PEHSU Annual Meeting: Air Quality, TENDR, and PEHSUs

The following presentations were given at the 2019 PEHSU Annual Meeting.

The presentations focus on the impact of environmental exposures to chemicals on human health at the vulnerable stages of in utero and pediatric development. A number of topics will be included – all of them relevant to questions of exposure and health effects, with consideration of risk reduction. Speakers will include physicians and PhD subject matter experts, as well as individuals with expertise in areas such as home assessment, laboratory analysis, and risk communication.

Learning Objectives By the end of this module, participants should be able to:

• Describe the focus of the consensus statement developed and published by Project TENDR
• Describe two key mechanisms of neurological effects of air pollution
• Identify air pollutants that have been associated with neurodevelopmental effects
• Describe policy options to reduce air pollution exposures

Moderator - Blair Wylie, MD, MPH, FACOG, Region 1 PEHSU 

Presenter

Overview of TENDR - Project TENDR: Targeting Environmental Neuro-Developmental Risks

Laura Anderko, PhD, RN, Region 3 PEHSU

Laura Anderko is professor at Georgetown University School of Nursing and Health Studies, and she holds the Robert and Kathleen Scanlon Endowed Chair in Values Based Health Care. She is also Director of the Mid-Atlantic Center for Children’s Health and the Environment (MACCHE) which is Pediatric Environmental Specialty Unit (PEHSU) for federal Region 3. MACCHE received funding from Region 3 EPA/ATSDR to offer a number of heath professional educational events since 2015 in Pennsylvania in the area of PFAS in water, and in 2017 expanded educational efforts to include all states within Region 3.

Healthy Air, Health Brain: Advancing Air Pollution Policy to Protect Children’s Health

Devon Corcia Payne-Sturgis, DrPH, Assistant Professor, Maryland Institute for Applied      
Environmental Health

Dr. Payne-Sturgis is assistant Professor with the Maryland Institute for Applied Environmental Health at the University of Maryland, School of Public Health. She hold sjoint appointment in the Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics. Prior to joining the faculty at the University of Maryland, she served as Assistant Commissioner for Environmental Health with the Baltimore City Health Department then later as the Assistant Center Director for Human Health with U.S. EPA’s National Center for Environmental Research where she focused on biomonitoring for policy analysis, cumulative risk assessment, health impact assessment, environmental health indicator development, children’s environmental health and environmental health of minority populations. Her research focuses on racial and economic disparities in exposures to environmental contaminants and associated health risks with the aim of improving the science our society uses to make decisions about environmental policies that impact the health of communities and populations, especially vulnerable, low income and minority populations. She was awarded a NIEHS K01 Career Development award to evaluate the combined effects of ambient air pollution exposures and psychosocial stressors on disparities in children’s neurocognitive functioning using epidemiological and systems science modeling approaches. Additionally, received a Fulbright Senior Specialist award to work with Hochschule für Gesundheit (HSG) - University of Applied Sciences in Bochum, Germany on cumulative risk assessment and environmental justice.

Disclaimer: This material was supported by the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) and funded (in part) by the cooperative agreement FAIN: 5 NU61TS000237-05 along with the American College of Medical Toxicology and funded (in part) by the cooperative agreement FAIN: 5U61TS000238-05 from the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR). Acknowledgement: The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) supports the PEHSU by providing partial funding to ATSDR under Inter-Agency Agreement number DW-75-95877701. Neither EPA nor ATSDR endorse the purchase of any commercial products or services mentioned in PEHSU publications. Acknowledgement: The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) supports the PEHSU by providing partial funding to ATSDR under Inter-Agency Agreement number DW-75-95877701. Neither EPA nor ATSDR endorse the purchase of any commercial products or services mentioned in PEHSU publications.

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