January 2015

This week, the Friends of the National Institute of Environmental Sciences (FNIEHS), which the ATS chairs, held its annual meeting with NIEHS director Linda Birnbaum, Ph.D. The FNIEHS is a coalition of nearly 40 environmental health, medical and patient organizations supporting the work of the institute, including federal advocacy. In her talk, Dr. Birnbaum, discussed the many ways that environmental exposures lead to disease throughout life, from before birth to old age and how the institute's research findings can help us prevent disease. This includes a strong focus on child health, including the neurodevelopmental and cognitive effects of exposure to chemicals such as phthalates to the effects of air pollution on children's respiratory and immune systems.

Dr. Birnbaum also reported on the institute's efforts to develop new technologies such as personal sensors to detect and analyze chemical exposures. The meeting with Dr. Birnbaum served to energize the FNIEHS group on ways to promote the institute's research and disease prevention findings across many disease areas.