Welcome to the June edition of the PEPH Newsletter!

The official start of summer is almost here, so in this issue of the PEPH Newsletter we share a few summer-related stories. Read about a group of researchers getting to know their community by heading to the market to teach residents about environmental health. We also feature a new study that calls for cities to plant more trees in minority neighborhoods to ease the effects of extreme heat events. Take some time to read through a new Health Studies Guide, watch a PEPH grantee in EPA's Environmental Justice Video Series, or provide your expertise for a new EPA environmental justice guidance document.

The Environmental Health Disparities & Environmental Justice Meeting is just around the corner (July 29-31)! We look forward to sharing ideas and catching up with what you have been doing to address environmental health disparities and environmental justice in your community. We hope to see you there!

This Month:

- Community Engagement in Baltimore
- Past PEPH webinars
- Endocrine Disruptors and Children's Environmental Health Webinar
- PEPH Podcast on Asthma and Diet
- PROTECT SRP Seminar Series for Non-experts
- Racial Segregation in Heat Related Land Cover
- Is a Health Study Needed in Your Community?
- HHS on Facebook
- Upcoming PEPH-related Meetings
- CDC Children's Allergy Report
- Funding Opportunities
- EPA EJ Video Features PEPH Grantee
- EPA Seeks Public Comment for EJ Guidance Document

"Day at the Market" Event Engages East Baltimore Residents

Twice a month, Michael Trush, Ph.D., and a team of researchers from the Johns Hopkins Community Outreach and Education Core (COEC) set up at the Northeast Market in Baltimore, Maryland to engage and educate East Baltimore residents about environmental health and justice issues. The "Day at the Market" event gives community members and researchers the opportunity to talk about environmental health issues, such as asthma, that are particularly relevant to urban Baltimore. The market provides an informal setting where community members feel comfortable asking questions about environmental health issues and leave with educational materials. Community engagement coordinators Patricia Tracey and Barbara Bates-Hopkins share tips with researchers on how to interact with the community. The events help researchers get to know their community, gauge public concerns, and recruit residents to participate in Community Advisory Boards, focus groups, and translation-oriented research. This activity has helped build trust between Center members and community residents. "One resident detected mold in his home and was able to consult a booklet we had provided to him about the health risks of exposure to indoor mold," said Dr. Trush of a resident who returned to express his gratitude for the event and educational materials.

The participation of COEC community partners and a grant from the Maryland Cigarette Restitution Fund Program has helped the event grow both in the number of residents and vendors since the first event took place 6 years ago.

Be sure to share some of your innovative community outreach efforts at the Environmental Health Disparities & Environmental Justice Meeting next month!

Past PEPH Webinars

Did you like a particular webinar? You can check out past webinars on the NIEHS YouTube channel.

Examples of past webinars:

- Health Impact Assessments
- Disaster Preparedness and Response
- Children's Environmental Health
- Environmental Health Disparities

Stay tuned for more webinars coming up this summer.

PROTECT SRP Seminar Series for Non-Experts

The Puerto Rico Testsite for Exploring Contamination Threats (PROTECT) SRP is hosting a June webinar series, "PROTECT Academy Interdisciplinary Introductory Seminar Series focused on Environmental Health Disciplines for Non-Experts". Each of the four presentations will take place from 1:00-2:30 ET. Topic areas include Contaminant Transport (June 10), Epidemiology (June 13), Toxicology (June 17), and Remediation (June 20). To register contact khicks@coe.neu.edu.

HHS now on Facebook!

Follow the new U.S. Department of Health & Human Services Facebook page to learn about, and share with your partners, important health information coming from HHS and its operating divisions!

Upcoming PEPH-related Meetings

June 10, 2013: "NIEHS WETP Awardee Meeting" in Washington, D.C.

June 11-12, 2013: "CPWR/NIOSH Safety Culture Workshop" in Washington, D.C.; (location at the same hotel as the WETP Awardee Meeting above).

June 17-20, 2013: "2013 URISA GIS in Public Health Conference" in Miami, Florida, on the use of GIS for public health access, processes, and decision-making.

July 29-31, 2013: "Environmental Health Disparities and Environmental Justice Meeting: Identifying Priorities for Action" in Research Triangle Park, North Carolina; register until July 12, 2013.

August 22-23, 2013: "Science of Community Engaged Research: Future Directions" in Bethesda, Maryland; Poster abstracts due July 21, 2013; register until August 5, 2013.

September 24-27, 2013: "International Conference of the Pacific Basin Consortium for Environment and Health: Environmental Exposures in Indigenous Communities" in Honolulu, Hawaii; early registration discounts available for members and non-members until July 24, 2013.

Endocrine Disruptors and Children's Environmental Health Webinar

This month's EPA/NIEHS Children's Centers webinar will be "Early Exposures to Endocrine Disruptors" featuring Tracey Woodruff, Ph.D., M.P.H., from the University of California, San Francisco; and Kim Harley, Ph.D., from the University of California, Berkeley. The webinar will be held on Wednesday, June 12, 2013 from 1:00–2:30 p.m. ET. Register online.

Racial Segregation and Heat Related Land Cover

A recent article in Environmental Health Perspectives reports minority groups are concentrated into neighborhoods with fewer trees and more impervious surfaces. The results highlight the need to incorporate environmental justice into future plans to mitigate the effects of climate change. NIEHS grantee Rachel Morello-Frosch, Ph.D., M.P.H., is an author on the study.

New CDC Children's Allergy Report

The CDC just released a report that details trends in food, skin, and respiratory allergies among U.S. children. From 1997-2011, food and skin allergies have been on the rise. The report also examined differences by selected sociodemographic characteristics.

EPA EJ Video Features PEPH Grantee

PEPH grantee Sacoby Wilson, Ph.D., M.S., talks about using his research to educate and empower communities in Injecting Knowledge to Cure Injustice, the latest video in the EPA Environmental Justice 20th Anniversary Video Series. He founded a Community Engagement, Environmental Justice and Health program at the University of Maryland-College Park, to study and address EJ issues through community-university partnerships in Maryland and beyond.

EPA Seeks Public Comment for EJ Guidance Document

The U.S. EPA has compiled a draft document, "Technical Guidance for Assessing Environmental Justice in Regulatory Analysis," to provide EPA analysts with technical information on how to consider environmental justice in environmental regulations. You can comment on the draft document until July 8, 2013.

PEPH Podcast on Asthma and Diet

A new podcast in the PEPH series, Environmental Health Chat, features Gregory Diette, M.D., discussing his ongoing research to discover the relationship between diet and asthma. Listen to past podcasts to learn more about how environmental exposures affect our health. You can also subscribe to Environmental Health Chat on iTunes.

Is A Health Study Needed In Your Community?

A new "Health Studies Guide" from the Boston University SRP helps concerned community groups and individuals decide if an environmental health investigation is necessary in their community. The first four chapters of the guide are now available; Chapters 5-7 are coming soon.

Funding Opportunities

Visit the PEPH Funding Opportunity Announcements page for more PEPH-related funding opportunities.

Understanding and Promoting Health Literacy. Upcoming deadlines: new R01 - June 5; new R03 and R21 - June 16, 2013. IMPORTANT: NIEHS and other Institutes have included specific language for this solicitation.

Ethical, Legal, and Social Implications (ELSI) of Genomic Research. Upcoming deadlines: new R01 - June 5; new R03 and R21 - June 16; renewal R01 - July 5, 2013.

Science for Sustainable and Healthy Tribes (EPA STAR Program). Deadline: June 25, 2013. EPA will hold three webinars to discuss this RFA and respond to questions. Dates will be posted online.

Research to Action: Assessing and Addressing Community Exposures to Environmental Contaminants (R01). Next deadline (new R01): June 5, 2013.

Environmental Exposures and Health: Exploration of Nontraditional Settings (R01). Encouraging interdisciplinary research to reduce health disparities in non-traditional settings such as a community centers and daycares. Deadline: June 5, 2013.

Innovative Measurement Tools for Community Engaged Research Efforts. Upcoming deadlines: (R01) - June 5; (R21) - June 16, 2013.

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