Charlottesville, VA, Jan. 23, 2007 -- A group of 10 scientists will help increase public awareness and understanding of environmental health science as part of a new program that aims to publish and promote new research findings to a general audience. Each will receive a $5,000 stipend for their yearlong appointment to the Science Communication Fellows Program.
Starting in February, the first ever Science Communication Fellows, sponsored by the non-profit organization Environmental Health Sciences (EHS), will assist in identifying important new research findings about environment and health that are just published or about to be published in peer-reviewed journals. The Fellows will help translate the findings so they are more accessible to working reporters and a broader public.
New findings emerge daily that, during the past two decades, have led to significant changes in how environmental health is studied and clinically practiced. Most of the public and many journalists are unaware of how profoundly this research domain has evolved and haven't yet developed a thorough understanding of the significance and implications of new results for human and planetary health.
The program was developed to address these concerns by alerting journalists and the public to new findings. The Fellows will work closely with writing staff at EHS, publisher of Environmental Health News (environmentalhealthnews.org), to produce original and easy to understand articles about important and innovative research. Distribution will vary depending upon each finding's substance and significance.
The 12-month experience will allow the Fellows to gain experience working at the interface between science and journalism. This innovative training program is the first of its kind and is meant to address the large gap that exists between current frontiers of environmental health science and public understanding of the discipline.
Unique to the program is using scientists to find and put into context important new research findings. A selection committee of seven prominent scientists chose the group from a pool of applicants.
"Those researchers who have gone through the rigorous process of reviewing literature and writing peer review papers are the ones who will have a good understanding of their respective fields and will probably be in a better position to evaluate whether the research finding is an important piece of breaking news," said Shuk-mei Ho, a member of the Fellows Selection Committee, who heads the Department of Environmental Health at the University of Cincinnati.
The 2007 Fellows include senior postdoctoral fellows and junior faculty who represent a wide range of interests, experience, and universities. The well-rounded and already accomplished scientists work on topics as diverse as green chemistry, pediatric medicine, wildlife biology, women's health, developmental biology, and immunology. Additionally, their enthusiasm for public education and their collective skills as educators, writers, and lecturers bring specific and necessary skills to the program.
"The group is very impressive and the program will offer a fantastic learning experience for them," said Shanna Swan, director for the Center for Reproductive Epidemiology at the University of Rochester and a member of the selection committee.
Members of the selection Committee are: Lynn R. Goldman, Johns Hopkins University; Louis J. Guillette, Jr., University of Florida-Gainesville; Patricia A. Hunt, Washington State University; Richard J. Jackson, University of California-Berkeley; Shuk-mei Ho, University of Cincinnati; Shanna H. Swan, University of Rochester; and Frederick vom Saal, University of Missouri-Columbia.
The first Science Communication Fellows selected are:
- Sara Ahlgren, Assistant Professor, Northwestern University, is a developmental biologist studying the interaction between genes and environment, especially how toxic substances alter genetic pathways leading to birth defects.
- Abby D. Benninghoff, Postdoctoral Fellow, Oregon State University, uses her background in marine science and biochemical toxicology to understand how pollutants can interfere with crucial chemical signaling messages in cells to disrupt normal endocrine activity at the gene level in wildlife and humans.
- Michael T. Borchers, Assistant Professor, University of Cincinnati and a National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences Outstanding Scientist, is interested in how high and low level exposure to air pollution may trigger immune responses to cause and/or worsen asthma, cystic fibrosis, and other respiratory diseases in people.
- Arani Chanda, Doctoral Candidate, Carnegie Mellon University, uses innovative green chemistry principles to design novel oxidation catalysts as models for studying how oxidative enzymes behave at the chemical level and has successfully used the designed catalysts to remove smell, color, and organic pollutants from wastewater.
- Michael D. Laiosa, Postdoctoral Fellow, University of Rochester, combines his training in immunology and biochemistry to investigate how toxic agents, such as dioxin, PAHs, and metals, interfere with development and signaling of the immune system and trigger autoimmune diseases.
- Maricel Maffini, Research Assistant Professor, Tufts University, applies cell biology research methods to discern the role of environmental chemicals in breast cancer as well as their hormonal activity and reproductive toxicity.
- Susan Nagel, Assistant Professor, University of Missouri-Columbia, is a reproductive biologist specializing in estrogenic actions, both the role of natural estrogen hormones in development, reproduction, and disease as well as effects of synthetic estrogenic chemicals, such as bisphenol A and diethylstilbestrol, on human and animal development.
- Ed Orlando, Assistant Professor, Florida Atlantic University, uses endocrinology and toxicology approaches to understand environment -genome interactions and their effects on reproduction and development in fishes.
- Sheela Sathyanarayana, MD, Pediatric Environmental Health Fellow, University of Washington, is a pediatrician with a special interest in human risk, public health, and policy whose research focuses on the effects of prenatal and early childhood exposures to environmental chemicals, such as phthalates and bisphenol A.
- Richard W. Stahlhut, MD, Preventive Medicine Resident, University of Rochester, combines his training in statistics and public health to explore links between human exposures and health, most recently examining the potential metabolic effects of phthalate exposure in men.
Science Communication Network, 202.463.6670
Pete Myers, Environmental Health Sciences, 434.220.0348
The sponsor of this new fellowship program is Environmental Health Sciences (EHS), publisher of the daily news service EnvironmentalHealthNews.org. EHS is a non-profit organization that promotes public understanding of links between environmental factors and human health. EHS is based in Charlottesville, Virginia. The Science Communication Fellows program is funded by a grant from the Kendeda Fund.
For more information, please contact Amy Kostant, Science Communication Network or Pete Myers, PhD, Senior Scientist, Environmental Health Sciences at 434.220.0348 or by e-mail at sciencefellows@environmentalhealthnews.org.