NIEHS Director Dr. Rick Woychik and other institute leaders traveled to India in January to build collaborations with local researchers who are working to address the health effects of environmental exposures, such as poor air quality.
During the two-week trip, Woychik and the NIEHS team participated in an India-U.S. workshop focused on environmental public health as part of a joint event under a memorandum of understanding between NIEHS and the Indian Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR). Woychik and Dr. Sri Nadadur, Head of Exposure, Response and Technology Division, gave presentations at Amity University in Noida, Ashoka University in Haryana and Center for Chronic Disease Control (CCDC) in New Delhi.
“There is a lot of interest and excitement in exploring the possibilities of collaboration with U.S. scientists, particularly in the areas of exposomes and studying the impacts of climate change on health,” Wojcik said. “It would be useful to consider integrating research collaborations that Data can be generated to document the harmful effects of air pollution and other hazardous environmental exposures to inform future policymakers.”
![From left to right: Dr. Sri Nadadur, U.S. Ambassador Eric Garcetti, Dr. Rick Woychik and Health Attaché Genessa Giorgi, U.S. Embassy in New Delhi.](https://factor.niehs.nih.gov/sites/niehs-factor/files/2024/02/feature/india-research-collab-body1.jpg)
Spread the word about exposomes
Woychik and Nadadur, along with Dr. David Balshaw, head of extramural research and training, participated in the three-day workshop, which explored emerging environmental health challenges from a genetic, epigenetic and exposome perspective.
The exposome, a research framework that integrates the totality of environmental exposures across the life course, was a new concept to many participants.
![Dr. Sri Nadadur (third from left) and Dr. Rick Woychik (fourth from left) participated in a roundtable discussion with CSIR Director General Dr. N. Kalaiselvi and the CSIR leadership team.](https://factor.niehs.nih.gov/sites/niehs-factor/files/2024/02/feature/india-research-collab-body2.jpg)
“Exposome studies provide a platform to collect more detail and resolution of environmental exposures to uncover unintended environmental effects on health and disease,” Balshaw explained at the workshop.
Hold meetings to enhance cooperation
![Dr. Rick Wochik](https://factor.niehs.nih.gov/sites/niehs-factor/files/2024/02/feature/india-research-collab-body3.jpg)
During their visit, Wojcik and Nadadur also met with U.S. Ambassador Eric Garcetti and the embassy’s Climate and Air Pollution Strategic Planning Working Group.
Additionally, they met with the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), the Center for Chronic Disease Control (CCDC), and the GEOHealth HEALS Center jointly funded by NIEHS and the Fogarty International Center.
“There is a growing recognition of the importance of environmental health research. These leading Indian federal research and development institutions have expressed interest in exchanging expertise and collaborating,” Nadadul said.
Indian researchers are not seeking funding, just partnerships for environmental health science research. Researchers at NIEHS and the broader NIH community interested in collaborating should contact Nadadur.
(Caroline Stetler is editor-in-chief of Environmental Factors, a magazine published monthly by the NIEHS Office of Communications and Public Liaison.)