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Pioneering Interdisciplinary Research Initiatives for Oceans and Human Health

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Abstract

Following the release of the report From Monsoons to Microbes by the National Research Council in 1999, efforts began to promote federal sponsorship of research and education in a new scientific discipline focusing on how the ocean affects human health. The National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) and the National Science Foundation (NSF) initiated a joint program to establish and sustain several research Centers for Oceans and Human Health (COHH) at nonfederal institutions. Shortly thereafter, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) mounted a similar initiative to establish intramural centers at existing NOAA facilities as well as an extramural grants program. This profile reviews the history and current state of these developments.

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Acknowledgments

We thank the many members of the research community who provided advice and donated time to the agencies during the early stages of developing the COHH initiative, especially Daniel Baden, William Fenical, Jed Fuhrman, and John Vena. We also acknowledge the dedicated efforts of our intramural colleagues, especially H. Lawrence Clark, Peter Milne, Liam O’Fallon, Frederick Tyson, and William Wiseman.

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Correspondence to Donald L. Rice.

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The statements and opinions in this report are those of the authors only and do not necessarily represent the position of, or imply commitments by, any agency of the United States Government.

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Rice, D.L., Dearry, A. & Garrison, D.L. Pioneering Interdisciplinary Research Initiatives for Oceans and Human Health . EcoHealth 1, 220–225 (2004). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10393-004-0126-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10393-004-0126-2

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