Metals Research Core

Overview

The overarching goal of the Metals Research Core is to foster multidisciplinary collaborations and to promote innovative research among investigators who are studying the environmental fate and health effects of exposure to metals and related fields. The Core promotes studies that elucidate the human health effects associated with metal exposure; shed light on potential gene-metal, metal nutrient, and metal-metal interactions; characterize the impact of metals on mutagenesis and carcinogenesis; and highlight sources and pathways of exposure to metals that may be targets for preventive action.

The specific aims are:

To improve biomarker measurements of metal dose, early effects and susceptibility to metals toxicity to serve the purpose of reducing health risks that result from metals exposure and interactions;
To characterize the genotoxic mechanisms associated with metals and their relationship to the mechanisms of other key environmental mutagens;
To identify genetic determinants of cellular responses to metals;
To integrate studies of metals and their health effects across the multiple scientific disciplines represented in the Harvard NIEHS Center;
To promote innovative research on metals within the Harvard NIEHS Center through exploratory studies, pilot studies, collaborations and investigator development;
To facilitate the development of innovative program projects (both those that are unsolicited as well as those that are in response to specific RFA's) that propose cross-disciplinary research on the potential toxicity of metals including mechanisms of metal-induced genotoxicity;
To create a rich environment for research training for doctoral students and postdoctoral fellows through a regular seminar series and workshops that will bring together researchers at HSPH, as well as researchers from other institutions;
To enhance existing international collaborations--e.g.. in Mexico and India--and to establish new international collaborations related to metals research; and
To disseminate the results of the research on metals to the scientific community, to policymakers, and to the lay community.