; 3-Community Exposure Assessment; and 4-Environmental Health Communication. Each hub will provide content expertise, support, and access to EHS methodologies and services, and facilitate project development across the translational research spectrum. The hub structure will enhance disciplinary diversity within the IHSFC and support campus-wide integration and cross-Center communication. The IHSFC will build on our record of early success, refining our operational model and targeting new partnerships among Center members while providing expert consultation, translational research support, and team building strategies across the Center’s re-aligned science themes: (a) Health Impacts of Waterborne Contaminants (WATER); (b) Health Impacts of Indoor and Outdoor Airborne Contaminants (AIR); and (c) Emerging Environmental Health Threats (EMERGING THREATS). Specifically, the IHSFC aims to 1) provide access to EHS research services, 2) deliver EHS project support, and 3) enhance translational research partnerships. First, the IHSFC Research Support Portal will direct the flow of investigator requests to IHSFC staff and relevant hub leaders who will link Center members to the appropriate cores (e.g., Analytical Chemistry Core for Environmental Sciences and Community Engagement Core) and resources (e.g., data management and statistical analysis) for project facilitation. The Portal will facilitate coordination, prioritization, tracking, and use of facility core services, Center-wide. Second, IHSFC hub leaders will provide EHS best practices workshops and training sessions in collaboration with the Career Development Program. Third, we will establish Rapid Response Teams, comprised of the hub leaders and other Center members, to promote research translation and partnerships, enabling prompt responses to community identified EHS threats and new exposures. The IHSFC will fulfill the need for a centralized and accessible core that supports multidirectional EHS research activities within the Center, across UK campus, with community investigators, and with other EHS Core Centers, providing timely consultation and support for an impactful portfolio of EHS research projects, while fostering a highly collaborative institutional EHS culture. The IHSFC will expand expertise and services, enhancing the core’s central role in daily UK-CARES operations, and provide the infrastructure to facilitate the progression and expansion of EHS from fundamental questions into testing, clinical practice, and public health impact to improve public health and clinical practice in environmental health.