International symposium to focus on environmental health problems (06/16/96)

International symposium to focus on environmental health problems

by Lida Truchly

CHICAGO - The effects of environmental and occupational exposures on reproduction will be the subject of an international symposium in September, funded by a grant recently awarded to the University of Illinois School of Public Health by the Fogarty International Center at the U.S. National Institutes of Health.

The grant will also fund four visiting scientists from Ukraine to travel to the United States for periods of up to three months each. Visiting scientists will collaborate with scientists at the University of Illinois, and will also spend time in residence at other cooperative training sites such as the U.S. National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

The grant is for a period of five years, and each year symposia will be held on topics relating to environmental and occupational health. Four new scientists will be chosen each year.

The five-year award of approximately $100,000 per year will be used to improve the capacity of Ukraine's academic institutions to conduct research and training on environmental and occupational health problems. In addition to the Fogarty International Center, co-sponsors of the award include the National Institute for Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) and the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH). Competition for this award was open to U.S. institutions and academic partners throughout the world. Funds were awarded to seven U.S. universities working with partners in 16 different countries.

The University of Illinois-Ukraine proposal was the single successful application from the newly independent states. The principal investigator for this award is Dr. Daniel Hryhorczuk, director of the Great Lakes Center and director of the Ukrainian Environmental Health Project (UEHP) at the University of Illinois.

On January 31, a team from the University of Illinois met with their Ukrainian academic partners to plan activities for the first year. The University of Illinois team included Dr. Hryhorczuk; Susan Monaghan, director of international partnerships for the Great Lakes Center; and Lida Truchly, director of public affairs for UEHP.

The Ukrainian academic partners included Dr. Elena Lukyanova from the Institute for Pediatrics, Obstetrics and Gynecology; Dr. Yuri Kundiev, director of the Institute for Occupational Health; Dr. Wolodymir Shyrobokov, pro-rector of the Ukrainian National Medical University, and Dr. Mykola Prodanchuk, director of the National Institute of Health of Ukraine. Dr. Victor Marievsky, the deputy minister of health of Ukraine, is the chair of the Ukrainian coordinating committee for the Fogarty grant.

The Fogarty grant was awarded to those with existing successful U.S.-Ukraine collaborations. Since 1990, the University of Illinois has initiated several projects with Ukrainian partners. One such project is the "Children of Ukraine" study, a seven-year longitudinal cohort study of reproductive outcomes and childhood development that is part of the larger WHO-sponsored "European Longitudinal Study of Pregnancy and Childhood." Approximately 9,000 families in five cities in Ukraine (Kyiv, Mariupil, Dniprodzerzhynske, Ivano-Frankivske and Krasniy Luch) are involved in the project.

Ms. Monaghan from the University of Illinois and Dr. Lukyanova from the Institute for Pediatrics, Obstetrics and Gynecology are co-principal investigators of the "Children of Ukraine" study. Dr. Zoreslava Shkiriak-Nizhnik and Ms. Truchly serve as coordinators of this important study. In 1995, the UEHP received a major contract from the NIEHS to assist in data collection on a subsample of the "Children of Ukraine" cohort from Kyiv and Dniprodzerzhynske who had submitted placental tissue and breast milk for toxicological analysis.

In addition, Dr. Hryhorczuk and Alex Forowycz from the UEHP are providing technical support to the U.S. National Cancer Institute and the Institute of Endocrinology and Metabolism in Kyiv in the conduct of the collaborative Chornobyl thyroid cancer studies.

The Ukrainian Environmental Health Project is based in the Great Lakes Center at the University of Illinois School of Public Health. The Great Lakes Center is a NIOSH Educational Resource Center and World Health Organization Collaborating Center in Occupational and Environmental Health. An important factor in receipt of the Fogarty award was demonstration of support and commitment by the Ukrainian government. Dr. Yuri Shcherbak, Ukraine's ambassador to the United States, and his colleagues in the Ukrainian Consulate General in Chicago, including Consul General Viktor Kyryk and Consul Anatoliy Tolkachov, were instrumental in demonstrating official government support for these activities.

The UEHP invites scientific collaboration on Fogarty-sponsored activities from academic and research institutions or other interested parties in the United States. In addition, the need for technical assistance with research support activities, such as the development of a computer center to support Fogarty-sponsored research, is anticipated but not funded. Students interested in pursuing graduate training or practicum experience in public health with an emphasis on environmental and occupational health problems in Ukraine or who want experience in computer science in Ukraine are encouraged to contact UEHP.

Inquiries should be directed to Susan Monaghan (312) 996-7887; fax: (312) 413-7369; e-mail: [email protected] or [email protected], or by letter at M/C922, 2121 West Taylor, Chicago, IL 60612.

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