National Institute for Public Health and the Environment

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[music] Asthma.... Autism.... Breast Cancer.... Parkinson's Disease. These are just a few of the diseases that scientists believe may be linked to something in our environment in the food that we eat, in the water that we drink, in the earth that we touch, or in the air that we breathe. For generations, the scientific community has worked to understand how genetics influence human illness. Today however, scientists also work to understand how the environment does the same. As a result, this notion of 'environmental health' has created a newfound hope for disease prevention. Because as we all know, you can't change your genes, but you can change your environment! The National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, or NIEHS, leads the nation's study of human health and the environment. As part of the National Institutes of Health, NIEHS's mission is to discover how the environment affects people in order to promote healthier lives. Originally founded in 1966, NIEHS contains a number of field-leading laboratories in-house, though most of its resources go out into the community in the form of grants to universities and other research organizations. Utilizing the latest in technology and research techniques, Institute scientists and grantees study a wide array of chemicals and environmental agents, such as industrial solvents, herbal remedies, mold, and pesticides, as well as the methods through which humans are exposed to them, like breathing, skin contact, or eating and drinking. NIEHS is also home to the National Toxicology Program, or NTP. Launched in 1978, NTP brings together many federal research and regulatory agencies to review and evaluate thousands of studies on the toxic effects of chemicals and compounds. Once these are concluded, NTP then releases their findings through a series of public reports, most notably the well-known Report on Carcinogens. In addition to its unique mission among other NIH institutes and centers, NIEHS is also unique for its location. The only member of NIH not based in Bethesda, Maryland, NIEHS is nestled away in the heart of Research Triangle Park, North Carolina, where its tall, rolling hills, breathtaking rustic landscapes and abundance of indigenous wildlife make its campus a fitting tribute to the Institute's environmental cause. Just take a look. Now approaching its 50th anniversary, NIEHS continues to raise the bar in the field of environmental health research. Under the leadership of its current Director, Dr. Linda Birnbaum, a dedicated scientist and a specialist in the field of toxicology, NIEHS and its grantees continually strive to improve the nation's quality of health by better understanding the world that surrounds it. This means working together with our local and international research partners, and helping to serve the public as proud members of the National Institutes of Health.