Seminars, Celebration Mark Busy Fall for Environmental Health

It’s shaping up as a busy fall at the Department of Environmental Health, which is celebrating its 50th anniversary along with 85 years of research excellence at the Kettering Research Complex. In addition to the celebration, the department is presenting three events for researchers. Also, Shuk-Mei Ho, PhD, Jacob G. Schmidlapp Professor and Chair of Environmental Health, will be honored for her achievements by the College of Medicine Office of Research.

Here are details on the upcoming events:

• Wednesday, Sept. 23: Philippe Grandjean, MD, DMSc, will speak as a guest of Ho at the department’s Wednesday Seminar, sponsored by the Center for Environmental Genetics, from 10 to 11 a.m. in Kehoe Auditorium. His topic will be "Immune System Dysfunction in PFAS-Exposed Children.” A lunch and Q&A will follow in Room 121, Kettering Lab Complex. Grandjean is director of the Environmental Medicine Research Unit at the University of Southern Denmark and adjunct professor of environmental health at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. He is the author of "Only One Chance: How Environmental Pollution Impairs Brain Development, and How to Protect the Brains of the Next Generation.”

• Thursday, Oct. 1: Ho will be honored for a lifetime of achievement in research from 5 to 6 p.m. in MSB E-351. A reception will follow the program. Earlier this year, Ho received the George Rieveschl Jr. Award for Distinguished Scientific Research at the UC Faculty Awards.

• Friday-Saturday, Oct. 9-10: The department’s anniversary celebration begins at 2 p.m. Friday, Oct. 9, with welcoming remarks and a program on the history and achievements of the department, followed by a cocktail reception and gala dinner/awards beginning at 6:30 p.m. at the Kingsgate Marriott. 

>> Information and registration

• Friday, Oct. 16: The Center for Environmental Genetics (CEG), housed in the Department of Environmental Health, and the Center for Clinical and Translational Science and Training (CCTST) will co-host a research symposium on Data and Biospecimen Sharing in Environmental Health from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. in Kehoe Auditorium, Kettering Lab Complex. There will be multiple speakers, including Rachel Morello-Frosch, PhD, professor of environmental health, University of California Berkeley.

>> RSVP required for lunch

• Thursday, Nov. 12: A joint Epidemiology/CEG Career Development Program Workshop: "Big Data, Big Careers: What and Where?” will take place from noon to 1 p.m. in Room G-17, Kettering Lab Complex. Speakers will include Mario Medvedovic, PhD, principal investigator, NIH-funded Data Coordination and Integration Center for LINCS-BD2K. The workshop is co-hosted by the Division of Epidemiology and the CEG Career Development Program.