Kyle Walsh, PhD, Director, National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) and Director, National Toxicology Program (NTP)

The role of environmental factors in America’s chronic disease epidemic has come to the forefront of national conversations. NIEHS sees this moment as more than mere zeitgeist and seeks to engage with extramural partners to amplify our shared mission. To embrace this long overdue attention and encourage public engagement, environmental health researchers will be well-served to highlight the translational impacts of their work at both the level of the individual and of the population. Research that connects exogenous factors to human health and disease remains the cornerstone of intramural and extramural research supported by NIEHS, and the institute increasingly looks for expanded approaches to mitigate the negative health impacts of environmental toxicants (e.g., dietary modification, personalized exposomics, community-level risk communication, biomonitoring-informed clinical guidance, and early-life intervention frameworks). Through these efforts, NIEHS aims not only to elucidate mechanisms of disease but also to accelerate the translation of environmental health science into actionable strategies that improve health outcomes across the lifespan and reduce the burden of chronic disease nationwide.