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| - Overview
- Core Director and members
- Key Words
- Research Progress
The Gene-Environment Interaction and Disease Prevention Research Core fosters the development and validation of biomarkers for exposure, effect, and susceptibility in experimental and human investigations. These tools are applied in studies of disease etiology and evaluation of preventive interventions in at-risk populations. Investigating the etiology of many diseases of current interest has also proved challenging for conventional epidemiologic approaches. The temporal sequence of causation may be particularly difficult to investigate. In some diseases, such as cancer, multiple etiological agents act at different points during a multi-stage progression from the earliest stages to diagnosis. Further, intrinsic susceptibility factors may greatly affect individual risk and the time course of disease development. Extensive research on biomarkers linking exposure and susceptibility to risk of disease is now in progress. Validation of biomarkers requires studies in both experimental systems and in exposed human populations. This need forms the basis of a number of collaborations between members of the Gene-Environment Interaction and Disease Prevention Research Core and other Research Cores of the Center. The major goal of the Gene-Environment Interaction and Disease Prevention Research Core is to bridge and complement the disciplines of epidemiology, toxicology, and exposure assessment in order to develop tools for identifying individuals at-risk for the development of disease. It is the ultimate objective of the Core investigators to translate their scientific findings into prevention strategies in community settings, especially in urban populations. The Gene-Environment Interaction and Disease Prevention Research Core fosters the development and validation of biomarkers for exposure, effect, and susceptibility in experimental and human investigations. These tools are applied in studies of disease etiology and evaluation of preventive interventions in at-risk populations. Investigating the etiology of many diseases of current interest has also proved challenging for conventional epidemiologic approaches. The temporal sequence of causation may be particularly difficult to investigate. In some diseases, such as cancer, multiple etiological agents act at different points during a multi-stage progression from the earliest stages to diagnosis. Further, intrinsic susceptibility factors may greatly affect individual risk and the time course of disease development. Extensive research on biomarkers linking exposure and susceptibility to risk of disease is now in progress. Validation of biomarkers requires studies in both experimental systems and in exposed human populations. This need forms the basis of a number of collaborations between members of the Gene-Environment Interaction and Disease Prevention Research Core and other Research Cores of the Center. The major goal of the Gene-Environment Interaction and Disease Prevention Research Core is to bridge and complement the disciplines of epidemiology, toxicology, and exposure assessment in order to develop tools for identifying individuals at-risk for the development of disease. It is the ultimate objective of the Core investigators to translate their scientific findings into prevention strategies in community settings, especially in urban populations.
Dr. Paul Strickland, Co-Director and Professor
Department of Environmental Health Sciences
Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health
Dr. Anthony Alberg, Co-Director and Assistant Professor
Department of Epidemiology
Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health Dr. Terri Beatty, Professor
Department of Epidemiology
Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health Dr. S. Chandrasegaran, Professor
Department of Environmental Health Sciences
Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health Dr. John D. Groopman, Center Director and Professor
Department of Environmental Health Sciences
Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health Dr. Thomas W. Kensler, Professor
Department of Environmental Health Sciences
Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health Dr. Alvaro Munoz, Professor
Department of Epidemology
Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health Dr. Brian Schwartz, Professor
Department of Environmental Health Sciences
Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health Dr. Ellen Silbergeld, Professor
Department of Environmental Health Sciences
Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health Dr. Virginia Weaver, Assistant Professor
Department of Environmental Health Sciences
Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health
Molecular dosimetry, biomarkers, chemoprevention, gene-environment interactions, genetic susceptibility, prevention
The members of the Gene-Environment Interaction and Disease Prevention Research Core are from the Departments of Environmental Health Sciences and Epidemiology in the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. Their research interests fall into one or more of the three core elements (Biomarker Development and Validation; Genetic Susceptibility; Preventive Interventions) that seek to improve our understanding of the etiology, and approaches for prevention, of environmentally induced diseases, particularly in the urban setting. The Core fosters collaborative inter-disciplinary initiatives aimed at developing and validating biomarkers for use in the characterization of exposure, susceptibility, and risk from environmental and endogenous agents. These diverse exposures include sunlight, dietary constituents, environmental tobacco smoke, PAHs, benzene, and endogenous compounds. Members of the core seek to apply these biomarkers as intermediate endpoints in studies of etiology and in prevention trials. A major emphasis area is the evaluation of the role of genetic susceptibility and gene-environment interaction in disease risk. Because of the inter-disciplinary nature of the research, the core provides an ideal forum for interaction, information exchange, joint grant proposals, and research collaboration.
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