More info coming soon.

(http://tools.niehs.nih.gov/sbrp/programs/Program_detail.cfm?Project_ID=P42ES103370004)

A research team led by Michael Karin, Ph.D. (Professor of pharmacology in UCSD’s Laboratory of Gene Regulation and Signal Transduction; and a researcher in UCSD’s Superfund Basic Research Program) found that the production of a protein that promotes inflammation appears to be linked to the higher incidence of liver cancer in men than in women. Their findings will be published in the July 6 issue of the journal Science.

| View Press Release |

On June 12, 2007, Keith Pezzoli and Hiram Sarabia of UCSD’s Urban Studies and Planning Program, Environment and Sustainability Initiative (ESI), and Superfund Basic Research Program (SBRP) received the 2007 San Diego Environmental Professional’s Association Award (SDEP) for Outstanding Research.  Pezzoli and Sarabia are creating a Regional Ecology Network and Environmental Workbench for Sustainable Development (RENEW-SD) as part of a campus wide effort funded by UCSD’s ESI and SBRP.  The RENEW-SD research team is currently testing the use of new biomolecular technologies (bioassays) to track the sources of certain organic toxicants (i.e., PAHs and PCBs) in San Diego’s Pueblo Watershed while working closely a diverse array of federal, state and regional government, community and research stakeholders. The SDEP awarded the RENEW-SD project for its “contributions to advancing the standards of practice in the environmental professional community of San Diego.”  In line with ESI’s mission and the mission of the SBRP’s Research Translation Core, the RENEW-SD project aims to improve science communication, knowledge networking, environmental management, regulation and policy-making in the San Diego-Tijuana city-region. The approach is multidisciplinary and collaborative with an emphasis on deploying emerging technologies while building models to address sustainability challenges facing coastal cities. Pezzoli and Sarabia, have a track record of almost 30 years of combined work focusing on the San Diego-Tijuana region’s environmental and sustainability issues. The award includes a $1000 cash prize that will be used to further the involvement of students
in environmental research.

RENEW-SD web site: http://renew-sd.ucsd.edu/
UCSD ESI web site: http://esi.ucsd.edu/
UCSD SBRP web site: http://superfund.ucsd.edu/

Hiram Sarabia of the UCSD SBRP Research Translation and Community Outreach Core, along with several other tribal government representatives, community organizations and researchers, received the 2007 U.S. EPA Environmental Award for a multi-year effort to address priority environmental health issues dealing with drinking water in indigenous communities along the U.S. Mexico Border. This multi-year effort began with a comprehensive evaluation the contamination levels in drinking water and environmental health surveys in several indigenous communities in the Baja California, Mexico that culminated in important investments by the Mexican Government, U.S. EPA Border 2012 program and the Pala Band of Mission Indians to bring clean drinking water to these remote and vulnerable communities. The later represents an important milestone, model and success story for addressing environmental health issues along the U.S-Mexico border that highlights the importance of multidisciplinary research and collaboration. Presently, the UCSD SBRP is engaged in this project by providing technical assistance and also the capacity to monitor a wide-array of contaminants in drinking water.

To learn more about the 2007 U.S. EPA Environmental Awards:
http://www.epa.gov/region09/awards/index.html#federal

To learn more about UCSD’s SBRP collaboration with other tribal communities: http://superfund.ucsd.edu/support/int_cores/outreach_core.php

The video archive of all 2006 conference proceedings and presentations are now available at the following location. http://superfund.ucsd.edu/sbrp06_am.php

Registration for this March 12 - 14, 2007 event is now available at the following website: http://www-apps.niehs.nih.gov/sbrp/3/global/registration.cfm

Additional agenda and accommodation information is also available. Attached is a preliminary agenda for the conference.

Please contact Denise Moreno at dmoreno@pharmacy.arizona.edu if you have any questions. Also, any questions regarding registration and logistical information can be made at continuinged@pharmacy.arizona.edu

On Sunday, Dec 10, 2006 the UCSD SBRP Research Translation Core (RTC) and Community Outreach Core (COC) hosted a successful SBRP RTC/COC leaders event at the Martin Johnson House on the Scripps Institution of Oceanography campus. The meeting, attended by 45 scientists and researchers from around the US, took place in San Diego right before the annual SBRP meeting. Following a period for networking and dinner, participants discussed three main subjects: (1) the effort to create a national SBRP bioassay network focused on biomolecular technologies and applications, (2) strategies for the commercialization of new technologies, and (3) capacity building to energize more collective RTC and COC efforts among SBRP initiatives nationwide (including plans to hold a two day workshop next year). The proceedings of the Dec. 10th meeting will soon be posted on the UCSD SBRP web site, including a audiovisual archive of the three topics discussed. UCSD’s newly formed Environment and Sustainability Initiative co-hosted the event, for which we are very grateful.

Dr. Julian Schroeder along with 3 other UCSD professors named Fellows of American Association for the Advancement of Science. | View UCSD News Article |

Recently the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) awarded a grant to the University of Arizona (UA) to co-host a workshop titled: SBRP-Interactions with Mexico as a Model for Global Environmental Health Networks.

Currently, The UA and University of California- San Diego are utilizing their Research Translation and Outreach Cores to interact with Mexican partners in resolving environmental health issues in the Border region. The UA has initiated a permanent United States - Mexico Binational Center for Environmental Sciences and Toxicology (Binational Center) in partnership with ten Mexican universities and research institutes. In addition, these Superfund-Mexico interactions coincide with NIEHS’s new strategic goal for the development of a global health program, especially with respect to building international partnerships and capacity building.

In order to highlight and strengthen the collaborative research that is occurring, UA and UCSD SBRP’s united to host a Global Environmental Health Workshop. The specific objectives of the workshop are to:

1. Document the lessons learned from developing Environmental Health partnerships with Mexico
2. Identify the major needs for the next 5 years to strengthen the Environmental Health partnerships with Mexico
3. Identify research needs to address environmental health problems in the Border region and propose a plan for executing and funding collaborative US-Mexico research targeted at resolving the problems
4. Summarize the currents state of knowledge regarding risk and exposure assessments with bioassays and biomarkers as well as bio/phytoremediation and how that knowledge can be applied to the Border Region
5. Identify data management and decision support tools for International Collaboration as well as mechanisms for communicating findings to stakeholders

Save the Date!
This workshop, in conjunction with the Binational Center Kick Off Ceremony is tentatively set for March 12 - 13, 2007.

Link to source: http://www.superfund.pharmacy.arizona.edu/news/Global_env_workshop.htm