Making life worth living

DUBLIN INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY:DIT's Environmental Health Sciences Institute aims to achieve 'healthier lives for children, the elderly and vulnerable populations'

NEW TECHNOLOGIES to improve water quality, to assist people with disabilities and to boost hygiene and infection control measures are just some of the results Dublin Institute of Technology’s Environmental Health Sciences Institute (EHSI) hopes to deliver.

This diverse range of research areas is an indication of the scope of this dedicated research centre for interdisciplinary research. Its stated mission is to achieve “healthier lives for children, the elderly and vulnerable populations”.

The institute is a collaboration between the Dublin Institute of Technology (DIT), the Health Service Executive (HSE) and Dublin City Council (DCC). At present, research is conducted at three DIT colleges but it is soon to move to a new campus in Grangegorman, Dublin.

Last July, the EHSI was awarded €12.4 million in funding under the Programme for Research in Third-level Institutions, with the stated aim of developing a dedicated research facility on the campus to enable interdisciplinary collaboration between scientists and environmental health professionals.

EHSI researchers hope to develop evidence-based interventions to address environmental health problems identified in the National Environmental and Health Action Plan (NEHAP), informing the Research Strategy for Environmental Health (2009-2012).

DIT’s head of graduate research, Dr Mary McNamara, says: “The breadth of the research being carried out goes back to the definition of environmental health, which is very broad. It can range from food quality to the state of buildings and land and their impact on human health.

“We are trying to develop practical solutions to environmental health problems and inform environmental health policy, planning and decision-making. We also aim to have an impact on the health of vulnerable populations and facilitate investments to reduce the burden of chronic disease and injuries.”

The collaborative nature of the institute is important in achieving these aims. “Our partners in the HSE and Dublin City Council are very important,” she says. “All the environmental health officers who have experience of what is happening on the ground work for the HSE. What we are trying to do is bring our research together with the professional expertise and experience of our partners in order to develop innovative solutions.”

She points to food quality and safety as one area that could have several outputs.

“We are looking at the diet of the population, and its impact,” says McNamara. “This could result in the development of new policies and practices for dieticians.Research in this area could also result in technological advances that will enable food producers to enhance the quality and safety of their products.

“Another interesting area is the development of new techniques for hygiene and infection control. This could have major implications for the control of [infections] such as MRSA.

“We are also working with the National Disability Authority on technologies to assist people with disabilities. Another strand of our research could result in the development of non-invasive diagnostic tools for diseases such as cancer.

“The beauty of it is that in DIT we have the research expertise, the HSE has the professional expertise and practical experience, and we are bringing these together to define the research question.

“It’s only by defining the right questions that you can come up with the solutions people need. Our aim is to do research that people want and need. It may be a product or a policy, but the important thing is that it will affect people’s health and improve lives.”

A number of interdisciplinary teams are pursuing seven specific areas of research focus (SARFs): lifestyle and policy, water quality, air quality, radiation and noise, bio-monitoring, energy, and food quality and safety.

The lifestyle and policy SARF addresses the social and psycho-social factors that influence a population’s wellbeing, which, in turn, contributes significantly to the state of any economy.

The water quality research strand seeks to reduce poor water quality by identifying specific areas of threat and developing technologies to detect, assess and minimise the levels of biological and chemical pollutants in surface, ground and spring water as well as developing novel water monitoring, hygiene and water treatment systems.

Ireland has one of the highest death rates from respiratory illness in the developed world, with the third highest prevalence of asthma globally. The air quality SARF will generate a bank of knowledge on the issue that will be a national resource. This infrastructure will serve as a facility to address air pollution exposure, provide knowledge to decision-makers on the issue, keep Ireland at the cutting edge of air pollution research and improve the quality of life of the population.

Through the radiation and noise strand, researchers will seek to reduce the risk of adverse health effects arising from exposure to these hazards. DIT researchers have an international reputation in the assessment of the effects of radiation, with emphasis on individual radio-sensitivity, radiation-induced bystander effects and mitochondrial dynamics. Knowledge in these areas will be harnessed to develop strategies to protect people from exposure to radiation.

Research will also focus on assessing the impact of noise from industry, energy generation and leisure activities – which will lead to the development of practical noise controls and prevention measures – and investigate if noise can be controlled or eliminated through new acoustic materials and technologies.

Biomarkers are a valuable means of detecting environmental exposure, as they can measure biological effects before overt disease develops. In addition to its role in diagnosis, molecular, chemical and cellular bio-monitoring is a core activity in the evaluation of the effects of the environment on human health.

The goal of the bio-monitoring SARF is to establish an on-site laboratory for the analysis of plasma biomarkers and create a repository of patient-specific cell lines.

Environmental sustainability is already one of DIT’s strategic research themes and the energy SARF will build upon this to research the health effects of climate change. It will also look at the impact of recent changes to the type and location of, and fuel sources for, heat and power generation and transport technologies in Ireland.

Assessing, monitoring and investigating the effects of poor diet, food quality and food safety are central to the final strand of the institute’s research. The research will focus specifically on food sources for vulnerable groups on the island of Ireland, including children, the elderly and the underprivileged.

“We are very much solutions-focused,” McNamara points out. “Our partners are out there working day-to-day and we are working with them to develop solutions to the very real problems they are encountering.

“The move to the facility in Grangegorman will give the institute added focus and coherence, but in the meantime we have a wide range of undergraduate and postgraduate programmes in DIT which are concerned with human health and in many cases are unique in Ireland.

“The Environmental Health Sciences Institute brings this academic excellence and research capability together with the practical experience of our partners to deliver the solutions that people need.”