Johns Hopkins Core Center for Community Health: Addressing Regional Maryland Environmental Determinants of Disease (CHARMED Center) is to build capacity in community-engaged research aimed at understanding the mechanistic links between environmental exposures and adverse health outcomes and translate these findings into action to improve the health and well-being of vulnerable individuals in communities across the greater Maryland region. < Back to Main Page Facilty Cores of CHARMED Center Our CHARMED Center houses several Facility Cores that will provide the scientific expertise and support required for conducting community-engaged environmental health research. The Cores include: The Community Engagement Core (CEC) co-led by Chris Heaney, PhD, Associate Professor in EHE and Sacoby Wilson, PhD, Professor at the University of Maryland, will serve as a bridge between greater Baltimore Communities and JHU/UMD investigators (CEC) and provide training in the conduct of Community-engaged research. These efforts build collaborations between JHU faculty members and community leaders and/or community-based organizations, conduct preliminary investigation into an community environmental concerns, and builds capacity within a community-based organization to conduct future research on community environmental health issues. The Integrated Health Sciences Facilities Core (IHSFC) is led by Nirupama Putcha, MD, MHS, Associate Professor in the Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine in the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine. Faculty across the University will be able to obtain support and training to engage in Community Engaged Research (study design, biostatistical support, translation) through the IHSFC. The Exposure Characterization And Modeling Facility Core (ECMC) is led by Kirsten Koehler, PhD, Associate Professor in the Department of Environmental Health. The ECMC will provide faculty across JHU resources for assessment of community exposures including in air, water, and soil. The Pilot Grant Program is led by Dr. Thomas Hartung, MD, PhD, Professor of Environmental Health and Engineering leads the Pilot Project Program. Annually pilot project awards will be available to the University community to facilitate and support community-engaged projects that address community environmental concerns. Importantly, through a rapid response process (48 hour turn-around), funds can be rapidly deployed to address more emergent needs of the community-investigator teams.

< Back to Research Group List Cardiorespiratory Health and Airborne Contaminants Kirsten Koehler and Meredith McCormack T here is a high prevalence of cardiovascular, pulmonary, and neurodegenerative diseases in the Maryland region. Many researchers are engaged in studying the health outcomes of these vulnerable populations without a robust scientific interaction with exposure scientists. This TRG is led by Kirsten Koehler (Associate Professor), who is an exposure assessment expert, and co-led by Meredith McCormack, (Associate Professor, JHU School of Medicine) and expert in the diagnosis and treatment of patients with asthma and COPD. Our focus is on defining the contribution of exposure to air contaminants (e.g., PM2.5, gases, vapors, allergens) prevalent in the Maryland region to a range of cardiorespiratory health outcomes including asthma, cardiovascular disease, COPD, and autism. This working group will enable such interactions to catapult the impact of ongoing NIEHS supported research as well as spearhead new scientific directions ( Figure ). Innovations in exposure science coupled with health outcomes in the population can help unravel environmental determinants of diseases in vulnerable populations. Previous Next

< Back to Research Group List Community, Social, and Environmental Determinants of Health Chris Heaney and Ana Rule This TRG is led by Dr. Chris Heaney ( Associate Professor) and co-led by Dr. Ana Rule (Assistant Professor). The proposed  C HARME D  will serve as a nucleus to merge parallel efforts and utilize the expertise and services of the center to expand the scope of research on topics with important community implications. As one important example, fossil fuel production, processing, and use have been drivers of poor air quality and community and health impacts for centuries. As older technologies are phased out and new ones are considered and developed, it is paramount to understand the potential and ongoing impacts that these activities can have on exposures, communities, and population health. Multiple Center members have been involved in understanding emission, pollutant distribution, and the community, economic, and health impacts of existing (e.g., oil refineries) and new (e.g., UNGD) fossil fuel development, distribution, and use. Many translational bridges 20 have been successfully achieved by these investigations ( Figure ). Previous Next

< Back to Research Group List Neurological Health Thematic Research Group Heather Volk and Christine Ladd-Acosta. This TRG will be led by Drs. Heather Volk (Associate Professor) and Christine Ladd-Acosta (Associate Professor). Many Center investigators have a long history of research in the Neurological Health science thematic area. These include important contributions to understanding how lead influenced adult cognitive function and decline, as well as cardiovascular, renal, structural magnetic resonance imaging, hematopoietic, and other outcomes in several different studies. Current research also includes exploring the neurotoxicity of insecticides such as rotenone using in vitro multicellular brain spheroids (BrainSpheres) derived from human pluripotent stem cells. Previous Next

< Back to Research Group List Chemical Mixtures and Emerging Contaminants Jessie Buckley and Lesliam Quiros-Alacala This TRG is led by Drs. Jessie Buckley (Associate Professor) and Lesliam Quiros-Alacala (Assistant Professor) and builds upon the expertise of C HARME D members to understand the human health effects of individual and mixtures of emerging contaminants (metals, persistent organic compounds, endocrine disruptors) on a variety of health outcomes. Center members are exploring the role of early life exposures to phthalates on childhood bone health and examining the impact of metals exposure on immune responses, obesity, autism, and cardiometabolic risk. Please join us the third Friday of the month at 2:30 pm on Zoom. Join Zoom Meeting: https://jh.zoom.us/j/98542110898?pwd=dEt6QmVVY01HTXVvZzIzeGZXNTQwdz09 Previous Next