NIH, NSF fund four Centers for Oceans and Human Health

A recent press release from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) announced the institution’s plans to fund four new Centers for Ocean and Human Health and renew funding for two existing centers in partnership with the United States National Science Foundation (NSF). The resources provided by both organizations will help support research to assess how environmental changes and climate change in the ocean or Great Lakes impact human health.

Collectively, the agencies will allocate over $42 million across five years to keep the centers running. More specifically, the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS), a subset of the NIH, will be critical in supporting the research.

One of the primary research goals is to assess how microplastics impact the seafood supply and alter human health. According to the press release, microplastics in the ocean are consumed by fish and shellfish, which are then caught for human consumption. These microplastics also attract other pollutants and carry them into new environments, contributing to further pollution.

Microplastics are thought to have detrimental effects on human health. A recent article in the New England Journal of Medicine linked microplastic and nanoplastic exposure to an elevated risk of myocardial infarction, stroke, and death.

Nanoplastics are even smaller types of plastics that can easily enter the human body through eating, breathing, and skin absorption.

“We know very little about what these microplastics or even smaller pieces of plastic, known as nanoplastics, can do to human health in the short or long term, or even what they can do to the health of the sea turtles and other animals that live in the ocean,” said Anika Dzierlenga, PhD, program lead at the NIEHS, in the NIH press release.

"The connection among ocean pollution, climate change, and human health are problems that we are only beginning to understand. People rely on oceans and lakes for jobs, food, tourism, and recreation. These centers will help bring researchers and community groups together to study and take action to protect public health in coastal regions and around the Great Lakes.”

As the studies progress, the research may help inform efforts to minimize ocean pollution and reduce plastic exposure.