# Environmental Epidemiology in Community Settings

> **NIH NIH T32** · BOSTON UNIVERSITY MEDICAL CAMPUS · 2021 · $482,683

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY / ABSTRACT
We are applying to continue a successful interdisciplinary pre-doctoral training program focused on
Environmental Epidemiology in Community Settings (EECS program) within the Department of Environmental
Health at the Boston University School of Public Health (BUSPH). The EECS program consists of a specific
training regimen that is located within a mature doctoral program and designed to prepare pre-doctoral
students to use the most sophisticated methods available to advance the state of knowledge and develop new
methods in community-oriented environmental epidemiology. Our program has an intellectual commitment to
interdisciplinary work, built on a robust collaborative research program within BUSPH and with outside
research partners and designed to provide research training that is interdisciplinary in spirit, substance and
outcome. We will recruit four pre-doctoral trainees each year for a steady state census of ten trainees and build
on a demonstrated record of recruiting trainees from underrepresented groups. EECS trainees typically receive
support from the training grant during the first two to three years (average of 2.5 years) and then transition to
external research grants awarded either to the trainee (e.g. NIH F-series awards, EPA STAR fellowships) or to
faculty mentors (e.g. NIH R01 awards, BU Superfund Research Program). An advisor is assigned upon
entering the program to assist with selecting courses, identifying research rotations, and developing
dissertation plans. We offer a core curriculum that provides multidisciplinary training in environmental health,
epidemiology, toxicology, biostatistics, and physiology. Clusters of advanced specialty courses are tailored to
particular areas of ongoing research such as epidemiologic methods, social epidemiology, and exposure
assessment. Trainees engage in three research rotations on active projects during their first year (fall, spring,
summer), which facilitates integration into the program and refinement of research interests. Additionally, the
program provides regular opportunities for oral presentation, teaching, and proposal writing. Trainees are
required to prepare a dissertation proposal by the end of their fifth semester before scheduling their written and
oral qualifying exams. Upon passing their exams, trainees establish a dissertation committee and engage in
full-time research activities. Key enrichment activities of the training program include a weekly departmental
research seminar, a biweekly proseminar, an annual research retreat, and explicit instruction in the responsible
conduct of research. The Training Program Steering Committee (TPSC) reviews the progress of each trainee
with respect to program milestones via course grades and progress reports submitted by the trainee and
faculty mentor. The progress of the EECS program is evaluated via feedback from trainees at the end of each
semester, critical examination of successes and failures by the TPS...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10173769
- **Project number:** 5T32ES014562-15
- **Recipient organization:** BOSTON UNIVERSITY MEDICAL CAMPUS
- **Principal Investigator:** Birgit Gunhild Claus Henn
- **Activity code:** T32 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2021
- **Award amount:** $482,683
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2006-07-01 → 2022-06-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10173769

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10173769, Environmental Epidemiology in Community Settings (5T32ES014562-15). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10173769. Licensed CC0.

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