# Molecular Epidemiology in Children's Environmental Health Training Program (MECEH)

> **NIH NIH T32** · UNIVERSITY OF CINCINNATI · 2024 · $429,756

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY / ABSTRACT
The Molecular Epidemiology in Children’s Environmental Health (MECEH) Training Program began July, 2001
and is in its 20th training year. MECEH is defined as the use of biological, molecular and biostatistical
measures in epidemiological research to determine how environmental exposures impact children’s health at
the physiologic, behavioral, cellular, and molecular levels. The marriage of epidemiology, medicine, statistical
genetics, molecular biology, molecular genetics, and molecular epidemiology serves as an umbrella for
focused research in environmental epidemiology, biomarkers and genetics. MECEH has four participating
departments/programs: Environmental and Public Health Sciences, Pediatrics, psychiatry and behavioral
neuroscience, and the Cincinnati Medical Scientist Training Program. MECEH has had a continuous full
enrollment with 27 Predoctoral and 53 Postdoctoral Fellows, including 39 MD/DO fellows. Trainees have made
great professional strides with national presentations, numerous publications, grant submissions and obtaining
academic, government and industrial research positions. This application requests support for 4 predoctoral
and 6 postdoctoral positions each year for 2022-2027, to maintain its current size.
The MECEH Training Program’s long-term objective is to continue to increase the number of cross-trained
epidemiologists, physician-scientists, biostatisticians, and molecular biologists who investigate high impact
issues related to environmental exposures and complex childhood diseases. The overarching rationale for this
program is that training in molecular epidemiology is not only vital to our understanding of the origin of complex
disease by providing clues regarding specific mechanisms, molecules and genes that influence risk but also
provides a framework for interdisciplinary training for a new generation of pediatric researchers to perform this
work. Thus, the MECEH Training Program has three primary goals: 1) provide a strong grounding in
epidemiologic, biostatistical, and molecular methods; 2) prepare students for interdisciplinary research and
“enhance clinical research workforce training,” as stated in the NIH roadmap; 3) expand growth areas for
epidemiological training in epigenomics/’omics’ and community based participatory research; and 4) provide
career development programming to promote career success and sustainability. These goals are achieved
through the recruitment of high quality applicants, including underrepresented minorities, leadership and
mentorship by a core of nationally- and internationally- renowned scientists, support by research-intensive
departments; well-funded scientific programs and centers; and advise from a distinguished and enthusiastic
External Advisory Board.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10849784
- **Project number:** 5T32ES010957-23
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF CINCINNATI
- **Principal Investigator:** Kelly J Brunst
- **Activity code:** T32 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2024
- **Award amount:** $429,756
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2001-08-15 → 2027-06-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10849784

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10849784, Molecular Epidemiology in Children's Environmental Health Training Program (MECEH) (5T32ES010957-23). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10849784. Licensed CC0.

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