Search Results

< Back to Center Leadership List Contact Info 615 N. Wolfe Street, Room E6632 Baltimore Maryland 21205 Mail kkoehle1@jhu.edu Globe https://publichealth.jhu.edu/faculty/2928/kirsten-koehler Kirsten Koehler, PhD Director of ECMC Dr Koehler' goals are to improve exposure assessment methods to inform occupational and public health policy. Her research goals involve the use of direct-reading instrumentation to improve spatiotemporal exposure assessment. Direct-reading (i.e. “real-time”) monitors can rapidly assess exposures to various hazards. Her Career Development Award involves coupling estimated exposures with a known location to identify occupational sources of these hazards. Contour plots of the hazard concentration over space, known as concentration maps, have recently been used to assess the spatial variability of hazards. Concentration maps have the potential to be powerful because they are easily comprehensible for workers, managers, and occupational/environmental health scientists to locate areas of concern. In the ambient environment, she is interested in spatiotemporal exposure assessment by pairing direct-reading instruments with a GPS unit to apportion exposures to different microenvironments. She is an investigator on a study in which we are using a Geographic Information System (GIS) to determine whether commuters can reduce their exposure to traffic-related air pollution by changing their route or mode of transportation (driving vs. bicycling). Additionally, she is the P.I. of an award to investigate the indoor exposures for this cohort. While she believes there is great potential for direct-reading instruments to aid in the identification of exposure hazards, it can be dangerous to apply such a methodology without understanding the uncertainties associated with this new form of exposure assessment. Her continuing research interests include investigating the use of traditional spatial statistical methods like Kriging and more novel methods employing Bayesian statistics. She is also interested in developing novel aerosol samplers to improve the relationship between exposures and health effects.

< Back Maertens ​ ​ Previous Next

< Back Hartung ​ ​ Previous Next

< Back CAPS system (cells or animals not included) $100/day Previous Next

< Back Buckley ​ ​ Previous Next

Please join us for a special convening organized by the Com munity of Curtis Bay Association (CCBA) a nd the South Baltimore Community Land Trust (SBCLT) , who are community co-leads of the CHARMED Center Community Engagement Core (CEC) and member of the Environmental Justice Partnerships Board (EJPB). The CHARMED Center CEC would like to highlight this community convening as a special monthly gathering of the EJPB and invite all EJPB stakeholders to attend in person or tune in via Zoom. Details are provided below by SBCLT and CCBA. YOU'RE INVITED: Environmental Justice Report coming on Dec 14th Dear Friend, Join us on Thursday, Dec 14th at 7pm for the release of a key new report containing findings into decades long unanswered resident concerns about the connection between the transport and storage of millions of tons of coal in Baltimore and our health. Namely, is the dark dust I find on the inside and outside of my home coal dust? How far is coal dust detectable offsite from the uncovered terminal and rail line? How quickly does coal dust accumulate offsite? How can this impact my health and the health of my friends and neighbors? Thanks to strong resident leadership across South Baltimore communities and partners at the CHARMED Center committed to making scientific tools available in service of shedding light on environmental justice concerns - we have relevant and timely information to share in the form of a collaborative report developed by community, academic and governmental partners at the Maryland Department of Environment. The meeting on Dec 14th will feature the release of new findings in the collaborative report as well as an opportunity for public comments to be made directly to MDE as they prepare to draft a new permit for the CSX open air coal terminal in Curtis Bay. Click here to register for the free event and spread the word to your network. Listen to and share the NPR coverage along with the petition for a phase out of coal at the terminal to a safer material with stronger standards and per-ton community impact fees during the just transition with MDE Secretary Serena McIlwain mde.secretary@maryland.gov . Note that Governor Moore has yet to reply to the Community of Curtis Bay Association's request for meetings since the CSX coal explosion nearly two years ago! You can help make sure this issue is not ignored any longer by contacting him here and inviting him to attend on December 14th! ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ W hat happens after the December 14th meeting? After the collaborative report is released on December 14th, MDE has committed to take public comments and new research findings into account as they draft a new operating permit for the CSX coal terminal. Note, that residents have made complaints to MDE about coal dust from the terminal going back at least a decade when permit decisions were being made and no substantial changes were required. When MDE releases the draft permit for public comment in the new year, we will get our first indication as to whether or not MDE and Gov. Moore are prepared to act on their commitments to environmental justice. We must be prepared to continue to engage and act throughout this process, and beyond, so our needs for a healthy and safe community are not restricted by what is deemed politically possible. ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ T hank you a ll and let's continue to make the environmental and economic justice work we mapped out together a reality! ​ SYSTEMATIC APPROACH to En vironmen tal Justice, Zero Waste & Community Economic Development (our guiding framework) Create relief and equitable devel opment funds, through per ton fees and other mechanisms, for the communities that have hosted toxic waste and polluting infrastructure for decades. Set stronger standards that protect our health, workers and the environment, including a cumulative impacts law protecting overburdened communities. Establish protections for workers as we transition from outdated technologies to current approaches. Build and strengthen local end markets for compost and recycled commodities and other sustainable materials. End subsidies for the incinerators, landfills and polluting industry we are transitioning away from.

Hi all, Please see attached BREATHE Center’s 1-page tips to protect yourself from wildfire air pollution. Additional information is on the BREATHE Center website at https://breathecenter.org/educational-resources . Kindly, Meredith and Kirsten

OUR MISSION Residents of the greater Maryland region (extending north from Washington, DC through Baltimore, MD and including central Pennsylvania) face a complex range of environmental health concerns related to environmental pollutants from a wide variety of sources. The mission of the NIEHS P30 Core Center, Community Health Addressing Regional Maryland Environmental Determinants of Disease (CHARMED) is to build capacity in community-engaged research aimed at understanding the mechanistic links between environmental exposures and adverse health outcomes and translate these findings into action to improve the health and well-being of vulnerable individuals in communities across the greater Maryland region. ​ The Center builds partnerships between communities of the greater Baltimore region (from Washington, DC through Baltimore, MD and including some regions of Pennsylvania) to address their environmental concerns. CHARMED provides training, support and access to environmental health experts and state-of-the-art technologies to facilitate the creation of lasting community-investigator partnerships aimed at tackling the pressing environmental concerns of our communities. ​ Although the CHARMED Center is based in the Department of Environmental Health and Engineering, which spans the Bloomberg School and the Whiting School of Engineering, it is a university-wide hub for community-focused environmental research at Johns Hopkins University and the University of Maryland. CHARMED includes members from Schools/Departments campus-wide and from the University of Maryland: Public Health, Biostatistics, Population, Family and Reproductive Health, Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, Sociology, Earth and Planetary Sciences, and Materials Sciences and Engineering. ​ The Center will focus on 4 major thematic areas including: Cardiorespiratory Health and Airborne Contaminants, Chemical Mixtures and Emerging Contaminants, and Health, Community, Social, and Environmental Determinants of Health, Neurological Health. ​ The Center also houses several Facility Cores that will provide the scientific expertise and support required for conducting community-engaged environmental health research. The Cores include: The Community Engagement Core (CEC) co-led by Chris Heaney, PhD, Associate Professor in EHE and Sacoby Wilson, PhD, Professor at the University of Maryland, will serve as a bridge between greater Baltimore Communities and JHU/UMD investigators (CEC) and provide training in the conduct of Community-engaged research. These efforts build collaborations between JHU faculty members and community leaders and/or community-based organizations, conduct preliminary investigation into an community environmental concerns, and builds capacity within a community-based organization to conduct future research on community environmental health issues. The Integrated Health Sciences Facilities Core (IHSFC) is led by Nirupama Putcha, MD, MHS, Associate Professor in the Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine in the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine. Faculty across the University will be able to obtain support and training to engage in Community Engaged Research (study design, biostatistical support, translation) through the IHSFC. The Exposure Characterization And Modeling Facility Core ( (ECMC) is led by Kirsten Koehler, PhD, Associate Professor in the Department of Environmental Health. The ECMC will provide faculty across JHU resources for assessment of community exposures including in air, water, and soil. Pilot grant program : Dr. Thomas Hartung, MD, PhD, Professor of Environmental Health and Engineering leads the Pilot Project Program. Annually pilot project awards will be available to the University community to facilitate and support community-engaged projects that address community environmental concerns. Importantly, through a rapid response process (48 hour turn-around), funds can be rapidly deployed to address more emergent needs of the community-investigator teams. ​ We encourage investigators that have an interest in community-engaged research focused on improving the environmental health of our communities, to join our Center activities (Monthly Community meetings, monthly Thematic Working Group meetings, and an Annual Retreat). Figure: Maryland Region Environmental Challenges and the Vision of CHARMED

INTEGRATED HEALTH SCIENCES FACILITY CORE The Integrated Health Sciences Facility Core (IHSFC ) will help with the process of turning important issues and research ideas into high quality research projects and eventually helping convey the results of these studies back to the community as a whole. Whenever there is a concern or idea for a new research project, this core will help to convene a group of people who represent the community as well as scientists to advise the study team at various points throughout the study. This core will connect the study team to resources in the CHARMED center as well as in the institution to assemble a high-quality research plan and conduct the study in the most thoughtful way, both scientifically as well as with regards to being representative of the community’s needs and concerns. When the study is completed, the core will connect the study team to resources to make sure that the study results are shared so that they have maximum impact on the health of people in this community. What can the IHSFC do for community members? We believe the IHSFC will help make sure that when you share your ideas and concerns with the CHARMED center, that the resulting research projects are not only true to your ideas and concerns but also provide important and high quality information that can impact community and stakeholder perspectives and outcomes. Figure: Overview of IHSFC Services

CONTACT US 615 N Wolfe St, Baltimore, MD 21205 Email: CHARMED@jh.edu Name Phone Email Address Subject Message Thanks for submitting! Submit

< Back to NIEHS Meeting