September 2024 Notes from the Director
I hope you all had an enjoyable summer and got to do some things you enjoy. I spent a weekend a couple of weeks ago clearing my head at high speed on the Putnam Park Road Track with the Louisville Porsche Club. Oddly, I find it relaxing. (Photo courtesy of Austin Hattabaugh)
NIEHS Center Directors Meeting
Last week several of us attended the NIEHS Center Directors Meeting in Baltimore. Ray Yeager was the featured CIEHS new investigator. He presented a poster on climate change and cardiovascular disease. Rick Woychik, the NIEHS Director, presented on the new NIEHS Strategic Plan (https://www.niehs.nih.gov/about/strategicplan). He also discussed the ‘payline’ and how it is really being implemented. He strongly recommended reading the strategic plan and making it clear how your grant proposal relates to the plan. One-third of the funds are reserved for ‘raise to pay’, meaning that if your application scores below the 7% payline, but is highly aligned with the strategic plan, it will be eligible for funding. In fact, ESIs have been funded to 16% and new investigators to 25%! So, my advice is to first, read the strategic plan, second participate in the RIG meetings which are aligned with the plan, and third, talk to your program official and align your application with the plan.
A major theme of the meeting was Community Engagement. We heard from quite a few community members and leaders telling us about their experiences. It is clear that much needs to be done. It will take research that provides data that community organizers can use to lobby for the much needed changes in regulations and to perform cleanup.
I chaired a session on Community Exposome and presented on the metals in wastewater surveillance project that CIEHS and the Envirome Institute piloted as a feasibility project for community exposome evaluation. The presentation was very well received with many people showing interest and expressing to me ideas that it sparked. Among those who commented positively was Dr. Woychik.
Raise Some L:
Raise Some L will be October 15-16 this year. This fundraising event is your opportunity to contribute to UofL programs that give back. We ask you to make a contribution to the CIEHS Trainee Travel Fund. CIEHS will match all donations. This fund provides travel awards to CIEHS trainees to assist their attending national/international meetings to present their work. If every member signed up for a monthly payroll deduction of $10, we would have enough money to support 29 awards. Please contribute! https://give.louisville.edu/s/1157/19/fdn/interior.aspx?sid=1157&gid=1&pgid=3313
2024 OVSOT Annual Meeting:
The 2024 OVSOT Annual Meeting will be held here on the UofL Health Science Campus on Friday, October 25, 2024. Information is available on the website: https://www.toxicology.org/groups/rc/ovsot/annmeets.asp This is a great opportunity for trainees and junior faculty to present their work and maybe win a cash award.
P30 renewal:
As most are aware, CIEHS is in its fifth year of the P30 grant, and we submitted the competitive renewal application in April. The application is scheduled to be reviewed by study section on October 16. We expect to receive our score by the end of the month and summary statement by the end of November.
CIEHS Retreat:
The CIEHS Retreat will be on December 10. A hold on your calendars was sent out. We will announce the results of the competitive renewal application review at the retreat and discuss our plans for the future. We hope to see everyone there. Details to follow as plans are finalized.
Surveys:
We are using QR codes to surveys at meetings so that members can complete them immediately on their phones. Dr. Antle is streamlining the surveys with fewer questions which will reduce the time to a minute or so. Please complete the surveys so that we can receive your feedback and improve CIEHS activities.