Grants and Fellowships | 2014

14 University Centers of Excellence Technion Center of Excellence in Exposure Science and Environmental Health The Technion Center of Excellence in Exposure Science and Environmental Health (TCEEH) was established in 2011 as a joint collaboration between theTechnion’s Faculty of Civil and Environmental Engineering and the Ruth and Bruce Rappaport Faculty of Medicine. TCEEH research focuses on understanding human exposure to relevant air pollutants, and the biological responses that follow this exposure. Due to population growth, industrialization, and urbanization, the Israeli public is exposed to high levels of air pollutants, experiences deteriorating urban air quality, suffers from reduced visibility and from increasing frequency of photochemical smog episodes, and faces aggravating warming and drought due to both urban heat island effects and climate changes. The global trend of improved standards of living and Israel’s distinct national situation (political, military, economic, etc.) and unique geo-meteorological conditions contribute, and oftentimes synergistically exacerbate, environment- health relationships. Moreover, on top of these dynamic conditions the close proximity between people (the receptors) and pollutant sources gives rise to unique circumstances. In these circumstances Israelis are routinely exposed to mixtures of anthropogenic and biogenic, fresh and aged, organic and inorganic, urban and rural/agricultural, and toxic and harmless respirable pollutants. The Center, through its research cores, addresses these issues by promoting research on priority pollutants and in relation to aggregate exposure scenarios. The Center’s ongoing projects include:  CITI-SENSE - Development of sensor-based Citizens’ Observatory Community for air pollution measurement and exposure estimation  IT and video based estimation of exposure to traffic related pollutants  Assessment of primary and secondary pesticide drift under sub-humid climate; fieldmeasurements and modeling approaches  Decontamination of toxic residues on surfaces via in situ photo-oxidation  Remote sensing of airborne particulate matter via both satellite-borne and ground measurements  Development of a comprehensive national air quality monitoring database that covers observations since the late 90’s  Modeling ambient concentrations of, and exposure to, respirable pollutants, especially in urban areas The Center’s activities benefit from the input of an international Scientific Advisory Committee (SAC) comprising leading researchers in the fields of exposure science and environmental health:  Jeremy Sarnat, SAC Chair, Rollins School of Public Health, Emory University, USA  Petros Koutrakis, School of Public Health, Harvard University, USA  Michael Brauer, School of Population and Public Health, University of British Columbia, Canada  James Schauer, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Wisconsin-Madison, USA  Mark Nieuwenhuijsen, Center for Research in Environmental Epidemiology (CREAL), Barcelona, Spain Director David Broday Members Yael Dubowski Barak Fishbain Abraham Reznick Yuval Zudman Ilan Levy Scientific Coordinator Yael Etzion