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The Oceans and Human Health Act & Centers of Excellence in Oceans and Human Health
Overview
Due to abundant resources that provide health, food, and ecological benefits, the United Nations’ Ocean Atlas recognizes that 44% of the world's population lives within 150 kilometers of a coastline. Sixty percent of the U.S. population lives in the coastal counties of the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, the Great Lakes, and the Gulf of Mexico. Despite geographical proximity and the benefits that the ocean provides, the U.S. Commission on Ocean Policy found a significant gap in what we know about our impact on oceans and the oceans’ impact on humans.
Partially as a result of their recommendation that more interdisciplinary biomedical research is needed to understand the links between the oceans and human health, maximize the beneficial uses of marine–derived bioproducts, reduce the negative impacts of marine microorganisms and protect human health through protecting seafood and water quality, Congress passed the Oceans and Human Health Act in 2004. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) Oceans and Human Health Initiative coordinates a suite of programs to address this issue. Included in this act was the formation of one or more Centers of Excellence in Oceans and Human Health (Centers) within NOAA. Three Centers were established, and are located at the Hollings Marine Laboratory (HML) in Charleston, SC; the Northwest Fisheries Science Center (NWFSC) in Seattle, Washington; and the Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory (GLERL) in Ann Arbor, MI. Strategically selected to conduct research in their areas of expertise, the Centers will build scientific capacity within and across NOAA to better assess and forecast the impacts of the marine environment on humans and the marine resources they care about.
The Act also provided for the formation of Centers of Excellence in Oceans and Human Health under the auspices of the National Science Foundation and the National Institutes of Enviornmental Health Sciences. These Centers are located at the Pacific Research Center for Marine Biomedicine at the University of Hawaii; The Washington Center at the University of Washington; The Woods Hole Center at the Woods Hole Oceanography Institution; and The Miami Center at the University of Miami’s Rosenstiel School.
Other components of the Oceans and Human Health Initiative within NOAA include an extramural grants program, OHH Scholars, and Traineeships. The grants program, awarded annually for up to three years work, provides funds to external researchers to pursue Oceans and Human Health research. The Scholar program recruits established researchers to bring new capacities to Oceans and Human Health research at OHH Centers of Excellence and throughout the interdisciplinary fields. Traineeships, under development, will enlist and train pre–doctoral or post–doctoral students to work in an environemnt that links bio–medicine and bio–physical marine science.
NOAA Centers of Excellence in Ocean and Human Health
- NOAA Center of Excellence for Great Lakes and Human Health, Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory, Ann Arbor, MI, NOAA⁄OAR
- Hollings Marine Laboratory, Charleston, SC, NOAA⁄NOS
- Northwest Fisheries Science Center, Seattle, WA, NOAA⁄NMFS
NSF-NIEHS Centers of Excellence in Ocean and Human Health
- Pacific Research Center for Marine Biomedicine , University of Hawaii, Honolulu, HI
- University of Miami OHH Center , Miami, FL
- University of Washington OHH Center, Seattle, WA
- Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, OHH Center , Woods Hole, MA