# Community Engagement Core (CEC)

> **NIH NIH P42** · DUKE UNIVERSITY · 2022 · $122,297

## Abstract

Abstract
Supporting the aim articulated in NIEHS’s 2018-2023 strategic plan to “recognize and seek to address the
disparate health impacts of environmental hazards on disadvantaged and diverse communities,” and the focus
of the Duke University Superfund Research Center (DUSRC) on neurodevelopmental health impacts of early-
life co-exposures to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and metals, the Community Engagement Core
(CEC) will engage with low socioeconomic status communities of color in Durham and Navassa, NC,
experiencing disproportionate exposure due to geographic proximity to hazardous sites and exacerbated health
risks from exposures due to social determinants of health1–10. The CEC’s holistic, three-tiered approach to
prevention and intervention is based on the environmental health literacy framework11–14, generating awareness
of, and promoting self-efficacy to reduce early life exposure to PAHs and metals by generating solutions at
the individual, community, and policy levels. Co-produced in collaboration with our extensive network of our
community partner organizations in the two geographic areas, and in accordance with their expressed interests
and needs, the proposed CEC initiatives will facilitate bidirectional communication between affected communities
and Center researchers and trainees, other SRPs and local, state and federal agencies. The first initiative will
promote individual awareness and self-efficacy to reduce exposure among pregnant women and
children in Durham, NC, through report-back and bidirectional communication. In collaboration with
Project 1 and the Administrative and Research Translation Core (ARTC) and Data Management and Analysis
Core (DMAC), the CEC will apply best practices in risk communication and employ effective report-back and
bidirectional communication strategies to develop accessible, culturally appropriate communication tools that
promote informed decision-making and empower individual participants to take action to reduce exposures.
Secondly, the CEC will foster community level awareness of and the capacity to investigate and reduce
exposures through Environmental Health Academies, co-developed and implemented with partner
organizations in Durham and Navassa. The content of these Academies will be developed based on community
interests and concerns and in conjunction with our community partners, DUSRC researchers and trainees from
Projects 1, 4, and 5 and the Analytical Chemistry Core (ACC), DMAC, and Research Experience and Training
Coordination Core (RETCC), as well as relevant local, state, and federal agency stakeholders. Lastly, we will
build the capacity of affected communities to assess and utilize environmental health data to promote
more effective and inclusive policies aimed at reducing exposure. In conjunction with our community partner
organizations in Durham and Navassa, the CEC will collaborate with the ARTC, RETCC, and DMAC to
synthesize and report aggregate results of DUSRC resea...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10353159
- **Project number:** 2P42ES010356-20
- **Recipient organization:** DUKE UNIVERSITY
- **Principal Investigator:** Elizabeth Shapiro
- **Activity code:** P42 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2022
- **Award amount:** $122,297
- **Award type:** 2
- **Project period:** 2000-06-01 → 2027-06-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10353159

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10353159, Community Engagement Core (CEC) (2P42ES010356-20). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10353159. Licensed CC0.

---

*[NIH grants dataset](/datasets/nih-grants) · CC0 1.0*