Centers for Oceans & Human Health
Centers for Oceans & Human Health
The National Science Foundation (NSF) and the National Institute of Environmental Health Services (NIEHS), one of the National Institutes of Health, are funding four joint Centers for Oceans and Human Health (COHH). The centers are the following:
The Washington Center

Pacific Northwest Center for Human Health and Ocean Sciences

 The Hawaii Center

Pacific Research Center for Marine Biomedicine

 The Woods Hole Center

Woods Hole Center for Oceans and Human Health

The Miami Center

Oceans and Human Health Center - University of Miami
The center at the University of Washington, directed by Elaine Faustman and Ginger Armbrust, will study toxic algae and how toxic domoic acid produced by algae accumulates in Puget Sound shellfish. Researchers will explore the ways in which this toxin affects human health through the consumption of contaminated seafood, especially in sensitive populations such as children. The Pacific Research Center for Marine Biomedicine (PRCMB) at the University of Hawaii, led by Edward Laws and Richard Yanagihara, is conducting interdisciplinary research on harmful algal blooms, water- and vector-borne diseases, and marine-derived pharmaceuticals and probes. Knowledge gained from this research will advance national health and lead to improved strategies to reduce the burden of human diseases resulting from acute and chronic exposures to risks in the ocean environment. The center at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, directed by John Stegeman and Dennis McGillicuddy, will study populations of the toxic plankton Alexandrium in the Gulf of Maine and the relationship of its various genotypes to its toxicity, as well as the hydrodynamic and biological controls on these populations and how they affect shellfish toxicity. The center will also study human pathogens in Mt. Hope Bay. The center at the University of Miami, directed by Lora Fleming and Sharon Smith, will study hazardous algal blooms in subtropical ecosystems and the development of probes to identify new species and toxins. The genomics of algae will be studied to see if different genotypes are more successful during algal blooms. The center will also investigate microbes in coastal waters and their effects on human health in waters heavily used for recreational purposes.
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NOAA Oceans and Human Health Initiative (OHHI) Links:

NOAA Oceans and Human Health Initiative (OHHI)

NOAA Center of Excellence in Oceans and Human Health
at the Northwest Fisheries Science Center, in Seattle, Washington

NOAA Center of Excellence in Oceans and Human Health
at the Hollings Marine Laboratory, in Charleston, South Carolina

NOAA Center of Excellence for Great Lakes and Human Health
at the Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory, in Ann Arbor, Michigan