Standing Committee on the Use of Emerging Science for Environmental Health Decisions

Workshop

Advances in Multimodal Artificial Intelligence to Enhance Environmental and Biomedical Data Integration-A Workshop

June 14 - 15, 2023

Past

Materials

About

The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine will convene a public workshop to explore opportunities for integrating environmental and biomedical data by leveraging new and cutting-edge developments in multimodal artificial intelligence to understand complex health challenges.

Register to attend online.

Organizing Project

Advances in Multimodal Artificial Intelligence to Enhance Environmental and Biomedical Data Integration-A Workshop

Contact

Oshane Orr

(202) 334-3457
oorr@nas.edu

Location

Keck Center

500 5th St NW

Washington DC 20001, USA

Disclaimer

It is essential to the National Academies mission of providing evidence-based advice that participants in any of our meetings or events avoid political or partisan statements or commentary and maintain a culture of mutual respect. The statements and presentations during our meetings or events are solely those of the individual participants and do not necessarily represent the views of other participants or the National Academy of Sciences, which is a non-partisan, tax exempt organization that includes under its Charter the National Academy of Engineering and National Academy of Medicine, and that operates the National Research Council.

Workshop

Developing Wearable Technologies to Advance Understanding of Precision Environmental Health – A Workshop

June 1 - 2, 2023

Past

Agenda

Download the Agenda

About

The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine will convene a planning committee to develop a workshop to explore advances in emerging applications of wearable technologies (direct or indirect personalized sensors and models) in environmental health and biomedical research to aid progress in precision environmental health.

Organizing Project

Developing Wearable Technologies to Advance Understanding of Precision Environmental Health – A Workshop

Contact

Oshane Orr

(202) 334-3457
oorr@nas.edu

Disclaimer

It is essential to the National Academies mission of providing evidence-based advice that participants in any of our meetings or events avoid political or partisan statements or commentary and maintain a culture of mutual respect. The statements and presentations during our meetings or events are solely those of the individual participants and do not necessarily represent the views of other participants or the National Academy of Sciences, which is a non-partisan, tax exempt organization that includes under its Charter the National Academy of Engineering and National Academy of Medicine, and that operates the National Research Council.

Workshop

Standing Committee on the Use of Emerging Science for Environmental Health Decisions - Futurecasting exercise 3

June 22, 2022

1:00 PM - 4:00 PM (EDT)

Past

About

Participants modeled potential futures and enablers of desired futures.

Contact

Clara Phipps

cphipps@nas.edu

Disclaimer

It is essential to the National Academies mission of providing evidence-based advice that participants in any of our meetings or events avoid political or partisan statements or commentary and maintain a culture of mutual respect. The statements and presentations during our meetings or events are solely those of the individual participants and do not necessarily represent the views of other participants or the National Academy of Sciences, which is a non-partisan, tax exempt organization that includes under its Charter the National Academy of Engineering and National Academy of Medicine, and that operates the National Research Council.

Workshop

Standing Committee on the Use of Emerging Science for Environmental Health Decisions - Futurecasting Exercise 2

April 28, 2022

10:00 AM - 1:00 PM (EDT)

Past

About

Participants modeled potential futures and enablers of desired futures.

Contact

Clara Phipps

cphipps@nas.edu

Disclaimer

It is essential to the National Academies mission of providing evidence-based advice that participants in any of our meetings or events avoid political or partisan statements or commentary and maintain a culture of mutual respect. The statements and presentations during our meetings or events are solely those of the individual participants and do not necessarily represent the views of other participants or the National Academy of Sciences, which is a non-partisan, tax exempt organization that includes under its Charter the National Academy of Engineering and National Academy of Medicine, and that operates the National Research Council.

Workshop

Towards a Future of Environmental Health Sciences - A Workshop

April 26 - 27, 2022

Past

Discussion

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Materials

Speaker Bios

About

This workshop will explore future scenarios of a research enterprise that fully integrates environmental health science into broader studies of human health and disease and how to reach desired futures.

The Standing Committee on the Use of Emerging Science for Environmental Health Decisions will host a public workshop to envision a future research enterprise that fully integrates environmental health science, biomedical science, prevention research, and disease-specific research, across the continuum from fundamental discovery research through the application of this research to population health. Panels and speakers will explore possible routes to reach this research future, and identify the scientific, technical, and policy gaps that will need to be addressed. The workshop will gather experts across various stakeholder groups, including environmental health science and justice, social and behavioral science, biomedical science, public health, and policy.

• Day 1: 10:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. EDT

• Day 2: 10:00 a.m. – 1:30 p.m. EDT

Future of Environmental Health Questionnaire (alchemer.com)

Organizing Project

Towards a Future of Environmental Health Sciences - A Workshop

Contact

Clara Phipps

cphipps@nas.edu

Disclaimer

It is essential to the National Academies mission of providing evidence-based advice that participants in any of our meetings or events avoid political or partisan statements or commentary and maintain a culture of mutual respect. The statements and presentations during our meetings or events are solely those of the individual participants and do not necessarily represent the views of other participants or the National Academy of Sciences, which is a non-partisan, tax exempt organization that includes under its Charter the National Academy of Engineering and National Academy of Medicine, and that operates the National Research Council.

Workshop

Standing Committee on the Use of Emerging Science for Environmental Health Decisions - Futurecasting Exercise 1

February 18, 2022

1:00 PM - 4:00 PM (EST)

Past

About

Participants modeled potential futures and enablers of desired futures.

Contact

Clara Phipps

cphipps@nas.edu

Disclaimer

It is essential to the National Academies mission of providing evidence-based advice that participants in any of our meetings or events avoid political or partisan statements or commentary and maintain a culture of mutual respect. The statements and presentations during our meetings or events are solely those of the individual participants and do not necessarily represent the views of other participants or the National Academy of Sciences, which is a non-partisan, tax exempt organization that includes under its Charter the National Academy of Engineering and National Academy of Medicine, and that operates the National Research Council.

Workshop

Pivotal Interfaces of Environmental Health and Infectious Disease Research to Inform Responses to Outbreaks, Epidemics, and Pandemics - A Workshop

June 8 - 9, 2021

Past

Materials

Participant Biographies

About

This workshop produced a summary available here.

An emerging body of research details intersections between environment and infectious disease exposure and transmission. This workshop took a population-level look and collaborative approach to this complex relationship to inform public health decision making during outbreaks, epidemics, and pandemics. Specifically, workshop participants investigated how emerging environmental exposure assessment tools could help identify and monitor critical pathways for exposure to infectious agents, and how recent advances in climate and environmental health modeling techniques could be applied to predict transmission dynamics and provide early warning of emerging infectious disease outbreaks.

The workshop included sessions on:

Principles of Exposure Science in Infectious Diseases
The Intersection of Environmental Science and Infectious Diseases in Surveillance and Monitoring
Enabling Collaborations with Combining Complex Data Sets
Using Big Data and Artificial Intelligence to Drive New Questions
Breakout Sessions - Brainstorming for Responses and Solutions

View the agenda and speaker biographies' meeting materials below.

Read the workshop summary proceedings.

This workshop built on the Standing Committee’s 2019 workshop, which focused on the interplay of environmental stressors, infectious disease, and human health at the individual level.

Join the conversation on Twitter with #ESEHDWorkshop

Organizing Project

Pivotal Interfaces of Environmental Health and Infectious Disease Research to Inform Responses to Outbreaks, Epidemics, and Pandemics - A Workshop

Contact

Use of Emerging Science for Environmental Health Decisions Staff

(202) 334-3365
eseh@nas.edu

Disclaimer

It is essential to the National Academies mission of providing evidence-based advice that participants in any of our meetings or events avoid political or partisan statements or commentary and maintain a culture of mutual respect. The statements and presentations during our meetings or events are solely those of the individual participants and do not necessarily represent the views of other participants or the National Academy of Sciences, which is a non-partisan, tax exempt organization that includes under its Charter the National Academy of Engineering and National Academy of Medicine, and that operates the National Research Council.

Workshop

Leveraging Advances in Remote Geospatial Technologies to Inform Precision Environmental Health Decisions - A Workshop

April 14 - 15, 2021

Past

Materials

About

By presenting environmental health data in a spatial context, geospatial technologies can provide insight on the spread of pollution and disease, help to identify at-risk populations, and monitor environmental health trends.

This workshop explored how advances in the resolution of geospatial technologies can inform “precision environmental health”—targeted public health interventions that reach the right populations at the right time. Workshop sessions also focused on the use of geospatial technologies to address environmental justice issues, and to direct responses to environmental disasters.

Read the workshop summary.

View the organizing committee members and their biographies.

This workshop was convened by the National Academies’ Standing Committee on the Use of Emerging Science on Environmental Health Decisions and made possible by the support of the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences.

Follow-on Event

The discussions started at this workshop continued on May 21, 2021 at an event hosted by the Mapping Science Committee. Session 4 of the workshop Geospatial Needs for Environmental Justice focused on the key themes that emerged from the workshop, Leveraging Advances in Remote Geospatial Technologies to Inform Precision Environmental Health Decisions. For more information and to register, please visit: https://mscspring2021.splashthat.com/

Watch Primers Now

Primer 1: An Introduction to Environmental Health (~13 mins)

-Melissa Perry, The George Washington University

Primer 2: Satellite Data for Environmental Health: What is Available and Possible (~12 mins)

-Yang Liu, Emory University

Primer 3: Applications of Geospatial Methods in Environmental Science (~14 mins)

-Eun-Hye Enki Yoo, University at Buffalo, The State University of New York

Organizing Project

Leveraging Advances in Remote Geospatial Technologies to Inform Precision Environmental Health Decisions - A Workshop

Contact

Contact us

(202) 334-3365
ESEH@nas.edu

Disclaimer

It is essential to the National Academies mission of providing evidence-based advice that participants in any of our meetings or events avoid political or partisan statements or commentary and maintain a culture of mutual respect. The statements and presentations during our meetings or events are solely those of the individual participants and do not necessarily represent the views of other participants or the National Academy of Sciences, which is a non-partisan, tax exempt organization that includes under its Charter the National Academy of Engineering and National Academy of Medicine, and that operates the National Research Council.

Workshop

The Interplay between Environmental Exposures and Mental Health Outcomes - A Workshop

February 2 - 3, 2021

Past

Materials

About

This workshop produced a summary available here.

There is growing evidence that the environment can play an important role in mental health—yet research into the effects of environmental stressors rarely focuses on behavioral and mental health outcomes. This virtual workshop brought together experts in mental health and environmental health research to explore emerging research on the relationship, harmful or beneficial, between environmental factors and mental health.

The workshop explored ways to better integrate mental and behavioral health into multidisciplinary considerations of environmental health, and considered how mental and behavioral health impacts could become part of environmental risk assessments and public health decisions.

Workshop presentations and discussions focused on topics such as:

New diagnostic tools and methodologies in neurobehavioral research frameworks to assess mental health effects;
Vulnerable populations, such as marginalized communities, adolescents, first-responders, and veterans; and
Identifying public health actions that could help reduce the mental health impacts of environmental stressors.

You can view the list of the workshop organizing committee members and their biographies here.

See the Meeting Materials section below for the workshop agenda, participant biographies, and a suggested background reading citations list.

Resources

Video Primers

We strongly encourage all workshop participants to watch the primers before attending the virtual workshop on February 2-3. The primers will provide pertinent background information to lay the foundation for the presentations and discussion panels which will take place during the workshop.

Primer 1: Mental Health for Environmental Health Professionals (23 minutes)
Erika Manczak, University of Denver
Primer 2: Environmental Health for Mental Health Professionals (16 minutes)
Melissa Perry, The George Washington University
Primer 3: The Role of Genetics in Mental and Behavioral Health Disorders (27 minutes)
Daniel Geschwind, University of California, Los Angeles

Organizing Project

The Interplay between Environmental Exposures and Mental Health Outcomes - A Workshop

Contact

Use of Emerging Science for Environmental Health Decisions Staff

(202) 334-3365
eseh@nas.edu

Disclaimer

It is essential to the National Academies mission of providing evidence-based advice that participants in any of our meetings or events avoid political or partisan statements or commentary and maintain a culture of mutual respect. The statements and presentations during our meetings or events are solely those of the individual participants and do not necessarily represent the views of other participants or the National Academy of Sciences, which is a non-partisan, tax exempt organization that includes under its Charter the National Academy of Engineering and National Academy of Medicine, and that operates the National Research Council.

Workshop

Predicting Human Health Effects from Environmental Exposures: Applying Translatable and Accessible Biomarkers of Effect: Workshop

August 12 - 13, 2020

Past

Materials

About

Workshop Description

Biomarkers of effect are measurable changes in an organism that serve as indicators of health impairment or disease. While biomarkers have been a cornerstone of medical practice, researchers have recently identified new biomarkers that could measure adverse health effects that may arise due to exposure to environmental pollutants.

Pre-Recorded expert presentations were released on August 3. These eight videos laid the foundation for the August 12-13 virtual workshop and generated rich discussion.

This virtual workshop mined emerging knowledge to explore how biomarker approaches can be applied to understanding the consequences of environmental exposures, and thus improve environmental health decisions. Discussion focused on emerging tools and technologies that advance the development of biomarkers of effects from laboratory-based research to population studies.

Four breakout sessions discussed the readiness of gammaH2AX, an emerging biomarker, for use in environmental health decisions. See the document gammaH2AX Breakout Activity Description under our meeting materials section for additional background and details.

Tweet and tag @NASEM_EnvHealth or @theNASEM to share your input, related articles, and comment on the topic.
Use #ESEHDworkshop and #Biomarkers to let us know what grabbed your attention!

Organizing Committee

Lesa Aylward, Summit Toxicology
Kim Boekelheide, Brown University
Nicole Deziel, Yale University
Gary Ginsberg, NY State Department of Health
Alison Harrill, National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences
Norbert Kaminski, Michigan State University
William Mattes, U.S. Food and Drug Administration
Patrick McMullen, ScitoVation

This workshop was made possible with the generous support of the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences.

Organizing Project

Predicting Human Health Effects from Environmental Exposures: Applying Translatable and Accessible Biomarkers of Effect

Contact

Keegan Sawyer

(202) 334-3514
ESEH@nas.edu

Disclaimer

It is essential to the National Academies mission of providing evidence-based advice that participants in any of our meetings or events avoid political or partisan statements or commentary and maintain a culture of mutual respect. The statements and presentations during our meetings or events are solely those of the individual participants and do not necessarily represent the views of other participants or the National Academy of Sciences, which is a non-partisan, tax exempt organization that includes under its Charter the National Academy of Engineering and National Academy of Medicine, and that operates the National Research Council.

Workshop

Integrating the Science of Aging and Environmental Health Research: A Workshop

June 9 - 10, 2020

Past

Materials

About

With the global population living longer—the number of people worldwide aged 80 years or over is projected to triple by 2050—understanding the factors that influence healthy aging throughout our lifetimes is critical for protecting public health.

Scientists have long known that environment plays an important role in aging: for example, research has shown that human exposure to environmental pollutants can exacerbate age-related diseases, such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s. However, many questions remain about the mechanisms through which environmental stressors influence aging, longevity, and the etiology of age-related disease. How do environmental pollutants, such as airborne particulate matter and pesticides, alter the biological processes that underlie human aging and longevity?

This workshop explored emerging research at the intersection between aging, longevity, environmental exposures, and human health. Workshop speakers detailed emerging research findings through two lenses:

(1) How environmental exposures influence or mediate aging; and
(2) How aging influences environmentally-mediated health outcomes.

Participants also explored research opportunities and needs, enabling technologies and analytical tools, and mechanisms to anticipate and use new data to inform decisions about personal health choices, public health and medical practice, or environmental regulation.

This event is made possible by the generous support of the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS).

Organizing Project

Integrating the Science of Aging and Environmental Health Research: A Workshop

Contact

Keegan Sawyer

(202) 334-3514
ESEH@nas.edu

Disclaimer

It is essential to the National Academies mission of providing evidence-based advice that participants in any of our meetings or events avoid political or partisan statements or commentary and maintain a culture of mutual respect. The statements and presentations during our meetings or events are solely those of the individual participants and do not necessarily represent the views of other participants or the National Academy of Sciences, which is a non-partisan, tax exempt organization that includes under its Charter the National Academy of Engineering and National Academy of Medicine, and that operates the National Research Council.

Workshop

Emerging Technologies to Advance Research and Decisions on the Environmental Health Effects of Microplastics: A Workshop

January 27 - 28, 2020

Past

Agenda

Download the Agenda

Materials

2. Keynote Presentation - Kara Lavender Law

About

Watch the full workshop here: Video Playlist

Presentation PDFs are available upon request.

Microplastics—pieces of plastic smaller than 5 millimeters in size—have been detected throughout the environment. These tiny pieces of plastic, which can come from larger plastic debris, cosmetics, and clothes, have been found in the air we breathe, the food we eat, and the water we drink.
Despite the widespread prevalence of microplastics, little is known about the effects they may have on living things. What do we know about their impact on human health and the health of the environment?
This workshop brought together the environmental science and health communities to explore how emerging technologies and research strategies could help address important environmental health questions about microplastics.
Participants explored methods to detect and quantify microplastics in food and the environment, delved into research on the effects of microplastics on the health of humans and wildlife, and discussed ways to reduce microplastics in the environment. The workshop ended with a session on how these new approaches may be leveraged to inform public health and policy questions.

Organizing Project

Emerging Technologies to Advance Research and Decisions on the Environmental Health Effects of Microplastics: A Workshop

Contact

Jessica De Mouy

(202) 334-3365
eseh@nas.edu

Location

Keck Center

500 5th St NW

Washington DC 20001, USA

Disclaimer

It is essential to the National Academies mission of providing evidence-based advice that participants in any of our meetings or events avoid political or partisan statements or commentary and maintain a culture of mutual respect. The statements and presentations during our meetings or events are solely those of the individual participants and do not necessarily represent the views of other participants or the National Academy of Sciences, which is a non-partisan, tax exempt organization that includes under its Charter the National Academy of Engineering and National Academy of Medicine, and that operates the National Research Council.

Workshop

Emerging Advances in Artificial Intelligence for Environmental Health Research and Decisions: A Workshop

June 6 - 7, 2019

Past

Agenda

Download the Agenda

About

Watch the full workshop here: Video Playlist

Artificial Intelligence is being called the new electricity—a technological invention that promises to transform our lives and the world. The resurgence of investment and enthusiasm for artificial intelligence, or the ability of machines to carry out “smart” tasks, is driven largely by advancements in the subfield of machine learning. Machine learning algorithms can analyze large volumes of complex data to find patterns and make predictions, often exceeding the accuracy and efficiency of people who are attempting the same task. Driven by tremendous growth in data collection and availability as well as computing power and accessibility, artificial intelligence and machine learning applications are rapidly growing in society, including retail (e.g., predicting consumer purchases), the automotive industry (e.g., self-driving cars), and health care (e.g., automated medical diagnoses).

This workshop explored emerging applications and implications of AI and machine learning in environmental health research. Speakers highlighted the use of AI and machine learning to characterize sources of pollution, predict chemical toxicity, estimate human exposures to contaminants, and identify health outcomes, among other applications. Although these applications show promise, questions remain about the use of AI and machine learning in environmental health research and public policy decisions. Workshop participants examined how fundamental issues about data availability, quality, bias, and uncertainty in the data used to develop machine learning algorithms are compounded by lack of transparency and interpretability of AI systems. Participants also discussed how these issues may impact the reproducibility and replicability of results, deliver misleading or inaccurate results, and potentially diminish social trust in research. The workshop featured a hands-on learning session to engage scientists and decision makers in these important, cross-disciplinary issues.

This event was made possible by the generous support of the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences.

Organizing Project

Emerging Advances in Artificial Intelligence for Environmental Health Research and Decisions: A Workshop

Contact

Keegan Sawyer

eseh@nas.edu

Disclaimer

It is essential to the National Academies mission of providing evidence-based advice that participants in any of our meetings or events avoid political or partisan statements or commentary and maintain a culture of mutual respect. The statements and presentations during our meetings or events are solely those of the individual participants and do not necessarily represent the views of other participants or the National Academy of Sciences, which is a non-partisan, tax exempt organization that includes under its Charter the National Academy of Engineering and National Academy of Medicine, and that operates the National Research Council.

The Interplay Between Environmental Exposures and Mental Health Outcomes - A Workshop

This virtual workshop brought together experts in mental health and environmental health research to explore emerging research on the relationship, harmful or beneficial, between environmental factors and mental health.

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Standing Committee on the Use of Emerging Science for Environmental Health Decisions

News and Updates

Advances in Multimodal Artificial Intelligence to Enhance Environmental and Biomedical Data Integration-A Workshop

Developing Wearable Technologies to Advance Understanding of Precision Environmental Health – A Workshop