Alexandra McKay - Böcker

The National Academies Board on Population Health and Public Health Practice, Board on Environmental Studies and Toxicology, and Board on Children Youth and Families convened a workshop in August 2022 to explore the impact of specific environmental exposures in utero, infancy, early childhood, and adolescence. Experts in epidemiology, toxicology, dose response methodology, and exposure science explored gaps in knowledge around vulnerabilities to environmental hazards as well as opportunities to inform public policy moving forward. This Proceedings of the workshop summarizes important discussions held during the virtual event and outlines recommendations for ways the Environmental Protection Agency can incorporate new research methods into its risk assessments.

Governments, philanthropic organizations, and private industry fund human health and medical research. Various funding sources might bias research so that the results are more favorable to their agents. Funders may influence investigative scope, specific questions posed, experimental design, and principal investigator appointments. Reporting, analysis, dissemination, and communication and data availability, reanalysis, and replication can also experience bias from a funding source. To explore structures, processes, and principles to ensure high-quality health research independent of sponsor influence, the National Academies Board on Population Health and Public Health Practice and the Board on Health Sciences Policy hosted a public virtual workshop in December 2022 that examined the sources of funding for health research and evidence on whether they influence the quality and outcomes of resulting health research. The workshop also discussed models, process, and principles used to protect the independence and quality of research. This Proceedings summarizes the discussions held during the workshop.