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January 2021: Clinical Climate Change

The SARS-CoV-2 pandemic revealed the unambiguous impact of health disparities on morbidity and mortality from COVID-19 in frontline populations. Patients with chronic health conditions and Black, Indigenous and People of Color communities have disproportionally and dramatically suffered in the ongoing pandemic. The Clinical Climate Change Conference brought together a broad audience of allied health professionals seeking to improve understanding, performance and patient outcomes. It aimed at filling the current gap and provide learners with an opportunity for exposure to up-to-date evidence based information on climate change impacts. Mount Sinai TCEEE researchers and SAB partners discussed the role of community advocacy and ways to build new partnerships between community and health care leaders.

DECEMBER 2020: DR. ELZA RECHTMAN AWARDED THE 2019-2020 POSTDOCTORAL AWARD FOR EXCELLENCE IN SERVICE TO THE MOUNT SINAI COMMUNITY

We are excited to announce that Dr. Elza Rechtman is the recipient of the “2019-2020 Postdoctoral Award for Excellence in Service to the Mount Sinai Community” from The Office of Postdoctoral Affairs and the Postdoc Executive Committee at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai (ISMMS). Dr. Rechtman’s peers have recognized the extraordinary service to the Mount Sinai community through advocacy and volunteering. Congratulations!

November 2020: Dr. Sheffield part of a group of physicians calling for medical residency programs to teach about impact of climate change on health

Dr. Perry Sheffield and a group of physicians called for medical residency programs to include how climate change impacts health. The group a published a paper in Academic Medicine that outlines a framework on the subject matter including “a breakdown of high-risk populations, including the elderly and low-income families, and a review of the current understanding on how climate impacts health – such as the relationship between air quality and respiratory illness.” STAT interviews Rebecca Philipsborn, a pediatrician at Emory University School of Medicine and the paper’s lead author, about the framework.

October 2020: Celebrating Children’s Environmental Health Day

We celebrated Children’s Environmental Health Day with the release of “Climate Change and Your Neighborhood,” the second book in the Healthy World, Healthy You storybook series. Isabella and her younger brother Joel explore the intersection of health and the environment and what they can do to protect their own health and that of their friends and neighbors. In the newest book, the duo team up with their grandmother to educate and motivate their community to take steps to make the neighborhood a healthier place.

COVID-19, Colonialism & Environmental (In)Justice Instagram Chat, October 8

This virtual discussion explored the legacy of colonialism in environmental health and the impact of systemic racism on the health of children and communities. It featured: Luz Guel, Mount Sinai Transdisciplinary Center on Early Environmental Exposures in a conversation with community activist Génesis Abreu, North Brooklyn Neighbors. Link to IG live video recording.

September 2020: “Water Ways” funded by NIEHS Small Business Innovation Grant

We are excited to announce that we have been awarded an NIEHS Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Grant to fund our collaborative project entitled “Water Ways”. The Community Engagement Core, Stakeholder Advisory Board, and Killer Snails will collaborate with partners to develop an immersive learning experience, Water Ways, that leverages the latest in Extended Reality (XR) technology paired with authentic assessments to improve environmental health literacy of fresh and saltwater, build STEM capacity, and support community science endeavors for children in grades 3-5.

August 2020: Dr. Arora Participated in Instagram Live Event with Sprout

On July 30, 2020, Manish Arora, PhD, MPH, FICD, BDS, was interviewed by Sprout San Francisco on Instagram. Sprout’s mission is help families choose the healthiest and safest products for their children. Dr. Manish Arora spoke about environmental health and biomarkers that show how the environment is effecting our children’s health. To watch the IG live (click here).

July 2020: Pilot Project Awardees

The Mount Sinai NIEHS Core Center has announced the awardees for the (Round 1) 2020 call for Pilot Grant proposals. The Center’s mission is to increase the Environmental Health (EH) research portfolio at Mount Sinai and to bring non-EH researchers into the field through new transdisciplinary collaborations.

 

Seven $25,000 grant were awarded. To learn more about the funded the research projects for this year, visit our Funded Pilot Projects page.

June 2020: Prescriptions for Prevention Featured in NIEHS Newsletter

top photo: The Mount Sinai team, bottom photo: Lauren Zajac, M.D., M.P.H., examining a child

The NIEHS July Newsletter highlighted the Prescriptions for Prevention, an online public education tool. The RXs for Prevention are a result of a partnership between NIEHS’s Community Engagement Cores and several regional Pediatric Environmental Health Specialty Units (PEHSU) across the country. The prescriptions are short, downloadable documents that have two parts: an action plan and a list of additional resources. Each prescription educates both clinicians and families about how environmental exposures impact children’s health. The prescriptions also provide clinicians with an easy method to counsel and refer families to needed community resources. The partnership connects the dots among researchers, clinicians, and community partners by incorporating environmental health into routine pediatric care. To read the newsletter click here.