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Vol. 02 Issue 2, Spring 1997

New York State College of Human Ecology: Many Approaches, All Responding to Human Needs
The Ribbon 

BCERF was founded at Cornell University because existing resources here could be brought together to provide expertise and direction to the program. One of these critical resources is the New York State College of Human Ecology (CHE).

The dean of the college, Francille M. Firebaugh, sees the link between CHE and BCERF as multi-dimensional. She says that BCERF's founding as a response to a health-related need identified by New York State citizens "is a great fit with CHE's commitment to anticipating and responding to human needs." CHE carries out its commitment through research, education and outreach within four major initiatives:

"Breast cancer looms large as an important women's health concern," Dean Firebaugh says, as she describes the college's long history of work in areas closely related to the study and dissemination of knowledge about breast cancer and environmental risk factors. "There is a strong interest in women's health issues, and maternal and child nutrition has long been a cornerstone of the Division of Nutritional Sciences and its predecessor units. The College also has a broad interest in the environment." The College's active outreach program through Cornell Cooperative Extension serves as an effective route disseminating the results of CHE's research to New York State citizens.

Nutrition and health. BCERF's Education Project Leader Carol M. Devine, is an Assistant Professor in CHE's Division of Nutritional Sciences (see profile on page 5). Dean Firebaugh refers to a concept that is reflected in Carol's work and central to CHE's approach in nutrition: "Traditionally relationships between diet and disease were studied; now we are oriented toward diet and health. The College has a keen interest in prevention."

CHE boasts many examples of broad-based study and development of community programs in nutrition and health, including the national award-winning Nutrition for Life Program, a comprehensive nutrition education program for New York State schools. This successful program provides a foundation for work in the schools that will be necessary to begin reducing the future risk of breast cancer among girls and young women.

In addition to applied work such as this, the Division of Nutritional Sciences is also home to cutting-edge research in nutrition and cancer. Examples include the China-Cornell-Oxford Project, which is analyzing detailed data about regional Chinese diets and chronic disease outcomes, and exciting research on dietary components such as selenium and vitamin A, and their role in cancer prevention. A recently-concluded 13-year phase of research by Dr. Gerald Combs and his colleagues looking at selenium supplements in the diet, points to a protective effect on hormone-sensitive cancers, possibly including breast cancer.

Dr. Banoo Parpia is a Senior Research Associate in the Division of Nutritional Sciences, an international nutrition demographer by training, and the Coordinator of the China-Cornell-Oxford Project. She is very involved in the BCERF project, contributing her epidemiological expertise in a variety of ways, including presentations at meetings and training programs, and authoring a BCERF fact sheet on "Understanding Breast Cancer Rates." (see tear off sheet)

Environment. Another direct link between CHE and BCERF is Dr. Ann Lemley, Professor and Chair of CHE's Department of Textiles and Apparels and head of the university's Water Quality Program. Ann recently joined the BCERF staff as its Associate Director. She has an extensive background and continued interest in water quality questions that are important to BCERF's information base, for example:

A central component of the Water Quality Program is its commitment to education about a wide range of issues related to drinking water and health. As research about any possible links between pesticide or other environmental chemical exposure and breast cancer continues, and may hopefully provide clearer answers in the near future, many New York State citizens want to understand and reduce their exposures. Ann says, "I am very interested in empowering individuals, families and communities to take some responsibility for maintaining safe drinking water." The Water Quality Program also provides information on household chemical use and disposal - a topic on which BCERF has received inquiries. The public is very interested in what Ann describes as the "...natural connection between maintaining safe drinking water, handling household chemicals safely, and reducing risks of cancer."

As research to understand any possible role between pesticide exposure and breast cancer continues, reducing human exposure to pesticides is important for a range of immediate and long-term health reasons. Within CHE, also in the Department of Textiles and Apparels, the Personal Pesticide Protection Program researches and educates on the selection, use and maintenance of personal protective equipment. Senior Extension Associate Charlotte Coffman collaborates with Dr. S. Kay Obendorf on research to enhance health and safety through textile systems.

Life course. The Bronfenbrenner Life Course Center is housed and supported by CHE. Its many interdisciplinary projects all relate to the "pathways of individual and family well-being," and are providing new and needed perspectives on current social challenges. Many of these projects can help inform BCERF's work on understanding and communicating possibilities for intergenerational risk reduction. The Life Course Center also offered the opportunity to discuss some relevant questions about genetics and breast cancer when it offered a Fall 1996 colloquium on "Social and Economic Consequences of Genetic Testing for Breast Cancer Susceptibility."

These are just a few examples of the many resources of the College of Human Ecology from which BCERF can draw. There are many more cooperative efforts that will be developed over time as BCERF seeks to remain up-to-date and active in the many related fields which comprise CHE. Dean Firebaugh sees these relationships as important to BCERF continuing to refine its work "educating about the complex contributing factors for breast cancer, and seeking direction for prevention." In the longer term, she hopes for even more opportunities for research related to these topics, in combination with CHE, the Cornell Medical College, and other partners.

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