James Whittenberger (left) and John Little (middle) are former directors of the Center. Joseph Brain (right) is the current head.

The Center has a rich history of groundbreaking science. Researchers helped conduct the celebrated Harvard Six Cities Study, which examined how fossil fuel emissions affected respiratory health. When the project found that people were experiencing problems when exposed to levels of emissions then considered acceptable, the EPA revised existing air quality standards.

That study was followed by other epidemiological studies on respiratory health. The Center is also looking into how breathing polluted air in cities may impact the cardiovascular system.

The work in this area exemplifies what the Center does well, said Joseph Brain, director of the Center since 1998 and chair of the Department of Environmental Health. Researchers take a problem relevant to society and address it on multiple levels–using biology, animal models, human studies, risk assessments, public policy, and education.

Brain started his career as a graduate student at the Center, working alongside founder and first director James Whittenberger, as well as then-postdoc John Little, who eventually became the Center’s second director and is now the James Stevens Simmons Professor of Radiobiology, Emeritus.

From the start, the HSPH NIEHS Center for Environmental Health was multidisciplinary. Whittenberger, who focused on respiratory physiology, recruited scientists noted for their work in occupational respiratory health and animal modeling. He encouraged researchers to take an epidemiologic approach to environmental health issues–one designed to elicit the long-term health effects of pollution in the air, water, and workplace.

When Little became director, he broadened the Center’s scope even more, emphasizing the identification of cellular mechanisms involved in illnesses triggered by pollutants. "Only if you understand these mechanisms will you be able to arrive at a rational way of determining health risks," said Little. Now, the Center supports the work of more than 200 faculty, staff, and students in the Departments of Biostatistics, Genetics and Complex Diseases, Environmental Health, Epidemiology, and Nutrition.

In the next five years, Center researchers will continue to examine the health effects of airborne particles, industrial chemical compounds, and metals on health, and will keep public health professionals and the public informed. One emerging theme in this work is the interaction between genes and the environment.

Another focal point for Center research will be the health of children–whose small bodies magnify toxic effects–and workers, who are often exposed to toxins in far higher concentrations than the general public.

For more information about the Center, visit http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/niehs/.

--MD