Rutgers Center for Environmental Exposure and Disease (CEED)

The Center for Environmental Exposures and Disease (CEED) at Rutgers University is a recognized leader in New Jersey (NJ) - the most densely populated state in the Union, with many of its residents living in close proximity to major congested roadways, and industrial and commercial centers. NJ is also the home of more Superfund sites than any other state due to a long history of poorly regulated industry, as well as active efforts to identify contamination. Over 85% of the state’s land area is already ‘built-out’ or preserved, meaning there will soon be no remaining undeveloped land. Thus, NJ is a microcosm that reflects the longstanding and emerging environmental problems confronting the entire nation. The strategic vision of CEED is to address the environmental health concerns of all NJ residents. We aim to accomplish our strategic vision by engaging community members, organizations, and agencies as advisors and partners through all stages of our research, providing critical investment and infrastructure for multidisciplinary collaborative research, and training the next generation of environmental health scientists. Our approach to achieve this vision is to identify and prioritize the most urgent and hazardous environmental health concerns through an engaged community advisory board and community-driven research initiatives that are integrated with the innovative translational research of CEED scientists. Over the next five years, CEED will confront environmental health-related disease by working with affected communities at the center of our efforts. Through bidirectional partnerships, rigorous science and training, cutting edge technologies, and effective communication, CEED will work to reduce health risks within NJ, and thereby improve public health across the state, the region, and the world.