Exposure Core

PROJECT SUMMARY – Exposure Core The overarching goal of the Exposure Core is to provide comprehensive exposure study design and analysis expertise to improve the quality of epidemiological studies that require exposure assessment and toxicological studies that require exposure environments, hence increasing the caliber of environmental health research conducted at UC Davis. A robust exposure assessment is key to the success of any environmental epidemiology or toxicology project. Determining exposure can be complex, as people are exposed to multiple compounds through multiple exposure pathways. During the initial funding period, the Exposure Core became a well-known hub on campus for gathering advice on the exposure-related portion of study design and for developing new and helpful methods and facilities to further environmental health research. The Exposure Core has helped connect investigators with analytical laboratories that can further their exposure characterization, assisted epidemiologists with robust exposure assessment design, and aided toxicologists with the quantification of exposures, relating them to a relevant benchmark or tissue levels. For multi-chemical scenarios, the Core has helped ensure laboratory exposures model real-world human exposure scenarios. The Exposure Core comprises expertise in target and non-target analysis of organic compounds in environmental and biological samples, as well as time-integrated or time-window specific exposure concentrations and offers resources for helping environmental justice communities determine exposures, an exposure vivarium for traffic related air pollution, a portable wildfire measurement system, and a wildfire smoke generation system. Affiliated Core laboratories continue to expand their capabilities to meet the growing needs of Center members. Presently, the core is increasing its capabilities to help faculty working with community groups evaluate compounds of concern and develop streamlined methods for evaluating community exposures. The Exposure Core provides both subsidies and seed funding for sample analysis and method development in the Core laboratories for Center members. Further, the Core provides advice on study design through Specific Aims Reviews hosted by the Administrative Core, Exposure Design Reviews for pilot applicants, and one-on- one meetings with investigators. To exchange ideas, the Core runs and participates in working groups. Through its synergies, interactions and collaborations, the Core is able to provide environmental health researchers robust, appropriate, and tailored exposure assessment tools.