Project Summary (2013-2020)

The OSU SRP Training Core focuses on providing synergistic opportunities for graduate students, postdoctoral fellows, staff, and newly hired faculty to develop the types of trans-disciplinary skill sets needed to address the challenges posed by the Superfund Program. OSU SRP is training a new generation of transdisciplinary scientists to address critical, complex problems of hazard assessment, environmental monitoring, and human health risk assessment for complex PAH mixtures and other contaminants present at Superfund Sites.

The Training Core will specifically provide advanced pre- and post-doctoral training in PAH analysis, pharmacokinetics, systems-level toxicology, and risk assessment through the novel use of discoveries and new technologies emerging from the SRP research programs and support cores. An integrated educational experience that is focused on Superfund relevant issues will be constructed from individualized biomedical and non-biomedical didactic training combined with experiential learning opportunities that address SRP relevant issues. Such an approach will be complimented with both formal and informal opportunities for trainees in science communication and outreach activities. A distinctive aspect of the OSU Training Core involves regional collaborations between Pacific Northwest SRPs (OSU, UC Davis and UW) to substantially broaden the scope of SRP training experience through both shared and complimentary training activities at each Center's Research Translation and Community Engagement Cores.

The OSU SRP training program will provide experiential opportunities in commercial, public health and regulatory environments in addition to the traditional academic venues through innovative training partnerships with private risk-assessment firms, regulatory agencies (EPA Region 10) and a local ecotoxicology contract laboratory generating data for commercial and government regulatory entities. This trans-disciplinary program will prepare trainees to better understand the broad and complex challenges under investigation in the SRP during their tenure at OSU, as well as position the trainees for future careers in academic, industrial, and environmental regulatory positions addressing Superfund issues.