May 1, 2006
New IU School of Medicine Center Will Probe Environmental Links to Human Disease
INDIANAPOLIS — The ties between the environment and health -- and how better understanding of those ties can improve Hoosiers' quality of life -- is the focus of scientists at a new Center for Environmental Health at the Indiana University School of Medicine.
"The Center for Environmental Health will focus on the human health effects of the environment, which influences the initiation and progression of many chronic diseases such as cancer, neurodegenerative diseases, heart disease, asthma and diabetes," said the director of the new center, James E. Klaunig, Ph.D., Robert B. Forney Professor of Toxicology and professor of pharmacology and toxicology at the IU School of Medicine. An expert in environmental toxicology and carcinogenesis, Dr. Klaunig has also served as the State Toxicologist for Indiana.
The center will tackle the health impact of such traditional environmental concerns as air, soil, and water pollution, but environmental health science also includes the impact on human health of lifestyle and personal decisions such as smoking and diet, Dr. Klaunig said. All of the environmental factors, in turn, interact with the genetic makeup of individuals that make them more or less susceptible to disease.
The result is important area of research that will draw on the expertise of scientists and physicians at the IU School of Medicine as well as faculty in the School of Science on the campus of IUPUI. The multidisciplinary center also will focus on taking the findings of laboratory scientists and translating them into treatments that improve patient care and health, he said.
"There are some well-defined environmental-related health effects that impact Hoosiers," Dr. Klaunig said. Disease arising from these factors impacts quality of life and hurts the economy, offering the opportunity for the center to provide consultation with policymakers and outreach to communities.
The center's home will be in the Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, but most researchers affiliated with the center will remain with their existing departments and laboratory locations. Initial research emphasis of the center will take advantage of the existing strengths at the university in cancer research and children's health to investigate the impact of environmental factors on cancer development and childhood diseases. New faculty will be recruited to provide expertise in such fields as epidemiology, environmental toxicology, environmental health, and genetic susceptibility.
Such centers provide scientists with varying backgrounds and expertise better opportunities to collaborate. Moreover, Dr. Klaunig noted, agencies that provide research funding such as the National Institutes of Health increasingly want to see multidisciplinary approaches when they are evaluating grant proposals.
The center will also result in improved educational opportunities in environmental health, from undergraduates at IUPUI to medical and other professional students at the Indianapolis campus, he said.
Scientists participating in the center are affiliated with such departments as pediatrics, biochemistry and molecular biology, pharmacology, public health, medicine, geology and the School of Public and Environmental Affairs.
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Media Contact:
Eric Schoch
(317) 274-7722
eschoch@iupui.edu