Please contact Michelle Daoud at Lowdenm@umich.edu for items you would like
included in our M-LEEaD Newsletter
The Michigan Lifestage Environmental Exposures and Disease (M-LEEaD) Center announces support to initiate new research projects or to extend existing projects that aim to define, explain, or mitigate impacts of environmental exposures during vulnerable stages of life. Projects that aim to include, develop, or expand research-community partnerships are encouraged. Additional information about the M-LEEaD Center and this Pilot Project Program can be found on the Center’s website (http://mleead.umich.edu/).
Traditional Pilot Project Grant: Pilot Project Grants must foster one of these funding objectives:
• Provide initial support in environmental health sciences for early investigators (less than 10 years beyond most recent terminal degree);
• Allow exploration of innovative directions representing a significant departure from ongoing funded research for established investigators in environmental health sciences;
• Stimulate investigators from other areas of endeavor to apply their expertise to environmental health research and environmental medicine;
• Work with the Center’s Community Engagement Core (CEC) to establish new collaborations with community partners for projects on environmental exposures and disease, especially projects responsive to priorities identified by the CEC and the Stakeholder Advisory;
• Accelerate translation of novel laboratory discoveries to clinical applications, e.g., by identifying novel therapeutic targets, improving clinical diagnosis, or improving management of human disease linked to environmental exposures (offered in collaboration with MICHR);
• Expanding the concept of translational research within Environmental Health Sciences using the NIEHS definition of translational research, https://www.niehs.nih.gov/research/programs/translational/framework-details/index.cfm.
The M-LEEaD Center’s Community Engagement Core (CEC) facilitates multi-directional engagement of researchers and stakeholders. Investigators interested in working with research-community partnerships must consult with the CEC Leader Dr. Amy Schulz, amy@schulz.com and Coordinator Kristina Rice, klrice@umich.edu.
Funding Period: May 1, 2020 – March 31, 2021
Budgets should be prepared with a start date of May 1, 2020 and an end date of March 31, 2021. Awarded funds must be spent by March 31, 2021.
Eligibility: Any member of the University of Michigan Faculty (tenure-track, clinical-track or research-track) is eligible to apply as Principle Investigator (PI). A proposal should have only a single PI.
Amount: We estimate that 3-4 awards will be made of $25,000-$35,000 each. To qualify for the $30,000 award, at least $5,000 of the funds must utilize services of one or more of the M-LEEaD Facility Cores. A special supplement of $5,000 is available for projects specifically to incorporate plans for community engagement or translation in collaboration with our Community Engagement Core (CEC).
Deadlines: Letter of Intent: January 10, 2020 Final application: February 21, 2020
The PBB to PFAS Symposium provides a unique venue for fostering collaboration between researchers and community members. The symposium will be held in Ann Arbor at the University of Michigan on Thursday, February 20, 2020.
Please consider participating in this symposium by submitting an abstract to present a poster!
We encourage submissions by community members, non-profit organizations, government agencies, students (middle, high school, college, and graduate), and researchers. Accepted abstracts must have one presenter available for the symposium poster presentation on the day of the event.
Abstracts related to large scale chemical contaminations affecting Michigan (e.g., PBB, PFAS, lead) will be considered. Potential topics include: research on health or economic impacts or large-scale contaminants relevant to Michigan (need not be limited to Michigan-based studies); strategies for cleaning up or mitigating adverse health effects; strategies for community advocacy; community views or experiences on health or economic impacts; community actions and results; community science related to impacts; mitigation or prevention of future contaminations; and preparation of the next generation of scientists, activists and decision makers who will be engaged with environmental health.
Abstracts should be no more than one paragraph (250-300 words) and should include the following information:
Title
Names and affiliations of authors/contributors
Brief description of topic, background, methods, (and where relevant) results
Implications for science and/or action to address environmental health concerns
The PBB to PFAS symposium is organized by: The University of Michigan M-LEEaD Center, Emory University’s HERCULES Center, and Central Michigan University. Additional support provided by: the Graham Sustainability Institute, and We the People of Detroit.
NIH released a Draft NIH Policy for Data Management and Sharing and supplemental draft guidance for public comment. The purpose of this draft policy and supplemental draft guidance is to promote effective and efficient data management and sharing that furthers NIH’s commitment to making the results and accomplishments of the research it funds and conducts available to the public. Complete information about the draft Policy and draft supplemental guidance can be found on the NIH OSP website.
Stakeholder feedback is essential to ensure that any future policy maximizes responsible data sharing, minimizes burden on researchers, and protects the privacy of research participants. Stakeholders are invited to comment on any aspect of the draft policy, the supplemental draft guidance, or any other considerations relevant to NIH’s data management and sharing policy efforts that NIH should consider.
To facilitate commenting, NIH has established a web portal that can be accessed here. To ensure consideration, comments must be received no later than January 10, 2020.
Questions may be sent to SciencePolicy@mail.nih.gov.
12/03/2019- 12:00 PM - 1:00 PM - Room SPH1 3755, School of Public Health
Ivo Dinov, PhD Professor of Computational Medicine and Bioinformatics
Professor of Nursing, University of Michigan
"SOCR DataSifter: A statistical technique to protect research participant privacy while enabling data sharing"
Integrated Health Sciences Core Contact Meredith McGehee, mcgehee@umich.edu, for more information
12/06/2019- 2:00 PM - 3:00 PM - Room SPH1 3755, School of Public Health
Elaine Faustman, PhD Professor of Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences
Adjunct Professor of Public Policy & Governance
University of Washington
“Lessons Learned for Developing an 'Exposome' for Children’s Cohort Studies: Challenges and Successes in Applying new Methods for Assessment, Integration, and Analytics”
Admin Core Seminar Series
Contact Michelle Daoud, lowdenm@umich.edu, for more information
1/30/2020- 12:05 PM - 1:00 PM -Room SPH1 A1655, School of Public Health
Stephania Cormier, PhD Wiener Chair and Professor of Biological Sciences, Louisiana State University
Director, LSU Superfund Research Program Professor of Comparative Biomedical Sciences, LSU School of Veterinary Medicine
Honorary Professor Child Health Research Centre, University of Queensland, Australia
Contact Michelle Daoud, lowdenm@umich.edu, for more information
02/05/2020 - 12:00 PM - 1:00 PM - Room SPH1 3755, School of Public Health
Kenneth Korach, PhD Senior Investigator
Reproductive & Developmental Biology Laboratory / Receptor Biology Group
NIEHS Contact Michelle Daoud, lowdenm@umich.edu, for more information
Save the Date: 02/20/2020 - 9:00 AM — 4:00 PM
From PBB to PFAS: Research and Action to Address Michigan’s Large-scale Chemical Contaminations A symposium featuring Linda Birnbaum, PhD Former Director of NIEHS Contact Kristina Rice, klrice@umich.edu, for more information
The Health Effects Institute will be holding its Annual Conference on the health effects of air pollution inBoston, MA from April 5-7, 2020. The audience of this conference is a mix of basic scientists, epidemiologists, bio-statisticians, exposure assessment experts and engineers as well as policy staff from the U.S. EPA and other federal and state agencies. The conference program leaves time for networking and discussions.
They are pleased to announce that they will be funding up to six Travel Awards for graduate students and postdoctoral scholars to present their research at the conference and invite eligible candidates to submit their abstracts by January 15, 2020. This year, up to three awards will be granted to applicants from institutions in North America or Europe, but outside of Greater Boston, covering registration fees and all travel expenses. Information regarding eligibility and selection criteria can be found here.
The 12th Gordon Research Conference on Environmental Endocrine Disruptors will be held at the Jordan Hotel and Conference Center at Sunday River in Newry, Maine on May 31 to June 5, 2020. This 2020 edition of the GRC will be framed around five major themes to provide a comprehensive overview of the latest advances in environmental endocrine disruptor research from leading scientists, rising stars, and selected trainee presentations.
The conference will cover the latest evidence for the effects of environmental endocrine disruptors: (1) on marine and terrestrial environments; (2) human populations; (3) underlying mechanisms of action, including at low-doses; (4) from emerging exposures, nonclassical environmental endocrine disruptors, and safer alternatives. The Fifth theme will be an emphasis on social, political, and cultural determinants of risk assessment at the level of the individual, society and government.
Dr. Vasantha Padmanabhan will be a discussion leader for the Evidence for and Mechanisms of EDC-Induced Reproductive Toxicity session.
Date: May 31 - June 5, 2020 Location: Jordan Hotel at Sunday River Resort, Newry, Maine
New paper by M-LEEaD IHSC and CEC team members: Trish Koman, Marie O’Neill, Amy Schulz,and Natalie Sampson identified Michigan's densely populated urban areas are especially vulnerable to heat stress. Paper and additional authors can be found here, https://authors.elsevier.com/a/1ZxK-4pqpjfE6u.
Dana Dolinoy received the MICHR Distinguished Clinical and Translational Research Mentor Award. This Mentor Award was established to recognize and celebrate the efforts and accomplishments of faculty who demonstrate consistent, high quality mentoring in areas of clinical and translational research. We believe the successful mentor serves as advisor, teacher, advocate, sponsor, colleague, and collaborator. Successful mentors are also scholars with a demonstrated commitment to fostering the intellectual, creative, and professional growth of their students, fellows, and trainees. Nominated by: Luke Montrose, Shaun D. McCullough, PhD, John Meeker, Kari Sant, and Kari Neier.
Congratulations to Elana Elkin, PhD, for receiving the the Karen Wetterhahn Memorial Award!
Presented on November 19th at the 2019 SRP Annual Meeting in Seattle, Washington, the award honors a graduate or postdoctoral researcher demonstrating scientific excellence. Elkin is a postdoctoral researcher working under Rita Loch-Caruso, PhD, and has contributed to M-LEEaD pilot projects. Her research examines how exposure to environmental contaminants may affect placental development and function, a common precursor to adverse birth outcomes such as preterm birth.
Childebayeva A, Harman T, Weinstein J, Goodrich JM, Dolinoy DC, Day TA, Bigham
AW, Brutsaert TD. DNA Methylation Changes Are Associated With an Incremental
Ascent to High Altitude. Front Genet. 2019 Oct 29;10:1062. doi:
10.3389/fgene.2019.01062. eCollection 2019. PubMed PMID: 31737045; PubMed Central
PMCID: PMC6828981.
Fuller CH, Appleton AA, Bulsara PJ, O'Neill MS, Chang HH, Sarnat JA, Falcón
LM, Tucker KL, Brugge D. Sex differences in the interaction of short-term
particulate matter exposure and psychosocial stressors on C-reactive protein in a
Puerto Rican cohort. SSM Popul Health. 2019 Oct 13;9:100500. doi:
10.1016/j.ssmph.2019.100500. eCollection 2019 Dec. PubMed PMID: 31709298; PubMed
Central PMCID: PMC6831870.
Jiang Y, Zhang H, Andrews SV, Arshad H, Ewart S, Holloway JW, Fallin MD, Bakulski KM, Karmaus W. Estimation of Eosinophil Cells in Cord Blood with
References Based on Blood in Adults via Bayesian Measurement Error Modeling.
Bioinformatics. 2019 Nov 9. pii: btz839. doi: 10.1093/bioinformatics/btz839.
[Epub ahead of print] PubMed PMID: 31710672.
Koman PD, Romo F, Swinton P, Mentz GB, de Majo RF, Sampson NR, Battaglia MJ,
Hill-Knott K, Williams GO, O'Neill MS, Schulz AJ. MI-Environment: Geospatial
patterns and inequality of relative heat stress vulnerability in Michigan. Health
Place. 2019 Oct 22;60:102228. doi: 10.1016/j.healthplace.2019.102228. [Epub ahead
of print] PubMed PMID: 31654921.
Wu Y, Goodrich JM, Dolinoy DC, Sánchez BN, Ruiz-Narváez EA, Banker M, Cantoral
A, Mercado-Garcia A, Téllez-Rojo MM, Peterson KE. Accelerometer-measured Physical
Activity, Reproductive Hormones, and DNA Methylation. Med Sci Sports Exerc. 2019
Oct 23. doi: 10.1249/MSS.0000000000002175. [Epub ahead of print] PubMed PMID:
31652236.
Click here for a PDF with useful information about NIH Public Access Policy regarding citing the center grant.
Per NIH grants policy, all publications, press releases, and other documents relevant to research funded by the center must include a specific acknowledgement of support. For the EHS Core Center, this statement may read:
“Support for this research was provided by grant P30ES017885 from the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, National Institutes of Health. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health.”
