# Community Engagement Core (CEC)

> **NIH NIH P30** · UNIV OF NORTH CAROLINA CHAPEL HILL · 2024 · $233,250

## Abstract

ABSTRACT
The Community Engagement Core (CEC) supports the theme of the UNC Center for Environmental Health and
Susceptibility (CEHS), translating interdisciplinary research on environmental health susceptibility to
improve public health in North Carolina. The work of the Community Engagement Core (CEC) in the UNC-
Chapel Hill Center for Environmental Health and Susceptibility (CEHS) is grounded in the Center's research foci,
and the CEC's reach extends broadly across the state and deeply into North Carolina's communities of public
health and education professionals. The CEC prioritizes partnering with public health professionals and
educators who engage our state's most vulnerable populations, such as minority and low-income populations,
because these populations tend to be more at-risk of the adverse health outcomes being studied in CEHS and
tend to have more serious health outcomes. The goal of the CEC is to enhance public understanding of
environmental health sciences research and foster environmental health literacy among public health
professionals and secondary science and health teachers, raising awareness of environmental health issues
and facilitating informed decision making that reduces harmful environmental exposures in homes and
communities. We accomplish this goal through four aims: (1) To foster dialogue among CEHS members and
community partners to inform development of environmental health sciences research that is responsive to
community concerns; (2) To enhance the capacity of public health practitioners to engage vulnerable populations
and other residents on locally relevant environmental health issues using a train-the-trainer approach; (3) To
enhance the capacity of secondary science and health educators to engage adolescents in meaningful and
socially contextualized education by facilitating incorporation of cutting-edge research into instruction; and (4)
To facilitate development of science communication skills among CEHS investigators and trainees. The CEC is
a vital element of the CEHS as it connects CEHS investigators with community partners, facilitating
multidirectional communication and ensuring broad relevance to the State, both of which are critical to
meeting the translational goals of the CEHS.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10798347
- **Project number:** 5P30ES010126-23
- **Recipient organization:** UNIV OF NORTH CAROLINA CHAPEL HILL
- **Principal Investigator:** Kathleen M Gray
- **Activity code:** P30 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2024
- **Award amount:** $233,250
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2001-06-01 → 2026-02-28

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10798347

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10798347, Community Engagement Core (CEC) (5P30ES010126-23). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-24 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10798347. Licensed CC0.

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