DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Suriname faces a triple public health burden: high perinatal mortality, environmental contamination potentially related to growing mining and agricultural development, and a lack of environmental policies. Building on the findings of The Caribbean Consortium for Research in Environmental and Occupational Health (CCREOH) planning grant, the Research Center at the Academic Hospital Paramaribo and the Faculty of Medical Sciences at the University of Suriname will conduct research on: Neurotoxicant Exposures: Impact on Maternal and Child Health in Suriname (U01). Linked to the U01 grant, Tulane University`s School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine, the current U.S. CCREOH planning grant partner, proposes to strengthen research capacity under the identical title: Neurotoxicant Exposures: Impact on Maternal and Child Health in Suriname. Goal and Aims. The overall goal of this application is to build sustainable research capacity to assess the impact of exposures to neurotoxicants on maternal and child health in Suriname while preserving the unique assets, health and cultural traditions of indigenous and other health disparate populations. To address this goal, we will accomplish the following aims: • Build research capacity related to neurotoxicant exposures and their impact on maternal and child health in Suriname as proposed under the linked U01 application • Implement research training and career development programs for Surinamese scientists and health professionals who will pursue careers in environmental and occupational health research and public health in Suriname • Strengthen the capacity of a sustainable cadre of EOH research scholars to address high priority EOH threats in Suriname • Provide CCREOH hub partners and the wider GEOHealth-funded hub network access to contemporary EOH science and policy training and education products. The existing joint University of Suriname/Tulane MSPH program will form the foundation for the training framework: 1) short term training consisting of tailored training t support the U01 research, career development skills, and Caribbean-wide professional development and policy workshops; 2) medium term training through certificates in Environmental Health and Industrial Hygiene; and 3) a long term education and training portfolio of EOH masters and doctoral degrees (MSPH and PhD) and mentored research for predoctoral and postdoctoral trainees. The wider GEOHealth Hub network will have access to CCREOH's science, policy, and education products developed through the grant.

PUBLIC HEALTH RELEVANCE: Suriname, a country in South America, faces a triple public health burden: high perinatal mortality, environmental contamination potentially related to growing mining and agricultural development, and a lack of environmental policies. To strengthen the country's capacity to address this burden, Tulane University's School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine is submitting a research training grant entitled: Neurotoxicant Exposures: Impact on Maternal and Child Health in Suriname, which supports the identically titled research grant from the Research Center at the Academic Hospital Paramaribo in collaboration with the Faculty of Medical Sciences at the Anton de Kom University of Suriname. The training grant will implement short term training tailored to the research theme, Caribbean-wide professional development and policy workshops, certificate training in environmental health and industrial hygiene, graduate degrees in environmental and occupational health, and mentored research experiences.