Pacific Northwest Center for Oceans and Human Health

摘要OCE-0434087华盛顿大学海洋与人类健康卓越研究中心NIEHS在过去的十年里，美国西海岸沃茨有害藻华对经济和人类健康的影响急剧增加。 太平洋西北人类健康和海洋科学中心的总体目标是通过特别关注有毒硅藻伪菱形藻来阐明海洋过程与公共健康后果之间的关系。 该中心将由一个多学科研究小组组成，其中包括来自大学以及州和联邦政府机构的研究人员。 将在普吉特湾河口和华盛顿沿海沃茨这两个主要的代表性生态系统中进行伪菱形藻动态和人类影响的研究。 迄今为止，华盛顿州所有的渔业关闭都发生在人类定居有限的沿着。 在普吉湾，可能有更多的人受到影响，但尚未发生贝类关闭，尽管贻贝和蛤蜊中通常检测到低水平的软骨藻酸。 该中心将探讨太平洋西北部和普吉特海湾沿海环境之间的根本差异，其研究和支助活动将包括四个研究项目和四个设施核心。 有毒藻类研究项目将研究促进水华和毒素释放的物理、化学和生物因素以及伪菱形藻水华的基因组学。 贝类动力学项目将研究急性或慢性健康影响变得重要的毒素水平和环境条件。 毒性机制研究项目将研究软骨藻酸的分子作用机制，并将确定影响其毒性的潜在易感因素，如年龄、慢性低剂量暴露情况和遗传学。 人类接触研究项目将调查导致接触增加的人群的饮食和消费行为，并将根据年龄、文化习俗（美洲原住民、亚洲和太平洋岛民）以及与受污染贝类的地理接近程度来确定处于潜在风险中的人群。 生物传感器设施核心将专注于新技术，以开发用于评估软骨藻酸的便携式真实的时间工具。 环境基金核心部分将利用时间序列分析来描述沿海环境和普吉特湾河口的物理和化学参数的变化。 神经行为评估设施核心将定义慢性低水平软骨藻酸暴露对神经行为发育的影响。 信息学设施核心将为数据集成、风险评估、GIS和数据可视化以及社区外联提供平台和框架，使中心能够在这些多学科领域以及与外部研究社区共享和翻译信息。 更广泛的影响。 该中心的设计是为了满足了解海洋过程与人类健康之间相互作用的社会需求。 该中心的一个主要影响将是在关注有害藻华的团体之间建立持久的伙伴关系，包括华盛顿大学、马里兰州大学医学院、系统生物学研究所、华盛顿州生态部、华盛顿州卫生部、西北渔业科学中心（NOAA）和美国环保署第10区的研究人员。 第二个影响是提供信息资源，并与接触软骨藻酸和潜在健康风险的不同社区进行交流。 与沿着华盛顿海岸和普吉特湾地区的许多群体，包括美洲土著部落和亚太岛民社区的互动已经发展。 将设立一个由有关各方和受影响各方组成的社区咨询委员会，以促进关于有害藻华的交流和对话。 第三个影响是教育性质的。 该中心将教育新一代的研究人员，使他们在影响海洋和人类健康的问题方面具有多学科培训和专门知识。 研究生和博士后研究人员都包括在所有中心的项目。 华盛顿大学的本科生研究受到高度重视，实验室通常会让本科生参与研究项目。 每月将举办一系列研讨会，以促进中心不同组成部分之间的沟通。 额外的专题课程（向所有学生开放）也将从中心合作开发。

ABSTRACT OCE-0434087NSF-NIEHS Research Center of Excellence in Oceans and Human Health at the University of WashingtonThe past decade has seen a dramatic increase in the economic and human health repercussions of harmful algal blooms in U.S. West coast waters. The overall goal of the Pacific Northwest Center for Human Health and Ocean Sciences is to elucidate the relationships between marine processes and public health consequences, by focusing specifically on the toxic diatom Pseudo-nitzschia. The Center will be composed of a multidisciplinary research team that includes researchers from universities as well as state and federal government agencies. Studies will be conducted on Pseudo-nitzschia dynamics and human impacts in two major representative ecosystems, the Puget Sound Estuary and Washington coastal waters. All fishery closures to date in Washington State have occurred along the coast where human settlement is limited. In Puget Sound, where many more people could potentially be affected, no shellfish closures have yet occurred, although low-levels of domoic acid are commonly detected in mussels and clams. The Center will explore underlying differences between the coastal environment in the Pacific Northwest and Puget Sound.The research and support activity of the Center will encompass four research projects and four facility cores. The Toxic Algae Research Project will examine the physical, chemical, and biological factors that promote blooms and toxin release and the genomics of Pseudo-nitzschia blooms. The Shellfish Kinetics Project will study the toxin levels and environmental conditions at which acute or chronic health effects become important. The Mechanisms of Toxicity Research Project will examine the molecular mechanisms of action of domoic acid and will define potential susceptibility factors affecting its toxicity such as age, chronic low dose exposure profiles and genetics. The Human Exposure Research Project will investigate populations for dietary and consumption behaviors that contribute to increased exposure and will identify populations that are at potential risk based on age, cultural practices (Native American populations, Asian and Pacific Islanders), and geographic proximity to contaminated shellfish. The Biosensors Facility Core will focus on new technologies to develop portable real time tools for assessing domoic acid. The Environment Facility Core will use time series analysis to characterize variations in physical and chemical parameters of the coastal environment and the Puget Sound Estuary. The Neurobehavioral Assessment Facility Core will define the effects of chronic low-level domoic acid exposure on neurobehavioral development. The Informatics Facility Core will provide platforms and frameworks for data integration, risk evaluation, GIS and data visualization and community outreach, to allow the Center to share and translate information across these multidisciplinary arenas and with the external research communities. Broader Impacts. The Center has been designed in response to the societal need to understand the interactions between ocean processes and human health. One major impact of the center will be to develop lasting partnerships among groups concerned with harmful algal blooms, including researchers at the University of Washington, University of Maryland Medical School, the Institute for Systems Biology, the Washington State Department of Ecology, Washington State Department of Health, Northwest Fisheries Science Center (NOAA) and U.S. EPA Region 10. A second impact is to provide informational resources and exchange with diverse communities with exposure and potential health risks from domoic acid. Interactions with numerous groups, including Native American tribes and Asian-Pacific Islander communities, along the Washington coast and in the Puget Sound region have already been developed. A community advisory board with interested and affected parties will be created to facilitate these exchanges and dialogue about harmful algal blooms. A third impact is educational in nature. The Center will educate a new generation of researchers with multidisciplinary training and expertise relevant for issues affecting oceans and human health. Graduate students and post-doctoral researchers are included in all Center projects. Undergraduate research at the University of Washington is highly promoted and labs commonly involve undergraduates in research projects. A seminar series will be held on a monthly basis to foster communication between different Center components. Additional special-topic courses (open to all students) will also be developed from Center collaborations.