UK-CARES awarded grant from the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS)

UK-CARES (E. Hahn, PI) has received a 12-month, $229,500 award from the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS).  The grant is a cost extension to the UK-CARES Environmental Health Sciences Core Center to continue to build the research infrastructure and community-academic partnerships to advance environmental health science at UK.

“One of our goals is to learn with and from the community to reduce health risks and disparities from environmental exposures,” said Dr. Hahn. “In the aftermath of the catastrophic flooding in eastern KY in July, our community partners asked us for help in sampling drinking water, sediment, and air quality to assess health impacts.”

UK-CARES also recommended educational resources for those re-entering and beginning the process of cleanup of their homes. “Our focus is based on the concerns of the community; namely, water quality, indoor and outdoor air quality, and emerging environmental health issues like extreme weather events prompted by climate change,” said Dr. Hahn.

The multi-disciplinary investigators from UK-CARES study the health impacts of a wide range of chemicals and substances ranging from what are commonly referred to as “forever chemicals” to chemicals found in household items and naturally occurring carcinogens such as arsenic and radon.  Radon is the second leading cause of lung cancer, accounting for 1,033 new cases of radon-induced lung cancer each year in Kentucky.

For more information about UK-CARES, please visit https://medicine.uky.edu/centers/ukcares/