MRC-HPA Centre for Environment and Health
The mission of the MRC-HPA Centre for Environment and Health is to create an international centre of excellence for research and training on the health effects of environmental pollutants, and to use this knowledge to inform national and international policies to improve public health.
Launched in June 2009, the centre is based jointly between Imperial College London (lead institution) and King’s College London, and incorporates the well known Small Area Health Statistics Unit at Imperial College and Environmental Research Group at King’s College. The Director is Professor Paul Elliott and the Deputy Director is Professor Frank Kelly.
There is a considerable degree of uncertainty about the effects that the modern environment may be having on public health, with chronic exposure to potentially toxic substances in the environment a fact of modern life. Chemicals and other physical agents in the environment are thought to contribute, in part, to the occurrence of various childhood and chronic diseases including reproductive effects (such as low birth weight, still birth and congenital anomalies), chest and heart problems, and several cancers.
However, the effects and impact of many substances is still unknown. A cluster of cancer cases, for example, occurring in a small area, may often raise public concerns about possible local sources of pollution. As a result, a new approach is needed to investigating these potential issues, and understanding how pollutants in the environment affect health.
The Centre is able to combine data on populations and the areas in which they live at the individual level, in well-defined small areas, and compare these to a range of environmental exposures and different health outcomes. Techniques used include geographical mapping, analysis of routinely available health data (eg, on birth outcomes, cancers, etc), statistical modelling, experimental data, field measurement of environmental exposures (eg, air pollution), and analysis of exposure/lifestyle data and biological information from population studies. Particular challenges are to identify those small risks that may be associated with chemicals and other toxic factors in the environment, to quantify the individual and combined effects of these “mixtures”, and to study people’s susceptibility to disease in exposed areas.
“The challenge is to harness new technologies to improve exposure assessment in epidemiological studies. Ultimately the aim is to improve the science base underlying environmental health policy”, says Director Professor Paul Elliott.
Centre Strategy
The work of the centre falls in to three main themes:
1. Investigation of important questions in environment and health, through two research areas:
a. Health effects of environmental contaminants, including:
i. environmental risk factors such as land and water contamination, and non-ionising radiation (eg, mobile phones);
ii. variations in risk associated with differences in susceptibility, which is affected by genetic, socio-economic or lifestyle factors;
iii. so-called “disease clusters” which appear as health risks clustered near sources of environmental pollution;
iv. exposure to environmental noise and possible effects on the cardiovascular health in children and adults.
b. Air pollution and health, including:
i. the nature of the toxic qualities of particles in the air e.g. nitrogen oxides;
ii. the effects of changing ozone levels;
iii. the relative effects of exposure to pollutants at different points in the life course;
iv. the characteristics determining individual susceptibility including genetic factors;
v. the (potentially large) effects of biological aerosols acting as allergens
2. Methodological work is focusing on improving accuracy of exposure assessment for individuals and populations.
3. Translation of this knowledge into policy, e.g., through scientific papers, presentations at conferences and workshops, liaison with policy-makers and health agencies.
Key Research Groups
The centre incorporates a range of leading environment and health research groups including:
Small Area Health Statistics Unit (SAHSU) - Based at Imperial College, SAHSU has developed a Rapid Inquiry Facility (RIF), a powerful tool for the investigation of emerging threats to environmental health. The RIF can analyse health statistics in relation to sources of environmental pollution and map diseases in areas as small as local authority wards, census output areas, or even postcode areas.
The Environmental Research Group (ERG) - Based at King’s College London, ERG provides air pollution information to 20% of the UK population using a network of monitors across South East England. The air pollution modelling system developed by ERG has been instrumental in advising on air pollution in London, as well as strategic traffic management schemes such as London Congestion Charging and the Low Emissions Zone (LEZ). Researchers collect data on ultrafine particles in the air from roadside and kerbside filters at sites within the London Air Quality Network and these are being analyzed for their capacity to cause damage to the lungs.
The statistical programme - Based at Imperial College, this programme is focused mainly on developing methodologies that enable meaningful analysis of unusual trends and large complex data sets that could not otherwise be investigated, such as interactions between genes and the environment, and the influence of environmental and socio-economic risk factors on health.
Other research groups associated to the Centre include:
The respiratory and air pollution epidemiology groups at Imperial College and at St George’s University of London are leading a number of national, European and worldwide studies investigating asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).
There is also a substantial programme of research on nanoparticle toxicity which focuses on pulmonary (airway) diseases and possible causes of inflammation, for example cigarette smoke, air pollution particles, engineered nanoparticles (such as those often found in cosmetics), and exposure to environmental contaminants such as pesticides.
Imperial has a world-class metabonomics laboratory which is investigating markers of disease using cutting-edge technology to measure the changes of cellular and organ level to stimuli. Current research includes combining this technology with data from large existing population-based studies to identifying differences between the responses of populations and different population groups, to stimuli, such as environmental pollutants.
Training
Training is also a major activity for the Centre. Up to ten 3-year PhD studentships are being offered competitively as part of a newly established, high-quality, training programme, with the first Centre students taking up their studies in autumn 2010. The training programme will be designed to dovetail with research training being offered through the students’ parent institutions.
“Our aim is to train a cohort of junior, middle-grade and senior academic staff to help fill the gap of suitably qualified researchers to become the future leaders in the field, as well as more junior postdoctoral staff who may decide to pursue an academic career in aspects of environment and health research” said Director Paul Elliott.