From conception to adulthood, each person is exposed to a unique and diverse set of pollutants—everything from second-hand smoke, air pollution and workplace chemicals to contaminants in consumer products. But despite extensive research on the health risks of thousands of pollutants, both on their own and in combination with others, scientists still do not understand how exposures combine over a lifetime to impact a person’s disease risk.
To shed light on that critical question, the Keck School of Medicine of USC has launched a new center focused on accelerating environmental health research and finding practical and equitable solutions. The Center for Translational Exposomics Research (CTER) builds on USC’s pioneering work in a new field known as exposomics, which measures total lifetime environmental exposures, along with their associated health effects.
CTER, part of the Keck School of Medicine’s Department of Population and Public Health Sciences, is studying how a wide range of environmental exposures relate to the development of diseases such as cancer, heart disease and diabetes. By combining state-of-the-art experimental and statistical methods with a community-based participatory approach, the CTER team aims to translate science into actionable insights as quickly as possible.
“Our center is committed to solution-oriented research. We not only study the impact of environmental pollutants on human health but also focus on finding ways to address these challenges with real-life, sustainable solutions,” said Vaia Lida Chatzi, MD, PhD, a professor of population and public health sciences at the Keck School of Medicine and director of CTER.
A fast-growing field
The field of exposomics, launched in 2005 following the completion of the revolutionary Human Genome Project, asks sweeping questions about how daily exposures—in the air we breathe, the clothes we wear and more—are combining to shape our health. Thanks to recent advances in data science, environmental engineering, and cell and computational biology, scientists now have the tools to start answering those questions.
The CTER brings together a talented team with expertise in areas such as epidemiology, environmental health biostatistics, immunology, molecular biology and community-based participatory research. Using large-scale data, advanced lab studies, machine learning and scientific communication, the team investigates how different exposures impact health across populations. CTER combines population studies, cutting-edge lab experiments, and direct communication with Los Angeles communities most affected by pollution, to translate research findings into meaningful health solutions.
One of the center’s priorities is to understand the health risks of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), synthetic “forever chemicals” used in many consumer products that accumulate in the body over time. Recent CTER findings have linked PFAS exposure to liver cancer and decreased bone health, and have shown that over time, people who consume more tea, processed meats or food prepared outside the home have rising levels of PFAS in their blood.
“Once we start to understand the mechanisms of how environmental factors impact human disease, we can develop better interventions that can help protect people’s health,” said Jesse A. Goodrich, PhD, an assistant professor of population and public health sciences at the Keck School of Medicine and CTER’s associate director of data science.
Improving health equity
Central to the mission of CTER is engagement with communities most affected by environmental pollutants and in need of practical solutions. To that end, the center works with local organizations to communicate about its research and to design outreach programs that meet the needs of various groups.
In June, CTER collaborated with the Santa Ana Clean Water Initiative to address community concerns about PFAS contamination of drinking water and common consumer products.
“When we learn from and collaborate with community leaders, we strengthen the impact of exposomics research to improve community health and spur the development of policies that protect the public,” said Max Aung, PhD, MPH, an assistant professor of population and public health sciences and associate director of community engagement and science communication at CTER.
For more information, visit the CTER website or follow the center on Instagram.