NIEHS Director Rick Woychik, Ph.D., engaged college about the way forward for environmental well being sciences throughout a go to to the HERCULES Exposome Research Center Jan. 13. The focus: overcoming challenges in making exposome analysis and precision environmental health mainstream.

The analysis middle is the primary to discover the position of the exposome, which is outlined because the sum of all environmental exposures throughout the lifespan and our physique’s response to them. Such NIEHS-funded analysis is an element of a bigger effort to shed new gentle on the exact gene-environment interactions driving well being and illness in every individual.

This extra holistic method capturing how surroundings impacts well being is being embraced by communities and stakeholders engaged by the middle scientists. However, challenges stay when it comes to standardizing how the exposome is measured and speaking advances to the general public.

“Incorporating exposure science into human health studies is an NIEHS priority,” Woychik mentioned. “It is critical for us to engage with thought leaders about emerging challenges as we progress from defining the exposome to measuring it and incorporating it into population studies to prevent disease.”

From idea to motion

Implementing exposome analysis and advancing precision environmental well being would require overcoming technical, scientific challenges, in keeping with Carmen Marsit, Ph.D., who leads the HERCULES Center. Marsit participated within the small group discussions throughout Woychik’s go to.

“We need to standardize how we assess exposures,” Marsit mentioned. “That standardization for using metabolomic data, modeling, surveys, or other laboratory assessments will allow for broad comparisons to be made and applying exposome research to different populations.”

Such standardization is feasible solely by collaboration.

“It’s difficult to apply a technology at scale if the data produced by different labs and platforms tell different stories, even if these stories are all true,” mentioned Yuxia Cui, Ph.D., of the NIEHS Division of Extramural Research and Training. “A cultural change in sharing is important for better utilizing new tools to harmonize in-house libraries, protocols, and workflows.”

Another problem mentioned: Using statistical and informatic strategies to include advanced, high-volume environmental information from a number of sources into inhabitants research. This, too, could also be solvable due to the event of latest approaches based mostly on synthetic intelligence.

Broadening attain

“There is real enthusiasm to incorporate an understanding of the environment’s role in health and disease beyond NIEHS and across all of NIH,” Marsit mentioned. “Dr. Woychik is working to build the bridges that will allow that work to take off and flourish.”

The subsequent step: reaching a broader viewers. According to Marsit, this contains educating clinicians, public well being practitioners, and research populations, so these affected can use the knowledge to advocate for themselves and their communities.