Cores

Administrative Core

The Administrative Core (AC) serves to plan and help coordinate research activities while overseeing the financial and resource management of the program. The AC works with other program components to assist in Research Translation of their findings and to advance the interactions of our Community Engagement Core with the University and our community partners. The AC is the main conduit for communications between the SRC, the state government and the NIEHS.


Research Support Core

Genetics and Metabolomics Core

The UC San Diego Superfund Research Program Genetics and Metabolomics Core creates tailor-made genetically altered mouse models for the Biomedical Projects, uses highly sophisticated, rapid and sensitive methods for the detection and analysis of hormones and small  metabolites (metabolomics), and provides informatics for analysis of biological and environmental samples. Hormone analyses in mouse and human serum, and metabolomics analyses of serum, urine, water, soil, and plant samples provide detailed detection of toxicants and their effects in environmental and experimental systems.    


Research Translation Core

Extending the Reach of Exposure Science and Technology That Improves the Detection and Remediation of Hazardous Substances

The Research Translation Core (RTC) collaborates with all of the SRC project/core leaders to translate their scientific knowledge, data, models and technological innovations into forms useful for our targeted audiences. The RTC’s communication strategies, partnerships with government agencies, technology transfer and information dissemination to appropriate audiences will concentrate on toxicant induced liver disease from a perspective of prevention and intervention. We identify and share new models of exposure, methods of detection and diagnosis, novel plant technologies, and new online cyberinfrastructure for data integration, visualization and mapping.


Community Engagement Core

Community Engagement and Urban Agriculture: Addressing Concerns About Toxicants in Soil, Water and Plants

The Community Engagement Core (CEC) facilitates knowledge exchange between our Superfund Research Center and local communities to reduce cumulative impacts, reduce health disparities, and enhance well-being in disadvantaged areas of San Diego County, Imperial County and Mexico. The CEC aims to build the capacity of certain targeted vulnerable communities to identify, prioritize and resolve environmental and public health issues related to environmental exposures and Superfund toxicants. The socio-ecological problems facing vulnerable communities including environmental injustices – compounded by food insecurity, health disparities and now climate change – require an integrative, Sustainability Science, place-based approach to finding solutions to these challenges with a strong commitment to civic engagement.


Training Core

Environmental Science Training and Career Development Core

The Training Core trains the next generation of postdoctoral fellows and PhD students with expertise in Environmental Sciences related to Superfund chemicals. 

Detection and Models of Toxicant Exposure

The UCSD Superfund Research Center will be developing models through its Biomedical Research Projects (1-4) to characterize the mechanisms of Superfund toxicant induced TASH development and cancer, while the Environmental Science & Engineering (ES&E) Research Projects (5-6) will develop tools for NPL-toxicant detection and remediation. Our Biomedical Projects and Environmental Science & Engineering Projects will be assisted in these efforts by our Genetics and Metabolomics Support Core which will provide tools for mouse genetic production, metabolomic and sophisticated Bioinformatic analysis. The Community Engagement Core will aim to build the capacity of certain targeted vulnerable communities to identify, prioritize and resolve environmental and public health issues related to environmental exposures and Superfund toxicants. A key objective of the Projects is to highlight scientific findings to maximize Research Translation, which will happen with collaborations between all our research projects and of course, our Research Translation Core. Lastly, our Training Core will provide support, advancement, and education to Graduate and Postgraduate level trainees with the UCSD Superfund Research Center.

Contact

UCSD Superfund Research Center
University of California, San Diego
Pharmacology Department
9500 Gilman Drive, Mail Code 0722
La Jolla, CA 92093-0722