Project Summary

Note: As of the most recent reissue of the Superfund Hazardous Substance Research and Training Program Request for Applications (RFA-ES-18-002), research translation in these multiproject center grants is now part of the Administrative Core. The research translation efforts are now facilitated by the Administrative Core and led by the Research Translation Coordinator.

The Administrative Core is facilitating research translation through Center research translation coordinators, who will engage in bidirectional communication with the sister SRP Centers throughout the country as well as with NIEHS. The coordinators will also work to foster relationships with the various government agency stakeholders, including NIEHS, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the Agency for Toxic Substances & Disease Registry (ATSDR), the Houston Department of Public Health, and the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ). These bidirectional partnerships will be vital to the success of the SRP, primarily through the dissemination of information and technology transfer to governmental end-users and enhance risk assessment-based decisions. The team is establishing bidirectional interactions by inviting local, state, and federal agencies to seminars and/or webinars that will be used to share findings and solicit feedback from those stakeholders.

The team is also facilitating transfer of technologies developed by Center researchers to end-users and developing investigator-initiated research translation (IIRT) plans with the project leaders. They are seeking input from the Baylor and Rice technology transfer offices to assist with filing patents and small business technology transfer grants. They are also creating web-accessible data sharing systems that may help improve risk assessment and advance polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon biomarker research towards epidemiological, clinical, and population-based applications.

The Administrative Core also ensures that various end-users, including community members and government stakeholders, have various ways to become educated about the SRP as well as the research advances made by the Center. This requires coordination with the Community Engagement Core (CEC) to identify the best ways to engage in bidirectional communication with the communities in the greater Houston area.