CIDER: A New Environmental Initiative for Stony Brook University Nicholas Fisher, Director of CIDER and Professor, Marine Sciences Research Center

Consortium for Inter-Disciplinary Environmental Research (CIDER) Goals: 1)bring together faculty who are conducting (or have an interest in) environmental research from diverse departments—help merge natural sciences (e.g., Geosciences, MSRC, Ecology & Evolution, Chemistry), social sciences (e.g., Economics, Sociology, Anthropology), medicine, and engineering so that new multi-disciplinary teams can be created to tackle large complex environmental issues. 2)Help facilitate collaborations that would make it more efficient for SBU to approach funding agencies to develop new center-type grants at Stony Brook that address big environmental issues.

CIDER advisory committee members Nicholas Fisher, MSRC (Director) Daniel Bogenhagen, Pharmacology Clare Grey, Chemistry Arthur Grollman, Pharmacology Gary Halada, Engineering Jeffrey Levinton, Ecology & Evolution Stephan Munch, MSRC Richard Reeder, Geosciences Warren Sandersen, Economics Martin Schoonen, Geosciences Michael Schwartz, Sociology Creighton Wirick, BNL

New hires in this academic year (3 FTEs = 6 tenure-track positions ) Three areas highlighted: 1)Environmental medicine, relating human health to contaminants in air, water, food; patterns of disease, societal impacts on different groups; 2)Global climate change, including changes in biogeochemical cycles, spread of animal and plant diseases, effects on human living conditions 3)Environmental remediation, land use planning and conservation issues

Additional CIDER activities anticipated Sponsor think-tank type workshops on select issues Sponsor inter-disciplinary seminar speakers Promote collaborative inter-disciplinary research to address complex environmental problems— attract significant funding to help make this happen at Stony Brook

Two workshops we’re working on: Metals, Environment, and Human Health: Bridging the Gaps (sponsored by Center for Environmental Molecular Science, 3MT IGERT, and CIDER): one-day conference in Wang Center, Lecture Hall #2, 27 April: 6 seminar speakers plus round-table discussion on where we go from here

April Workshop confirmed speakers Max Costa (Professor in Department of Environmental Medicine; Professor in Department of Pharmacology, New York University School of Medicine, New York) Scott Fendorf (Professor in Department of Geological and Environmental Sciences, Stanford University, Stanford) Karl Kelsey (Professor in Department of Genetics and Complex Diseases; Professor in Department of Environmental Health, Harvard School of Public Health, Cambridge, MA) Howard Mielke (Research Scientist, Center for Bioenvironmental Research, Tulane University, New Orleans) Lisa M. Miller (Senior Scientist at National Synchrotron Light Source, Brookhaven National Laboratory; Professor in Department of Biomedical Engineering, Stony Brook University; Professor in Department of Medicine, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, New York) Kirk G. Scheckel (Research Scientist, National Risk Management Research Laboratory, U. S. Environmental Protection Agency, Cincinnati)

Anticipated workshop Biomarkers and Environmental Disasters: Indicators of Problems Yet to Come Follow-up on clinical work on first responders to the World Trade Center disaster, led by Dr. B. Luft. Anticipated for 3 days, starting September 11, 2007.