Project EXPORT: Bridging the Gap: Addressing Environmen*

描述（由申请人提供）：“弥合差距：通过科学解决环境健康问题”，由少数民族健康研究中心（CRMH）提出，这是第一个国会授权的中心，在国家首都以外解决少数民族健康问题。CRMH是德克萨斯大学医学博士的一部分。安德森癌症中心（UTMDACC）和草原视图A & M大学在解决癌症差异方面处于独特的地位。(1)我们在休斯顿高度多样化的社区中建立了良好的网络，CRMH的29名工作人员中有11名是西班牙语，汉语或越南语双语。(2)我们的使命和基础设施是为项目EXPORT中心预期实施和维护的项目类型而设计的。(3)我们有使用多学科方法的经验，成功地将基础和临床科学家，现场流行病学家，护士，公共卫生专业人员和社区外展工作者的技能与众多教育和医疗设施和炉边联盟的资源相结合。不像其他中心是基于公共卫生或类似的学术部门的学校，CRMH有机会获得众多的临床和基础研究设施和培训赠款在UTMDACC和其他机构和周围的得克萨斯州医疗中心。参加我们计划的学生将获得指导，并发展专业网络，培养对健康差异研究和科学和医学相关职业机会的研究生和研究生培训的兴趣。主要研究项目将是一项分子流行病学研究，研究遗传易感性和致突变性生物标志物在评估哈里斯县（休斯顿，贝敦）和伊达尔戈县（南德克萨斯州）移民/季节性农场工人儿童长期接触农药的暴露风险和协同效应中所起的作用。社区外联和教育工作将侧重于提高公众对癌症环境因素的认识以及少数群体参与临床试验的重要性。我们将与UTMDACC环境疾病研究中心（CRED）和国家环境健康科学研究所赞助的其他健康中心共享资源，以（1）开始幼儿园至12年级的教育计划，促进健康的饮食习惯;（2）为K-12教师开发夏季培训课程;以及（3）将CRED网站现有的材料翻译成西班牙语。我们还将与癌症信息服务和UTMDACC公共教育办公室合作，向公众，医疗保健提供者和潜在的临床试验参与者提供有关癌症治疗和预防试验的信息。我们的专业培训工作包括（1）开发一个课程，这将促进癌症和健康的差异在少数民族和医疗服务不足的研究和（2）提供经验，以少数民族学生寻求职业生涯在环境护理。学生将开始与我们的合作者在高中或大专水平的培训之一，并获得我们的合作机构，提供研究生和研究生培训的资源。此外，UTMDACC生物统计学系将与历史上的黑人大学Prairie View A & M开发一个数据管理系统，并将培训Prairie View学生为未来的研究项目维护和更新系统。试点项目包括：（1）研究基因-环境相互作用及其与拉丁美洲人群癌症的关系;（2）评估当地亚裔美国人的健康需求。这些只是该应用程序的一些独特功能。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): "Bridging the Gap: Addressing Environmental Health through Science," is presented by the Center for Research on Minority Health (CRMH), the first Congressionally-mandated center outside the nation's capital to address minority health issues. The CRMH, part of The University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center (UTMDACC), and Prairie View A & M University are in a unique position to address cancer disparities. (1) We have well-established networks in Houston's highly diverse communities, and 11 of the CRMH's 29 staff members are bilingual in either Spanish, Chinese, or Vietnamese. (2) Our mission and infrastructure were designed for the types of programs that a Project EXPORT center is expected to implement and maintain. (3) We have previous experience using a multi-disciplinary approach that successfully combines the skills of basic and clinical scientists, field epidemiologists, nurses, public health professionals, and community outreach workers with the resources of numerous educational and medical facilities and hearth coalitions. Unlike other centers that are based in schools of public health or similar academic departments, the CRMH has access to numerous clinical and basic research facilities and training grants at UTMDACC and other institutions in and around the Texas Medical Center. Students participating in our programs will receive mentoring and develop professional networks that foster interest in graduate and post-graduate training in health disparities research and related career opportunities in science and medicine. The primary research project will be a molecular epidemiology study of the roles that genetic susceptibility and mutagenicity biomarkers play in assessing exposure risks and synergistic effects of chronic pesticide exposure in children of migrant/seasonal farm workers in Harris County (Houston, Baytown) and Hidalgo County (South Texas). Community outreach and educational efforts will focus on public awareness of environmental factors in cancer and the importance of minorities' participation in clinical trials. We will share resources with the UTMDACC Center for Research on Environmental Diseases (CRED) and other health centers sponsored by the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences to (1) begin educational programs for the kindergarten-12th grade levels promoting healthy eating habits; (2) develop a curriculum for summer training programs for K-12 teachers; and (3) augment the CRED website with translations of its existing materials into Spanish. We will also work with Cancer Information Services and the UTMDACC Office of Public Education to inform the public, health care providers, and potential clinical trial participants about cancer treatment and prevention trials. Our professional training efforts include (1) developing a curriculum that will promote the study of cancer and health disparities in ethnic minorities and the medically underserved and (2) providing experience to minority students seeking a career in environmental nursing. Students will begin training with one of our collaborators at the high school or junior college level and gain access to the resources of our collaborating institutions that offer graduate and post-graduate training. Additionally, the UTMDACC Biostatistics Department will develop a data management system with Prairie View A & M, a historically black university, and will train Prairie View students to maintain and update the system for future research projects. Pilot projects include (1) a study of gene-environment interactions and their relationship to cancer in Latino populations and (2) a health needs assessment of local Asian American populations. These are but a few of the unique features of this application.