Applications Now Open for EHRI-NCS 2023, An Environmental Health Research Workshop for Medical, Health and Nurse Scientists

Forest land displayed as lungs.

Applications are now open for the 2023 EHRI-NCS cohort. The program is supported by a $1 Million grant from the National Institute of Health’s National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences. 

The EHRI-NCS program is recruiting clinician scientists who will educate, train, and mentor registered nurses in research trajectories. At a minimum, the program is recruiting those who have completed at least 6 academic credits of graduate research. The 2023 cohort will be offered a mix of virtual and in-person resources. An in-person workshop will be hosted in Atlanta, GA by Emory University’s Nell Hodgson Woodruff School of Nursing on June 12-14, 2023. Participants will have self-paced access to online resources before the in-person event, with real-time virtual introduction and follow-up days on June 9 and 23, 2023. Participants will also receive ongoing mentorship support. The event is part of a train-the-trainer program for researchers.

EHRI-NCS stands for Environmental Health Research Institute for Nurse and Clinician Scientists™. EHRI-NCS is delivered as a multi-site partnership among Emory University, Castner Incorporated, Washington State University, University of Alabama in Huntsville, and expert individual scientists from across the nation with the Alliance of Nurses for Healthy Environments. 

“The EHRI-NCS curriculum integrates a wide range of research designs and approaches for participants to consider and apply to their own projects. In particular, EHRI-NCS emphasizes the role of community engagement in the uptake and implementation of environmental health knowledge for individuals and communities” relays Dr. Luz Huntington-Moskos. Dr. Huntington-Moskos is an Associate Professor and Director of the Community Engagement Core for the Center for Integrative Environmental Health Sciences at the University of Louisville.

“Environmental justice issues like environmental racism” are also examined by EHRI-NCS participants, says Dr. Felesia Bowen, Associate Dean for Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion at the University of Alabama at Birmingham School of Nursing. Dr. Bowen is an advisory committee member and guest faculty for the EHRI-NCS program. “It is imperative that they understand these concepts and how they contribute to poor health and premature death in historically underrepresented communities.”

“This year we are happy to host the in person workshop at Emory University in Atlanta, GA. In addition to the established curriculum, we will offer opportunities to engage with experts from regional and national organizations including the HERCULES Exposome Research Center and tour the CDC,” says Dr. Jeannie Rodriguez, Associate Professor at Emory University Nell Hodgson Woodruff School of Nursing and this year’s site Principal Investigator. Emory University is a world leader in nursing education and a renowned beacon for nurses, physicians, and other clinical scientists who study environmental health problems. 

Dr. Vandiver is the Community Engagement Core Director for both the Superfund Research Program (SRP) and the Center for Environmental Health Sciences (CEHS) at MIT. She relays that the program “provided a unique experience, as participants could share their own goals and be supported by a cohort of nurse professionals. Overall, this program provided me with an important stepping stone towards my own goal, creating an NIEHS Short Course focused on teaching gene-environment interactions to health professionals serving tribes and other Environmental Justice communities.” 

The EHRI-NCS program is designed to create a community of researchers from all career stages. Dr. Olivia Halabicky is NIEHS Postdoctoral Fellow, Environmental Toxicology and Epidemiology Program, School of Public Health, University of Michigan. Dr. Halabicky says, “The EHRI-NCS program is an exceptional and unique resource for nurses looking to develop their skills in environmental health research. Throughout the asynchronous modules and real-time workshops, I was able to acquire skills relevant to my ongoing work, as well as spark endless ideas for future work using new-to-me methodological designs, biomarkers, and analytical methods. In addition to practical training and resources, the program connected me to a national network of nurse scientists all committed to environmental health. These are connections and collaborations I’m sure I, and other members of the program, will benefit from throughout our careers. This was a truly interdisciplinary experience meshing nursing and environmental health which I’d been craving.”

Researchers need specialized training for partnering with special populations who are at increased risk for the negative health effects of environmental exposures. “The program connected me with other nurse/clinician scientists and experienced faculty members. It opened my eyes to other areas of research in vulnerable pediatric populations as well as how to better ask and answer my research questions” shares Dr. Nhu Tran. Dr. Tran is Assistant Professor of Clinical Pediatrics, University of Southern California Keck School of Medicine, a Mentored Career Development in Clinical & Translational Sciences Scholar/Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, Future of Nursing Scholar in the Division of Neonatology, Pediatrics at The Saban Research Institute, Children’s Hospital LosAngeles. 

The EHRI-NCS program enrolls a new cohort every year. 

####

Castner Incorporated is a New York State woman-owned business enterprise and research institute. The mission of Castner Incorporated is creating healthy environments by generating new knowledge and data-driven approaches for where people live, work, play, and learn.

https://castnerincorporated.com/

The Alliance of Nurses for Healthy Environments is the only national nursing organization focused solely on the intersection of health and the environment. The mission of the Alliance is to promote healthy people and healthy environments by educating and leading the nursing profession, advancing research, incorporating evidence-based practice, and influencing policy.

http://enviRN.org