Community Engagement Core

PROJECT Summary Given Mount Sinai’s history of advancing research on the role of environment in human health across the life course, our strong pediatric and adult environmental health (EH) clinics, and our geographic location in New York City, our Community Engagement Core (CEC) is poised to champion transformational change in implementing environmental interventions by providing resources, expertise, and opportunities to translate EHS research into meaningful action. The foundation of our CEC is rooted in local community partnerships. We have a shared commitment to assist all communities impacted by environmental exposures. In the next 5 years, we plan to: (1) Systematically integrate the concerns and expertise of local community members, policymakers, public health officials and/or health care professionals, and educators into our academic forums, to more effectively communicate community issues and concerns to EHS CC members and inform and guide them in developing research and implementation activities that address the expressed needs of the community. We will build upon our successful EHS Accelerator model currently in use by our CEC to address priority community concerns that strengthen, mobilize, and expand our outcomes from the entire Center (by sharing them with our large networks, including Mount Sinai based centers that address chronic diseases, such as other P30s and the CTSA as well as the different regions of the Pediatric Environmental Health Specialty Units, the Physician Associations, and more; (2) Work together with Center members and trainees to translate and disseminate EHS CC research results into environmental public health knowledge to increase awareness and understanding of all the environmental health research being conducted at Mount Sinai to inform interventions. We will offer CEC consultations to assist in the development of translational tools. Together with regional and national partners, we will center EHS in programs and policies across many sectors (clinical, medical education, community, policy and others), as outlined in the NIEHS Translational Research Framework, to ensure that any community that is burdened by environmental exposures can directly benefit from the knowledge gained from Center research; and (3) Advance the field of community engagement and environmental health communication to promote evidence-based models for national implementation and demonstrate impact through measurable outcomes. Towards this end, our CEC works to continually expand our network of partners in order to accelerate change, address EHS related diseases and promote health and well-being across the life span.