Prof. Arthur L. Frank, MD, PhD, Chair of the School of Public Health’s Department of Environmental and Occupational Health, was a featured speaker at the 5th International Environmental Conference on Environmental Mutagens in Human Populations, held in Antalya, Turkey at the end of May.
At the conference, Dr. Frank gave a presentation entitled "Prevention of Exposure to Hazardous Substances - Social and Ethical Issues," to leading scientists, researchers and advocates from more than 40 countries who were in attendance.
"The hazards of environmental and occupational diseases remain a worldwide problem. While many Americans are largely unaware of the continued risk, mesothelioma and other similar diseases impact all of us on a global scale," said Dr. Frank, a renowned expert on the study of occupational lung diseases and cancers – especially those related to asbestos exposure.
l-r: Arthur L. Frank, MD, PhD, Drexel University School of Public Health;
William W. Au, PhD, University of Texas Medical Branch (Conference Co-Chairperson);
Ali Esat Karakaya, PhD, ATS, President of International Union of Toxicology (Conference Co-Chairperson)
The international conference included various poster presentations, workshops and symposiums on efforts to reduce environmental hazards. The conference also featured such keynote speakers Her Royal Highness Professor Dr. Princess Chulabhorn of Thailand.
Topics discussed during the four-day conference included:
- Mechanisms of mutagenesis and carcinogenesis
- Human monitoring for health risk evaluation and disease prevention
- Children environmental health
- Susceptibility and susceptible populations
- New technologies and frontiers in environmental health
- Unique environmental health concerns in the Middle East and EuroAsia: Environmental disasters
- Transplacental and transgenerational exposures and health consequences
- Translation of scientific knowledge into public health practices
- Building environmental health infrastructure through science, education and outreach efforts
The conference in Turkey, which was themed “Identification of Environmental Hazards and Promotion of Health,” was the fifth in a series of international conferences designed to identify solutions to human environmental health problems and facilitate the establishment of sustainable collaborative programs around the world. The previous conferences were held in Egypt, Czech Republic, Thailand and Brazil.
According to conference organizers, each of the previous conferences sparked the development of new scientific programs and major collaborations among participants.
Conference sponsors included: National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, The Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey, Coordinating Center for Environmental Health & Injury Prevention, The University of Texas Medical Branch, Research Corporation, NOVARTIS Pharmaceutical Company, The International Association of Environmental Mutagen Societies, The Environmental Mutagen Society – U.S., The European Environmental Mutagen Society and The Turkish Society of Toxicology.
For more information, please visit www.environmutagen2007.org.