NIH has awarded $7,722,583 to Columbia University to oversee the new  NEXUS: Network for Exposomics in the U.S.  Coordinating Center for research on the human exposome, which is the cumulative measure of environmental exposures and corresponding biological responses.

The new center, co-funded by the Office of Autoimmune Disease Research in the Office of Research on Women’s Health (OADR-ORWH), aims to support the use of exposomics among all NIH Institutes and Centers.  NEXUS will establish a framework and best practices for exposomics analysis of biological and environmental samples, develop a framework for geospatial-based exposomics studies of environmental and social influences on health and disease, and create a comprehensive exposomics digital framework to support precision environmental health.

Additionally, NEXUS will engage with academic, community, and industry partners in the United States and around the world, and it will support bootcamps, conferences, and other learning opportunities to grow exposomics as a field, with attention to overcoming socioeconomic inequities.  

Additional funders include the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, National Cancer Institute, National Institute on Aging, National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases, and National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke.

Read the press release for more information on NEXUS.