ภาควิชาวิทยาศาสตร์อนามัยสิ่งแวดล้อม
คณะสาธารณสุขศาสตร์ มหาวิทยาลัยมหิดล
การประชุมแผนยุทศาสตร์การวิจัยภาควิชา
ครั้งที่ ๑/๒๕๔๗
วันที่ ๒๑ เมษายน ๒๕๔๗ เวลา ๑๓.๐๐-๑๕.๐๐
Environmental health comprises those aspects of human health,
including quality of life, that are determined by physical, chemical,
biological, social, and psychosocial factors in the environment. It also refers
to the theory and practice of assessing, correcting, controlling, and
preventing those factors in the environment that can potentially affect
adversely the health of present and future generations
Environmental
Health Sciences at the facultyl of Public Health is
a multidisciplinary field that examines how interactions with environmental
agents affect human health. The mission of the Department of Environmental
Health Sciences includes:
- High quality
mechanism-based research focused on understanding the consequences of
exposure to environmental and occupational hazards (i.e., chemical,
physical, biological, ergonomic, psychosocial, safety) with the subsequent
translation for interventions, with a focus on high-risk populations.
- Training of
undergraduate, graduate, and post-doctoral research scientists and public
health professionals.
- Improving the
health of the public through development of markers of exposure, response,
and susceptibility.
- Translating
knowledge gained from research to professional practice and the public
health forum.
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New
Paradigm in Environmental Health Sciences
General environmental health paradigm describes the steps by which an individual is put
at risk from an environmental pollutant. The source emits the pollutant
which achieves a certain concentration in the medium (ground, water, food,
air). The exposure to which the organism is subjected is the product of
this concentration x duration of the interaction between the individual and the
pollutant. The internal dose is what is absorbed and retained. The biologically
effective dose is the amount of the pollutant which interacts with
subcellular targets. It may be considerably less than the internal dose. The early
biological effect is the alteration of some biological process
chronologically early in and fundamental to the structural integrity and normal
functional performance of an organelle, a cell, an organ, a system, the body. Altered
structure/function can be inflammation, edema, failure to secrete, modified
cellular signaling, etc. The organism can manifest susceptibility at any
of the steps; e.g., a larger internal dose of an air pollutant because of a
defective processing of the airflow into the lungs or a genetic defect limiting
anti-oxidant defenses, modifying metabolism or altering cellular signaling. And
preventive intervention consists of efforts to interrupt the process of
organismal damage due to the pollutant at some step; e.g., placing scrubbers on
smoke stacks so that exposure is reduced, wearing of masks to reduce internal
dose, use of pharmacological or nutritional agents to reduce the early
biologically effective dose or early biological effect. The development and
implementation of policies and regulations also serve as mechanisms
through which production and exposure can be reduced. This range of
interactions constitutes the dynamic that is Public Health and reflects the
interests and activities of the faculty of the Department of Environmental
Health Sciences.
The above
description is about the DPSEE Model for Environmental Health Problem Analysis
in according with the toxicological concepts.
D=Driving force ---what is the current Driving forces for
Thai environmental conditions and policies. And what it should be?
P=pressurepopulation & their economical situations
including quality of life and life styles.
S=state---indoor & embient environmental pollutant
concentration
E=exposure the conentrated pollutant for different
duration
E=Human Health Effects & Environmental Impacts
WHERE ARE THE POINTS YOU WOULD LIKE TO STUDY????? ANY EXTENT OR SCALE OF
RESEARCH WE WANT
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ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH
RESEARCH
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 PROGRAM
OBJECTIVES:
To promote the progress of the biological sciences and thereby strengthen the
Nation's scientific enterprise; to increase scientific knowledge and enhance
understanding of major problems confronting the Nation. Most of the research
supported is basic in character. The program includes support of research project
grants in the following disciplines: molecular and cellular biosciences,
integrative biology and neuroscience; environmental biology; biological
infrastructure; and plant genome research. Support is also provided for the
purchase of multi-user scientific equipment and instrument development, and
for research workshops, symposia, and conferences. In addition, awards are
made to improve the quality of doctoral dissertations in environmental
biology, animal behavior or ecological and evolutionary physiology; for
postdoctoral fellowships in biological informatics and microbial biology; and
for postdoctoral fellowships to minority scientists in all areas of research
supported by the biological sciences.
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Human Health
Studies_Applied Research and Development
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PROGRAM
OBJECTIVES:
To solicit scientific proposals designed to answer public health questions
arising from situations commonly encountered at hazardous waste sites. The
objective of this research program is to fill gaps in knowledge regarding
human health effects of hazardous substances identified during the conduct of
ATSDR's health assessments, consultations, toxicological profiles, and health
studies, including but not limited to those health conditions prioritized by
ATSDR. The ATSDR Priority Health Conditions are (in alphabetical order): (1)
Birth defects and reproductive disorders; (2) cancers (selected anatomic
sites); (3) immune function disorders; (4) kidney dysfunction; (5) Liver
Dysfunction; (6) Lung and Respiratory Diseases; and (7) neurotoxin disorders.
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Biometry and Risk
Estimation_Health Risks from Environmental Exposures
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PROGRAM
OBJECTIVES:
To conduct a broad-scale effort in biometry and risk estimation. Most of the
research conducted by the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences
(NIEHS) in statistics, biomathematics, epidemiology, and risk estimation is
directed towards estimating probable health risks of cancer, reproductive and
neurological effects, and other adverse effects from human exposures to various
environmental hazards. The major emphases are placed upon refining existing
methods for estimating human risk from data derived from studying laboratory
animals and on examining the quantitative issues involved in designing
short-term tests and interpreting the data from these tests. NIEHS grants in
support of epidemiology gather information about respiratory disease and
deaths due to air pollution, and determine better ways to estimate the degree
of human exposure to pollutants in drinking water. Small Business Innovation
Research (SBIR) program: To expand and improve the SBIR program; to increase
private sector commercialization of innovations derived from Federal research
and development; to increase small business participation in Federal research
and development; and to foster and encourage participation of socially and
economically disadvantaged small business concerns and women-owned small
business concerns in technological Innovation. Small Business Technology
Transfer (STTR) program: To stimulate and foster scientific and technological
innovation through cooperative research and development carried out between
small business concerns and research institutions; to foster technology
transfer between small business concerns and research institutions; to
increase private sector commercialization of innovations derived from Federal
research and development; and to foster and encourage participation of
socially and economically disadvantaged small business concerns and
women-owned small business concerns in technological innovation.
Environmental Health Sciences Education Program: To improve the understanding
of environmental health issues by students; and to expand career awareness in
environmental health issues by students; and to expand career awareness in
environmental health sciences research and services occupations by developing
educational materials for Grades K-12.
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Biological Response to
Environmental Health Hazards
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PROGRAM
OBJECTIVES:
To focus on understanding how chemical and physical agents cause pathological
changes in molecules, cells, tissues, and organs and become manifested as
respiratory disease, neurological, behavioral and developmental
abnormalities, cancer, and other disorders. Understanding biological
responses to environmental agents is one key to understanding the human
health effects of exposure to environmental agents, and is the cornerstone to
identifying those exposures that pose a hazard and threat of disease,
disorders and defects in humans. A first step in understanding biological
responses is identifying and characterizing those biological, chemical and
physical environmental agents that are hazardous to health. By understanding
the relationship between environmental exposures and the subsequent
development of disease or biological injury, human health may be better
protected. These studies are conducted in the hope that they will lead to the
development of effective disease prevention strategies. The National
Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) grants also support
studies of the mechanisms of toxicity of such ubiquitous agents as metals,
natural and synthetic chemicals, pesticides, and materials such as asbestos
and silica, and natural toxic substances. Specific attention is paid to the
effects of these agents on various human organ systems, on metabolism, on the
endocrine and immune systems, and on other biological functions. Small
Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program: To expand and improve the SBIR
program; to increase private sector commercialization of innovations derived
from Federal research and development; to increase small business
participation in Federal research and development; and to foster and
encourage participation of socially and economically disadvantaged small
business concerns and women-owned small business concerns in technological
innovation. Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) program: To stimulate
and foster scientific and technological innovation through cooperative
research and development carried out between small business concerns and
research h institutions; to foster technology transfer between small business
concerns and research institutions; to increase private sector
commercialization of innovations derived from Federal research and
development; and to foster and encourage participation of socially and
economically disadvantaged small business concerns and women-owned small
business concerns in technological innovation. Environmental Health Sciences
Education Program: To improve the understanding of environmental health
sciences research and services occupations by developing educational
materials and training instructors to implement the newly developed materials
for Grades K-12.
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Applied Toxicological
Research and Testing
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PROGRAM
OBJECTIVES:
To develop scientific information about potentially toxic and hazardous
chemicals by concentrating on toxicological research, testing and test
development, and validation efforts. Specific goals of the program include
the determination of the toxicological profiles of chemicals, and the
development and validation of existing and emerging methodologies that can be
successfully employed for predicting the human response to toxic agents.
Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program: To expand and improve the
SBIR program; to increase private sector commercialization of innovations
derived from Federal research and development; to increase small business
participation in Federal research and development; and to foster and
encourage participation of socially and economically disadvantaged small
business concerns and women-owned small business concerns in technological
innovation. Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) program: To stimulate
and foster scientific and technological innovation through cooperative
research and development carried out between small business concerns and
research institutions; to foster technology transfer between small business
concerns and research institutions; to increase private sector
commercialization of innovations derived from Federal research and
development; and to foster and encourage participation of socially and
economically disadvantaged small business concerns and women-owned small
business concerns in technological innovation
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Resource and Manpower
Development in the Environmental Health Sciences
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PROGRAM
OBJECTIVES:
To provide long-term stable support for broadly based multi-disciplinary
research and training on environmental health problems in Environmental
Health Sciences Centers (EHS Centers) and Marine and Freshwater Biomedical
Centers Sciences (MFBS Centers). Overall, these centers serve as national
focal points and resources for research and manpower development in health
problems related to: (1) Pollutants and chemicals of environmental concern
present in the air, water, and food; (2) occupational and industrial
neighborhood health and safety; (3) heavy metal toxicity; (4) agricultural
chemical hazards; (5) the relationships of the environment to cancer, birth defects,
behavioral anomalies, respiratory and cardiovascular diseases, and diseases
of other specific organs; (6) basic aspects of toxicity mechanisms, body
defense mechanisms, and the influence of age, nutrition, and other factors in
chemically-induced injury and disease; and (7) Developmental Center Grants,
which have been established to provide initial support for institutions
wishing to develop multi- disciplinary core centers focused on
environmentally related health problems of economically disadvantaged and/or
underserved populations. The research training program serves as a national
focus point designed to increase the pool of trained research manpower in the
Environmental Health Sciences through support of Individual and Institutional
National Research Service Awards (NRSAs).
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