Through its regular workshop series, Emerging Science for Environmental Health Decisions, the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences explores the potential for new methods and approaches to advance our understanding of environmental impacts on human health. These free, two-day workshops are organized by a National Academy of Sciences committee and bring together participants from government, industry, nongovernmental organizations, and the academic community.
The workshops, which are typically held at the National Academy of Sciences building in Washington, DC and webcast, consist of presentations from leading researchers and policy experts, interactive panel discussions and Q&A sessions, and the opportunity to network with fellow participants over lunch and at breaks.
Recent workshops have explored topics including modeling the health impacts of climate change, the potential of the tissue chip, understanding the microbiome, and making use of “big” data. The highlights, talking points, and take-home messages of each workshop are captured in Emerging Science newsletters and summaries, which are available on the Emerging Science website along with other resources such as videos of workshop presentations and discussions.
The next three workshops—scheduled for May 28–29, 2015; September 30–October 1, 2015; and January 14–15, 2016—are expected to cover metabolomics related to the exposome, advances in the study of interindividual variability and their implications, and microbiome functions related to environmental health. As planning for the meetings continues, please visit the Emerging Science website to access workshop agendas, register to attend, and subscribe to receive updates about new resources.