ESHI 2016 Brochure

ESHI

Environmental Sustainability & Health Institute

Mission ESHI

forges

new

understanding between health,

ground

the

environment in

addition

in

interactions and

to

building

national and regional capacity and capability, based

developing

interventions

evidenceaddressing

environmental health problems. By expertise with policy and regulatory

An interdisciplinary and cross-sectoral approach to research

capability in addition to relevant industry partners, ESHI is bridging

The Environmental Sustainability & Health Institute (ESHI) is a dedicated national translational research

the science-policy-innovation gap.

platform, uniquely based on collaboration between the Dublin Institute of Technology (DIT),

Ultimately, the overarching mission

the Health Service Executive (HSE) and Dublin City Council (DCC), building national and regional

and vision is to achieve Healthier

capacity and capability.

Lives for Children, the Elderly and Vulnerable Populations.

ESHI is an all-island initiative, involving strategic partnerships with the University of Ulster (UU), Dublin City University (DCU), the Institute of Public Health (IPH) and other stakeholders. It is

ESHI

uniquely positioned to facilitate an interdisciplinary and cross-sectoral approach, integrating

evidence base to:

academic research with the knowledge and expertise of relevant professionals to generate

1. Provide

practical

solutions

to

collective responses to public health issues. Building upon existing education and research

environmental health problems,

expertise, in addition to collaborations and strategic partnerships with multi-sector stakeholders,

2. Inform environmental health policy,

researchers at ESHI develop evidence-based interventions addressing environmental health

planning and decision making 3. Impact on the health of vulnerable

problems (see Figure 1).

populations

and

facilitate

investments to reduce the burden

facility at Grangegorman, enabling interdisciplinary collaboration by concentrating, consolidating and co-

Recreational Environment

locating scientists, technologists and

Work Environment

NG

Prevention through technology development and awareness activities (e.g. new assistive technologies, outreach, training, education, etc.)

Home Environment

AN

L

Social

Plan corrective action, transfer knowledge, input to and advise on policy change

1. Building a new dedicated research

DI

Fact e the environment we live in and impact Health and Quality of Life

This is achieved by:

FOOD

AIR

Physical

of chronic disease and injuries

The Living Environment and Key Exposure Routes that

D

IL

Chemical

Interventions (e.g. by the Environmental Sustainability & Health Institute) Assess, investigate, monitor, research the impacts, and build an evidence base

WAT ER

Biological

BU

environmental health professionals; 2. Undertaking a strategic research program,

Figure 1: Sphere of Environmental Health and Opportunity for Intervention

by

all

stakeholders to provide solutionsfocused

Psychosocial

informed interventions

involving

research, technology development, knowledge transfer, outreach 3. Building on existing partnerships and collaborations in addition to

The establishment and overall development of ESHI is overseen by a Board of Governors comprising

forging new relationships both

senior representatives from business (IBEC), health agencies (HSE, IPH), academia (DIT, UU) and

nationally and internationally to

ESHI

expand the expertise base;

of leading academics in science, engineering and policy, health service representatives and industry

4. Developing innovative, inclusive

experts. They will contribute to the long term strategy and research program by identifying national/

teaching and learning activities.

international health threats and potential gaps in policy, regulations, and/or other interventions needed for a healthy population.

The ESHI Model Central to ESHI’s mission is an interdisciplinary and cross-sectoral

•

Bio-monitoring

approach, focused on generating collective responses to public

•

Energy

health threats. This is achieved through collaboration between

•

Food

teams of Environmental Health Academics and Practitioners (EHAPs)

•

Policy & Lifestyle (including Air Quality & Climate Change)

which leverage the collective expertise of relevant academics, health

•

Water

practitioners and policy makers to determine and manage the solution (e.g. economic; policy; new information/data; new technology).

DCU

Technology Development & Commercialisation

Energy

Teaching, Learning & Outreach

ESHI is a novel, progressive approach to bridging the scienceinnovation-policy gap (see Figure 2), reviewed and validated by an international panel of experts via the PRLTI-Cycle 5 funding protocol.

Other Stakeholders

UU

Water

Computational Methods

ESHI

Food

DIT

Bio-monitoring Policy & Lifestyle

EPA

research IPH

HSE

DCC

practitioners Figure 3: ESHI teams pursue integrated, cross-disciplinary research with collaborative partners

stakeholders & cross-sectoral input

Bio-Monitoring According to the National Environmental Health Action Plan (NEHAP), ‘biomarkers are a valuable means of detecting environmental

Science & Innovation

develops’. In addition to its established role in diagnosis, molecular,

GAP

Policy

chemical and cellular bio-monitoring is a core activity in the evaluation practical hurdle is that technological advances in bio-monitoring have often outpaced medical understanding, which has led to the situation

Figure 2: ESHI bridging the science-innovation-policy gap

Collaborative Research at ESHI

where compounds may be detected but their relevance to human health is unknown. Ireland does not have an organized bio-monitoring

ESHI is responding to environmental health research needs despite current resource constraints and prevailing economic circumstances.

Energy

The research programme builds on respective and complementary

Environmental sustainability is one of DITs strategic research themes

expertise of Environmental Health Academics and Practitioners (EHAPs) and consolidates activities in a truly interdisciplinary Institute

This SARF builds on existing research collaborations in addition

aligned to the central objectives of DIT‘s research strategy (Figure 3).

to leveraging the expertise of DIT’s Dublin Energy Lab (DEL), a multidisciplinary research group of engineers, physicists, marketing

ESHI’s research corresponds to many of the priority areas for future

professionals and architects who are focused on the development of evidence-based policies to: reduce greenhouse gas emissions, increase

Government’s Research Prioritisation Steering Group (Forfás, 2012).

security of supply and enhance national competitiveness, etc.

Such collaborative and interdisciplinary research shall contribute to improvements in quality of life, impact on policies and potentially

Food

lead to enterprise development.

In Ireland as in other developed countries, food intake can impact negatively on human health in terms of poor diet and food borne illness resulting from contamination. Assessing, monitoring and

(SARFs) to provide the evidence base and develop interventions

investigating the health impacts of poor diet, food quality and food safety are key components of this SARF. Research will focus on food

Environmental Health Action Plan (NEHAP).

safety, quality and nutrition of vulnerable groups on the island of Ireland, including children, the elderly and the underprivileged.

Policy & Lifestyle

Technology Development & Commercialisation Assistive Technologies

to the state of any economy. This is a truly integrated and interdisciplinary SARF (e.g. air quality, climate change, quality of life

disabled people face challenges arising from exclusionary

issues, etc.) because it addresses the impacts of key environmental

designs in our environment. This CCRA aims to apply Universal

issues that impact population well being and public health policies.

ESHI provides knowledge to the decision makers to keep Ireland at

people, technology and environments. Research will focus

the leading edge in environmental health research while improving the quality of life of the population.

technological solutions/interventions to address factors that

Air Quality & Climate Change:

challenge disabled and elderly people in their living environment.

Ireland is required under EU legislation to monitor air quality in large urban areas to ensure that the health of the population is not put at

Healthcare

risk. The air quality and climate change unit in ESHI has expertise on

Healthcare Technology encompasses a wide range of healthcare

a wide range of air pollution intervention studies, and on exposures

products, used in clinical measurements for diagnosis,

to environmental tobacco smoke. It has a well-established track

assessment, monitoring and treatment of disease. This CCRA

record in research, key publications, and research funding from

leverages basic and applied research expertise in Optometry,

Irish, EU and US funding agencies. It is a truly inter-disciplinary and

Diagnostic Ultrasound Imaging and Bio-spectroscopy to develop

cross-sectoral team that includes collaborations with regional (e.g.

Healthcare Technologies which are central to the establishment of

DCC, DCU), National (e.g. HSE, IPH) and international partners (e.g.

clinical measurement platforms for diagnosis (and treatment) of

Harvard university, Umea University, WHO Europe, EU JRC Ispra).

environmental health related diseases.

Hygiene & Infection Control

Water

The emphasis on hygiene and infection control within the the need to ensure clean, safe, adequate drinking water supplies and

healthcare sector is increasingly important in light of media

to promote sustainable management of all waters, while enhancing

publicity on bacterial resistance. Bacteria such as MRSA are

technologies for detecting, assessing and minimizing the levels of

hygiene standards. This CCRA has applications in many of the

biological and chemical pollutants in drinking water supplies and

SARFs (e.g. Water, Food Quality & Safety and Bio-monitoring)

urgent need for a technological strategy that will improve

develop novel water monitoring, hygiene and water treatment systems.

Monitoring ESHI’s research is underpinned by Cross-Cutting Research Activities (CCRA’s): •

Maths & Computational Methods

•

Technology Development & Commercialisation

•

»

Assistive Technology

»

Healthcare Technologies

»

Hygiene & Infection Control

»

Monitoring

Teaching, Learning & Outreach

Mathematical & Computational Methods Mathematical modeling and simulation are fast becoming an

protection, while also understanding and quantifying the role monitoring and control of the natural environment, this CCRA proposes to use optical sensors in a much broader context to and facilitate the assessment of their impact on population health.

Teaching & Learning ESHI‘s focused research programme enhances teaching and learning through undergraduate, postgraduate, continuing professional development (CPD) and outreach activities. Hence it links education and up-skilling provision directly to practitioner requirements

statistical methodologies. This CCRA will leverage the consortium’s

responding to regulatory changes using evidence based best practices.

expertise in health informatics, mathematical modeling and statistics. deals with the storage, retrieval, organization, analysis and optimal use for problem solving and decision making. Such enabling technology supports many aspects of population health e.g. the National Cancer Registry needs to be coordinated with other data sources

www.dit.ie/eshi

Dedicated Research facility at DIT Grangegorman campus The Dublin Institute of Technology (DIT) is relocating to a new campus at Grangegorman in Dublin city centre. It will incorporate a major education and health campus and provide sporting, recreation and other public amenities. Ultimately, all of DIT will be consolidated there, bringing over 20,000 students and staff to the new campus.

The Environmental Sustainability and Health Institute (ESHI) is central to DIT’s research and innovation hub in Grangegorman. It is colocated with Hothouse (i.e. commercialisation and innovation office) in the first new building called the Greenway Hub (4,600m2). The ESHI occupies state-of-the-art facilities that include ten laboratories (e.g. microbiology, cell culture, assistive technology, food science, water analysis, vision sciences research, Dublin Energy Lab) shared working spaces, a number of meetings rooms, conference/seminar space. Additionally it provides accommodation for 100 PhD students and 20 researchers and support staff.

Further information: Dr. Noreen Layden Head of ESHI Dublin Institute of Technology Grangegorman, Dublin 7, Ireland.

Tel: +353 (0)1 402 8055 E-mail: noreen.layden@dit.ie Website : www.dit.ie/eshi