Philadelphia Regional Center for Children's Environmental Health

NIH RePORTER · NIH · P2C · $580,295 · view on reporter.nih.gov ↗

Abstract

The Translation Core is directed by Dr. Marilyn Howarth and Co-directed by Dr. Tyra Bryant-Stephens and aims to provide expertise in children's environmental health (CEH) by enhancing the awareness of clinicians and facilitating connections to children's environmental health resources. We will work with CHOP researchers Lisa Biggs and Alexander Fiks to incorporate environmental health screening questions into the EMR and link the responses with practical resources (Prescriptions for Prevention) through their Possibilities Project. CHOP toxicologist Dr. Kevin Osterhoudt will design a lead poisoning toolkit and lead chelation and environmental health telehealth resource for regional clinicians. The Translational Core also aims to accelerate the reach of CEH knowledge to children and parents through teachers in the Philadelphia region by helping them build curricula on CEH topics. We will create a webinar series for childcare providers on CEH topics. The Translational Core will engage vulnerable populations in the Philadelphia Region to disseminate and implement proven environmental health translational programs such as the Community Asthma Prevention Program that will be replicated in Chester, PA by CHOP Pulmonologist Dr. Tyra Bryant Stephens. Dr. Marilyn Howarth plans to engage with Clean Water Action to enhance home lead evaluations to include water testing for lead through an existing inspection process through the Energy Coordinating Agency and the Region 3 Pediatric Environmental Health Specialty Unit to engage refugee populations around lead exposure. The Translation Core will provide assistance to regulators, legislators and community groups by bringing science to enhance policy development. Two examples of policy improvements would be the establishment of lead safe certification for all childcare facilities in the state and the addition of science guidance to the risk assessment of air toxics currently underway at Philadelphia Air Management. Dr. Marilyn Howarth will work with community partners and provide research and data to support these initiatives. The Translational Core aims to apply children's environmental health science to address health issues that can be applied to other regions by engaging with the Philadelphia Healthy Schools Initiative to use a risk assessment approach to the prioritization of asbestos removal in schools, communicating risk to parents, teachers and staff using a science-based approach. We also plan to engage adolescents in programming that will teach them about endocrine disrupting chemicals and their health effects. We will support pilot projects that will test, implement, adapt and evaluate new CEH research translation products and incorporate them into existing or new programs. We will engage new researchers in children's environmental health translational techniques in regulatory, legislative and community settings to enhance their skills in engaging with these important translational audiences.

Key facts

NIH application ID
10745661
Project number
5P2CES033428-03
Recipient
UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA
Principal Investigator
Marilyn Howarth
Activity code
P2C
Funding institute
NIH
Fiscal year
2024
Award amount
$580,295
Award type
5
Project period
2021-12-06 → 2026-11-30