A Community-engaged Approach to Research Translation: The CIPHERS Project.

Problem: Translating research to support practice is becoming a more prominent goal in the scientific community. However, further innovation and research is needed on effective approaches to this endeavor.

Purpose: This case study describes an approach that combines the insights of diffusion of innovation theory with the philosophy and practices of community engagement.

Improving the risk assessment of lipophilic persistent environmental chemicals in breast milk.

Lipophilic persistent environmental chemicals (LPECs) have the potential to accumulate within a woman's body lipids over the course of many years prior to pregnancy, to partition into human milk, and to transfer to infants upon breastfeeding. As a result of this accumulation and partitioning, a breastfeeding infant's intake of these LPECs may be much greater than his/her mother's average daily exposure. Because the developmental period sets the stage for lifelong health, it is important to be able to accurately assess chemical exposures in early life.

Health effects classification and its role in the derivation of minimal risk levels: reproductive and endocrine effects.

The Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) derives health-based guidance values called minimal risk levels (MRLs) to assist with assessment of risks posed by exposures to hazardous chemicals. From the total of 326 MRLs currently posted on ATSDR's web site (www.atsdr.