Overall Program Assessment - Agriculture Forestry and Fishing Research at NIOSH - page 43

BOX 3-3
Continued
Southern Coastal Agromedicine Center, Greenville, North Carolina
The Southern Coastal Agromedicine Center is an integral component of the North Carolina
Agromedicine Institute. The center extends the reach of the institute's activities through the
involvement of partner states in Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama,
Mississippi, Florida, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands. These states and territories face
many common agromedicine issues related to climate, crops, strong timber and fishing
industries, a large migrant worker population, and endemic rural poverty.
Southwest Center for Agricultural Health, Injury Prevention, and Education, Tyler, Texas
The mission of the Southwest Center for Agricultural Health, Injury Prevention, and Educa-
tion is to foster, disseminate, and evaluate activities related to health, injury prevention,
and education among agricultural interest groups to promote health and safety practices
among agricultural workers and their families in New Mexico, Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas,
and Louisiana.
Western Center for Agricultural Health and Safety, Davis, California
The Western Center for Agricultural Health and Safety is a comprehensive, multidisciplinary
program dedicated to the understanding and prevention of illness and injury in western
agriculture. The center is affiliated with the University of California, Davis Medical School
and the Department of Public Health Sciences. The center conducts extensive surveillance
and documentation of health needs. Research focuses on small particulate matter and
respiratory health.
SOURCE: NIOSH, 2007a.
by and large, the centers would be responsive to regional issues. That the budgets
for the Ag Centers have been generally modest appears to have reflected NIOSH's
understanding that in an extremely diverse set of industries, the AFF Program could
aspire to be only representative, not comprehensive. Given the budget amounts
available to NIOSH and the magnitude of the task, the committee believes that
that was a prudent approach.
Funding and Review Extramural research is funded by two different mecha-
nisms: cooperative agreements and research grants (such as R01 or R21 grants). The
Ag Centers are funded through cooperative agreements, and individual research-
ers or groups of investigators are funded through traditional research grants. The