Precision Environmental Health Sciences (TPEHS)

Overview: The need for Training in Precision Environmental Health.

The Training in Precision Environment Health Sciences (TPEHS) Program has fostered multi-disciplinary training at the intersection of Genomics/Epigenomics (G), Environmental Health (E) and Data Science (D).  This GxExD training is designed to meet the needs for tomorrow’s Precision Environmental Health workforce.  Human health is determined by interactions between our environment, genome and epigenome, which shape the transcriptomic, proteomic, and metabolomic landscape of cells and tissues.  Precision Environmental Health is an emerging field leveraging these system-level (‘omic) and environmental data to understand underlying environmental causes of disease, risk at the level of the individual, and identify new prevention and intervention strategies. Precision Environmental Health research holds promise for filling key knowledge gaps such as how to assess the “exposome”, the genomic/epigenomic basis and mechanisms responsible for environmental disease, how other host factors such as age, physiology and lifestyle modify disease susceptibility.  Precision Environmental Health researchers of the future will use increasingly large and complex “omics” data sets to fill these knowledge gaps and move the field from a population-level understanding of environmental causes of disease to characterizing individual disease risk, and development of precise prevention and intervention strategies.

The need to train tomorrow’s Precision Environmental Health researchers was pointed out in an address to T32 Training Directors by NIEHS Director Dr. Rick Woychik.  In that address he listed Precision Environmental Health as one of the top NIEHS priorities, alongside Climate Change and Health, Social Justice and Health Disparities, Computation and Data Science, and Mechanistic Biology and Toxicology. NIEHS FY 2025-2029 Strategic Plan.

The Training in Precision Environmental Health Sciences (TPEHS) meets this need. Research at the interface of genetics, environment and data science (GxExD) holds enormous promise for improving our ability to understand and prevent disease to improve human environmental health. The goal of the TPEHS is to train the next generation of environmental health scientists who can work at the interface of genetics, environmental health and data science. The TPEHS aligns well with the NIH Precision Medicine Initiative, an emerging approach to disease treatment and prevention that takes into account individual variability in the genes, environment, and lifestyle of each person. This initiative capitalizes on our ability to understand variation in genotype/epigenotype at an individual level with great precision and, combined with the field of environmental health, promises to move our understanding of differences in inter-individual susceptibility to environmental disease in exciting new directions using, large-scale biologic databases, powerful methods for characterizing patients, and computational tools for analyzing large data sets. However, very few investigators have the breadth of education and training needed to incorporate genetics, environmental health, and data science into their research. It is therefore imperative that we develop a scientific workforce that is well trained at the cross-section of these three disciplines, with interdisciplinary GxExD training, to meet the increasing demand for precision EHS research. Because the impact of GxExD research is not limited to the academic arena but extends to non-academic settings and careers in areas such as policy, education, communication, industry, and civic organizations, it is also apparent precision environmental health scientists must be prepared for versatile workforce opportunities.

Benefits of the program.  By participating in this program, trainees will now have a co-mentored project by mentors in complementary research areas to leverage their training and research in these diverse areas. Additionally, each NIH-sponsored one-year fellowship appointment provides 12 months of stipend support ($28,224 for predocs; $61,008 and above for postdocs, per NIH FY2024), and, for some trainees, partial support for tuition, fees and health insurance (not fringe), and travel. The trainee’s primary mentor/department is responsible for the fringe and for the remainder of the stipend and health insurance (up to the institutional level).  Some trainees will have the opportunity to compete for reappointment (for a total of two years) if progress is satisfactory.

TPEHS Application Information – Please check back in August 2024 for further application information.

Click here for the 2024 TPEHS Fellowship Application form.
Click here to download the Mentor Recommendation Form template. Both primary and co-mentors are required to complete this form.

Please read the TPEHS Curriculum and Program Requirements section thoroughly BEFORE filling out the application form. Also please note that all NIH-Funded postdoctoral fellows are subject to the terms and conditions of the NRSA Payback Agreement. 

ELIGIBILITY:

1. Predoctoral applicants from Baylor College of Medicine, UT Health Science Center, or MD Anderson Cancer Center who are US Citizens or Permanent Residents, or Foreign Nationals with a current visa.  (NOTE: For Foreign Nationals, visa must be valid for the ENTIRE appointment period at the time of application.) 
2. Postdoctoral applicants from Baylor College of Medicine, UT Health Science Center, or MD Anderson Cancer Center who are US Citizens or Permanent Residents only.

Applicants must select a primary mentor and ideally TWO co-mentor(s) in complementary research areas from unique departments/institutions; all mentors should be selected from the TPEHS Training Faculty, listed here.
NOTE: Invited candidates and all your mentors MUST be available to attend the interview.

Trainees appointed to (and supported by) this training grant – T32ES027801 – must be US citizens or permanent residents only (documentation required).  Trainees supported by the institutionally-sponsored slots (not NIH) may be Foreign Nationals with a visa.

Questions about the application or eligibility requirement?  Contact Elizabeth Lawrence at el53@rice.edu.

Important: We are committed to providing equal opportunity in training for individuals with disabilities and individuals from racial and ethnic groups who are currently under-represented in STEM fields. We welcome applicants from all qualified trainees, regardless of ethnic/racial status or disability status. All TPEHS participating institutions are ADAAA compliant and have offices of disability support services that provide accommodations and support services to trainees, faculty, staff and visitors.

APPLICATION INSTRUCTIONS
(NOTE: Application form may not open in Chrome unless you’ve disabled Chrome’s built-in PDF viewer in your settings.)
IMPORTANT: You are strongly encouraged to contact your Institutional Representative from the list of TPEHS Steering Committee members listed on the application form prior to completing an application.

All application materials are to be emailed to Elizabeth Lawrence at el53@rice.edu. Applicants, send all materials listed below in one email.

• Download and complete the TPEHS Application form. You must save or download the application form to your computer FIRST,  then fill out the application COMPLETELY: GRE and/or MCAT scores are OPTIONAL but undergraduate and graduate GPAs are required.
• Request Mentor Recommendation Forms – The applicant’s primary mentor and co-mentor(s) must use THIS Mentor Recommendation Form. The recommendation may be completed directly on this template or attached to the form/template. Once completed, the form/letter should be emailed directly to Elizabeth Lawrence at el53@rice.edu.  
• Secure two ADDITIONAL Letters of Support from people other than your mentors. Note, these letters DO NOT need to be on the “Mentor Recommendation Form” template.  Recommenders should submit their letters directly to Elizabeth Lawrence at el53@rice.edu.
• Submit Transcripts from all undergraduate and graduate degrees completed, and a transcript showing your current degree coursework. The official version is preferred, but unofficial is also accepted.
• Submit a current resume (CV) outlining your professional work experience and history.
• Submit Proof of Citizenship  (e.g. copy of passport or birth certificate; visa for Foreign Nationals-visa must be valid for ENITRE appointment period at time of application).

*NOTE  Project Information document is a component of the TPEHS application form which should include the following sections:

– Project Description (max 750 words)
– Layperson’s Project Description (max 250 words)
– Mentoring Plan (max 400 words)
– Grant Support
– Publications
– Brief IDP
* This document (in Word format) should be submitted with the rest of the application materials.

INTERVIEW PROCESS Selected candidates will be invited to interview with the TPEHS Program Directors and Steering Committee, and both mentors and co-mentors are expected to attend. Candidates will make a brief oral presentation of no more than 10 minutes with a maximum of 6 slides + title slide+ acknowledgment slide.

Your presentation should provide an overview of your proposed research project and address the following:

• The interdisciplinary nature of your project and the approaches you propose to use to incorporate the genetics, environmental health and data science aspects of this research.
• The importance of your project to the broad area of environmental health science. Though this may seem obvious to you, it may not be clear to the diverse interdisciplinary Steering Committee reviewing you.
• The roles that both your primary mentor and co-mentor will play in the proposed research / mentoring plan. In particular, the committee is interested in hearing how the two mentors together will enable you to conduct research that could not be accomplished with either alone.
• Your timeline for conducting the proposed research and completing the required courses and electives.  This timeline should be realistic and unique to your situation. Reviewers are looking for the feasibility of your project and will expect that you have considered alternate directions or outcomes.

This interview is critical to robustly assess the applicant’s suitability for the TPEHS Program and potential for success during and after the Program, including the ability to communicate his/her science. The Steering Committee will discuss each applicant and make final selections based on merit. All applicants will be notified via email.

Mentors and Trainees from the 2022 TPEHS Annual Retreat

TPEHS Curriculum and Program Requirements

The Core Curriculum for TPEHS PhD students consists of didactic coursework in Genetics, Environmental Health/Toxicology, and Data Science during Year 1 of TPEHS support, and a Foundations Course on Integrative Concepts of Precision Environmental Health during Year 2 of TPEHS support; postdoctoral trainees may audit this course in their first year in the Program. Students may select from the following course options in each category:

• Genetics Requirement: Foundations A: Molecules to Systems (BCM: GS-GS-6600), Model System Genetics (BCM: GS-GS-6201), Human Genetics (BCM GE-6302), or Genetics and Human Disease (UTH GS11 1013 or PHS 2815)
• Environmental Health Requirement: Genetic Epidemiology and Population Genetics (BCM: GS-GG-6102), Fundamentals of Epidemiology (BCM: GS-GS-6205), or Toxicology I/II (UTH GS13 1063 or PH 2175/77)
• Data Science Requirement: Data Science Requirement: Foundations B: Biostatistics (BCM GS-GS-6400), Quantitative & Computational Methods for Biosciences 1&2 (BCM-GS-QC-6401 & 6402), or Applied Statistical Analysis I and II (UTH: PH 1820/21)
• TPEHS Foundations Requirement: Big Data Foundations for Genes, Environments and Interactions (PH2817L 125). This Foundations Course in Integrative Precision Environmental Health is part of the UTH-SPH curriculum and is being offered in Spring 2023.

Additional Approved TPEHS Electives

The curriculum for each student will be considered by the Steering Committee and recommendations will be made during the interview if alternate or additional courses are needed, based on the student’s experience and interest. The following is a list of approved TPEHS electives.

TPEHS Program Requirements:
In conjunction with the above curriculum requirements, all TPEHS trainees are required to:

• Attend the Center for Precision Environmental Health seminar series as well as the Friday afternoon Keck Seminar Lecture Series (BIOC 592; 1 credit hr) every semester.
• Attend a minimum of TWO Career Development activities (including an Individual Development Plan) over two-year appointment period on the TPEHS program.
• Complete formal training in Responsible Conduct of Research (ethics): BCM GS-GS-528-531 Responsible Conduct of Research or Postdoctoral Ethics Training; UTH-SPH PHM5010 Ethics in Public Health and Health Care or Postdoctoral Ethics Training.
• Attend a Rigor and Reproducibility workshop at least once during your appointment period on the TPEHS program.
• Participate in programmatic/networking opportunities (including peer-to-peer mentoring) that enhance the training environment and build cohesion among trainees. For PhD students, this may include attendance at your institutional Graduate Career Day, and/or attendance at appropriate regional and national scientific meetings and workshops. For postdoctoral trainees, this includes the opportunity for industry-based internships with the Health and Environmental Sciences Institute (HESI) and/or preparation for academic careers via grant-writing workshops and submission of a K99/R00 application.
• Present your research at the TPEHS Annual Retreat (Date, TBD) and present a poster at the Keck Center Annual Fall Research Conference (held annually in the Fall, Oct. 25, 2024).
• Participate in monthly trainee meetings and other TPEHS programmatic meetings, as requested.

TPEHS Steering Committee