# Research Experience & Training Coordination Core

> **NIH NIH P42** · UNIVERSITY OF IOWA · 2021 · $68,439

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY: Research Experience and Training Coordination Core
The 20th century brought the chemical revolution and the steady increase of large-scale production of
chemicals. Only later did the problem of environmental persistence of some of these new and useful chemicals
become evident, and only recently did we discover the magnitude of the negative health effects caused by
these pollutants, including brain diseases and metabolic syndrome, cancer, fertility problems, reduced immune
system function, and even hearing loss and autism. Moreover, these pollutants may volatilize and contaminate
indoor and outdoor air. Environmental health and engineering professionals must now deal with these legacy
contaminants in multiple dimensions to protect humans and the environment, and to prevent future
contamination. As a consequence, the traditional training approach designed to produce specialized experts in
individual, narrow disciplines is clearly inappropriate to prepare trainees for leadership roles in environmental
health and technology. Instead, future scientists and engineers need thorough training in their specific fields,
supported by basic knowledge of diverse areas (socioeconomics, policy, engineering, and science), along with
communication and collaboration skills to work with specialists in other disciplines and with varied stakeholders
and affected communities. To properly prepare students and post-docs, the Iowa Superfund Research
Program (ISRP) Research Experience and Training Coordination Core (RETCC) will: 1) identify, promote,
evaluate, and track interdisciplinary training approaches; 2) coordinate training in ISRP methods and
applications; 3) develop opportunities for trainee participation in the ISRP Community Engagement Core and in
research translation activities; 4) interact with the ISRP Data Management and Analysis Core to provide
training in data management, analysis, and data sharing; and 5) offer opportunities for professional career
development. In the last funding circle (April 2015–November 2018), 48 graduate students and postdocs (24
ongoing) obtained such training. To build on this success, we are creating and coordinating a unique set of
courses, seminars, workshops, community outreach, and research translation experiences, so all ISRP
trainees can gain insights into health effects, risk, detection, and remediation of polychlorinated biphenyls
(PCBs), the needs of stakeholders and affected communities, and how to build a successful career. ISRP
researchers make this possible through established, successful, supportive collaborations with colleagues
representing diverse areas such as toxicology, occupational and environmental health, medicinal
pharmacology, environmental and medical engineering, and urban and regional planning, along with
extraordinary support from the University of Iowa Graduate College. The RETCC’s unique resources will
ensure its future success of preparing a new generation of scientists and enginee...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10135990
- **Project number:** 5P42ES013661-16
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF IOWA
- **Principal Investigator:** Gabriele Ludewig
- **Activity code:** P42 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2021
- **Award amount:** $68,439
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2006-05-12 → —

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10135990

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10135990, Research Experience & Training Coordination Core (5P42ES013661-16). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-22 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10135990. Licensed CC0.

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