Translating Environmental Health Research into Action

Rachel Rosenberg Wins APHA Prize

Congratulations to Rachel Rosenberg for winning
the APHA Environment Section's Student Achievement
Poster Award for her poster entitled "Irrigation
workers' exposures to antimicrobial-resistant bacteria
and antimicrobials present in reclaimed wastewater."
We are very proud of her achievements.

Our Mission

Welcome to the Maryland Institute for Applied Environmental Health (MIAEH). MIAEH is a dedicated group of talented faculty, students and staff who serve as the teaching, research and service / outreach function for environmental health in the school of public health at UMCP.

The Maryland Institute for Applied Environmental Health (MIAEH) strives to advance knowledge concerning the effects of environmental factors on human health. Through innovative, multi-disciplinary research, we seek 1) to improve our understanding of how biological, chemical, physical and other influences in the environment contribute to chronic and acute human illnesses; and 2) to translate and apply research findings towards the development of effective environmental health policies. The education and training of environmental health professionals in areas ranging from environmental exposure assessment and epidemiology, to environmental health informatics and the risk sciences is integral to the Institute’s mission. Research at MIAEH aims to explore a broad range of environmental health problems and discover solutions that will effectively improve public health outcomes for the citizens of our state, the nation and the world.

What is Applied Environmental Health?

Environmental health research explores the impacts of our natural and man-made environment on human health.  Yet, the environment is not limited to our air, water, soil and food. It also encompasses our sociocultural environment, economic environment, work environment and family environment. The phrase “applied environmental health” means translating the results of environmental health research into positive actions and public health interventions that are appropriate in the context of our total sociocultural and economic environment at local, national and global levels.   

As a new institute in the School of Public Health, we offer students flexible and individualized programs of study that lead to the degree, Master of Public Health in Environmental Health Sciences. Our program is designed not only to satisfy the academic goals of our students but also to help them achieve their life and career goals.

Creating Partnerships to Find Global Solutions.

The faculty members of the Maryland Institute for Applied Environmental Health collaborate with state, federal, international and private agencies to develop research solutions that address pressing environmental health problems. For example, the Institute is working with the Maryland Governor’s Commission on Environmental Justice and Sustainable Communities to identify which communities are most impacted by environmental, socioeconomic, or health disparities. Other faculty collaborate with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to find the sources of antibiotic resistance and microbial contamination in foods. Another area of research is examining the relationship between air pollution and asthma as well as other health outcomes.

Beyond our neighborhoods, environmental health has a global impact. We also partner with international organizations in order to conduct environmental health research that results in successful, sustainable interventions that improve the health of communities worldwide.

For more information, contact:

Dr. Amir Sapkota
Graduate Education Director
Maryland Institute for Applied Environmental Health
University of Maryland
Room 2328, School of Public Health
College Park, Md. 20742-2611
301.405.8716
amirsap@umd.edu

The School of Public Health is part of the University of Maryland, College Park. We are located on 1,200 acres in the heart of the Baltimore-Washington, D.C. high-tech corridor. One of 32 public research universities in the prestigious 61-member Association of American Universities, Maryland enrolls 25,000 undergraduates and nearly 10,000 graduate students annually in more than 200 academic programs. For the full story, see www.umd.edu

The Extended MIAEH Family