A New Generation of Environmental Health Leaders Johns Hopkins' superior reputation in public health and medicine serves to attract students dedicated to careers in environmental health. Because Hopkins accepts only the top caliber applicants, these students tend to become leaders in their chosen arenas. The rising application of risk assessment to decision making has lead to an increasing demand in both the public and private sectors for leadership in conducting risk-related research, performing risk assessments, and using the risk assessments in risk management. As such, the Institute has developed the first set of courses that provide the multi-disciplinary education necessary for bridging environmental health science and policy. The core-course series includes courses in risk assessment methods, policy, and special topical issues such as risk communication.
Training emphasizes toxicology, exposure assessment, epidemiology, and health policy.
These courses are designed to insure that students understand the scientific basis of environmental health issues and can evaluate the policy implications of these scientific relationships for reducing risk. The core courses , which currently form a certification option , and others to be added over time form a key component of Masters and Doctoral training in environmental health at the Johns Hopkins School of Hygiene and Public Health. Additional training is offered in the form of graduate research assistantships and external internships in the public and private sectors. With the change in focus in risk policy arenas to pursuing risk assessment in the context of the broader risk management goal of public health, such real-world experiences in conjunction with course work will provide the Institute. Professionals A separate educational niche that the Institute fills is continuing education for risk professionals from all fields.