Researchers at the Rollins School of Public Health at Emory University along with partners at Georgia Tech received a $4 million grant from NIH’s National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS). The funding will be used to establish the “Health and Exposome Research Center: Understanding Lifetime Exposures” to be referred to as the HERCULES Center located at Emory.
Exposome is a relatively new concept that incorporates all of the exposures encountered by humans. It is considered to be the environmental equivalent of the human genome and includes lifetime exposures to environmental pollutants in food, water, physical activity, medications, homes, and daily stressors. Exposome research looks at the holistic view of the human body’s exposures, how the body responds to the exposures, and their combined effects.
Scientists believe that when coupled with a growing understanding of genetics, the exposome will help uncover the causes of many complex disorders, such as autism, asthma, and Alzheimer’s disease.In another new state development, the newly named Georgia Health Information Network Inc. (GaHIN) www.gahin.org formerly called the Georgia Health Information Exchange now connects Georgia hospitals, physicians, and many other clinicians to a comprehensive network of secure health data sources for access to a more complete view of their patients’ health records.
GaHIN is working with the Georgia Department of Community Health and the Georgia Health Information Technology Extension Center (GA-HITEC) collaboratively to establish the Georgia’s statewide HIE, connect to authorized Service Area Health Information Exchanges (SAHIE), and connect to large integrated health systems, payers, wellness partners, and other healthcare stakeholders.