MICHIGAN
By partnering with a national environmental organization, MSU will assist in researching how harmful contaminants found in the Great Lakes will affect human health.
The Center of Excellence for Great Lakes and Human Health, based in Ann Arbor, was formed in collaboration with MSU and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, or NOAA, said Joan Rose, a professor of fisheries and wildlife and crop and soil sciences who works with the center.
"One of the goals of the center is the communication of this science so it can be useful to communities and other decision makers," Rose said.
A team of scientists from multiple fields and different institutions will research three main areas of how the Great Lakes impact human health - through drinking water, recreational water use and the development and spread of toxic algae, Rose said.
Congress allocated funds for research of oceans and their impact on human health, and legislators felt that a body of freshwater needed to be included, Rose said, adding that a grant proposal was written to compete for that federal funding.
Nearly $10 million was awarded to NOAA, and funding was officially received six to eight weeks ago.
