CPES Focus Area: Environmental Health
Environmental Health
Focus on Environmental Health
We conduct research translation and community engagement activities on a variety of topics such as asthma, breast cancer, and hazardous waste to enable North Carolina’s public health and housing professionals, teachers and local communities to make informed decisions about their exposure to environmental influences upon disease and reduce risk.Projects
21st Century Environmental Health Scholars
21EH Scholars is a year-round program that provides environmental health science research internships for undergraduate students at North Carolina Central University (NCCU) and UNC-Chapel Hill.
Center for Environmental Health and Susceptibility
The UNC CEHS Community Engagement Core (CEC) connects researchers with public health professionals, stakeholder agencies and public audiences throughout NC, and fosters dialogue among Center researchers and stakeholders about research needs.
IDEA Learners Teacher Fellowship
Iterative Design to Engage All (IDEA) Learners Teacher Fellowship Program is a long-duration professional development program for grades 9-12 science teachers to incorporate the science of PFAS into classroom instruction.
NC Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention Program
For over a decade, we have educated NC health professionals and residents about lead as an environmental health hazard for young children. Those efforts were recently expanded to partner with NC DHHS to implement federal guidelines aimed at protecting pregnant women and their children from lead poisoning.
Superfund Research Program
With leading roles in the Community Engagement Core (CEC) and Research Translation (RT) team for the UNC Superfund Research Program (SRP), CPES increases understanding of harmful environmental exposures such as inorganic arsenic and develop solutions to prevent exposure to these contaminants in well water.
UNC CLEAN
Through professional development focused on identifying and reducing exposure to environmental hazards in home and community settings, we propose to enhance the capacity of childcare and public health professionals to recognize hazards and recommend risk reduction strategies.
YES Resilience: SEE Solutions
A multi-site project to support informal educators and diverse youth in developing locally relevant solutions to climate impacts in their communities, fostering youth environmental health literacy for climate resilience.
Environmental Health Resources
- Lead in Spices and Other Cultural Items | Spanish Version (PDF)
- Lead Poisoning Can Be Prevented Brochure | Spanish Version (PDF)
- NC Healthy Homes Website (Lead Poisoning Prevention) (External Link)
- Obesity-associated breast cancer risk: a role for epigenetics? (Lesson) (PDF)
- Obesity-associated breast cancer risk: a role for epigenetics? (Slides) (PDF)
- Obesity-associated breast cancer risk: Modeling the Microenvironment (PDF)
- PFAS Graphics (External Link)
- Place-based explorations for examining the science of and solutions to extreme heat: A lesson series for environmental science teachers (External Link)
- See Ya Later Alligator [PFAS Lesson Plan-High School] (External Link)
- Short Term Actions to Prevent Exposure to Lead | Spanish Version (PDF)
- Sick Alligators and Human Health [PFAS Lesson Plan-High School] (External Link)
- Understanding Bioavailability of Arsenic and Lead (Facilitator guide) (PDF)
- Understanding Bioavailability of Arsenic and Lead (Fact sheet) (PDF)
- Understanding Bioavailability of Arsenic and Lead (Slides) (PDF)