UK-SRP Director Dr. Bernhard Hennig (center) was joined by (left to right)
Congressman Ben Chandler, national SRP Director Bill Suk, NIEHS Director Linda Birnbaum,
and University of Kentucky President Eli Capilouto in welcoming attendees to the
2011 SRP Annual Meeting

UK-SRP Hosts NIEHS Superfund Research Program Annual Meeting

(October 2011) - UK-SRP faculty and students were honored to host this year's NIEHS Superfund Research Program Annual Meeting in Lexington, KY.

This year's meeting kicked off on Sunday afternoon, October 23, with a session devoted to research by the SRP's R01 grantees. Later in the afternoon, SRP trainees from programs around the country had the opportunity to attend a panel session about career opportunities in the environmental sciences, which included representatives from DuPont, the University of Kentucky, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, and the Kentucky Department for Environmental Protection, as well as NIEHS Director Dr. Linda Birnbaum. Sunday evening's events included the Research Translation and Community Engagement Cores Poster Session and the Taste of Kentucky Welcome Reception.

The agendas for Monday, October 24, and Tuesday, October 25, were filled with scientific sessions, as subject matter experts from across the country, students and postdoctoral scholars, and research translation and community engagement practitioners discussed research outcomes and implications grouped under three topics: Systemic Impacts of Superfund Pollutants on Biological Systems; Emerging Models and Strategies for Modulating Chemical Insult in the Human Body; and Sustainable Strategies for Detection and Cleanup of Superfund Pollutants. SRP's close relationship with the US Environmental Protection Agency was underscored by presentations from Dr. Subhas Sikdar, Associate Director for Science at EPA's National Risk Laboratory, and Dr. John Leazer, Director of EPA's Sustainable Technologies Division.

Break-out lunches provided opportunities for SRP trainees to interact with program directors, while training core leaders met with NIEHS personnel. Evening social events included the Directors Dinner, the Administrators Dinner, and the Research Translation/Community Engagement Cores Dinner, while the latter group held its own post-conference meeting on Wednesday, October 26.