# Core E: Research Experience and Training Coordination Core (RETCC)

> **NIH NIH P42** · UNIV OF NORTH CAROLINA CHAPEL HILL · 2021 · $114,719

## Abstract

ABSTRACT: RESEARCH EXPERIENCE AND TRAINING COORDINATION CORE
The Research Experience and Training Coordination Core (RETCC) supports UNC-SRP trainees with a
unique training opportunity in public health. Trainees will acquire research skills and translational training
surrounding the environmental problems associated with inorganic arsenic (iAs) contamination of groundwater
in North Carolina and exposure-related metabolic disorder/diabetes. It provides one-of-a-kind training
opportunities to understand the sources of iAs, the relation of iAs levels to geochemical factors in NC, the
impact of iAs exposure on various metabolic dysfunction phenotypes, and the role of miRNAs, obesity, gene
expression and the gut microbiome as factors that are tied to iAs-induced metabolic dysfunction. The goal of
the Research Experience and Training Coordination Core (RETCC) is to promote cross-fertilization of
knowledge across biomedical science, environmental science, and engineering disciplines through
interdisciplinary training in research translation, community engagement, and data management and
analysis. The Core will foster interdisciplinary education of and opportunities for teamwork among our trainees
through the following aims: Aim 1. Enrich professional career development and growth of UNC-SRP trainees
through professional skill development and cultivation of networking opportunities; Aim 2. Promote cohesive
approaches that connect and integrate knowledge obtained from a set of core courses with enrichment
opportunities in biomedical research, environmental sciences and engineering, and public health; Aim 3. Foster
outreach opportunities for trainees to hone skills in community engagement and research translation; Aim 4.
Coordinate opportunities for trainees to obtain skills in 21st century data analysis methods through partnership
with the data management and analysis core (DMAC). The RETCC activities directly relate to training that is
relevant to the UNC-SRP theme “Identifying novel methods to reduce iAs exposure and elucidating
mechanisms underlying iAs-induced metabolic dysfunction with a vision for disease prevention.” It does so by
providing critical courses and training opportunities to understand the role of iAs exposure in the environment
as a diabetogen in the context of both environmental sciences and biomedical sciences.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10112262
- **Project number:** 5P42ES031007-02
- **Recipient organization:** UNIV OF NORTH CAROLINA CHAPEL HILL
- **Principal Investigator:** Jacqueline MacDonald Gibson
- **Activity code:** P42 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2021
- **Award amount:** $114,719
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2020-02-20 → 2025-01-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10112262

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10112262, Core E: Research Experience and Training Coordination Core (RETCC) (5P42ES031007-02). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-22 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10112262. Licensed CC0.

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