Abstract:

Health Disparities and Environmental Justice

The leading determinates of health disparities are generally considered to be Life Style (diet, exercise, substance abuse), Social Structure (racial/ethnic discrimination, stress, low socio-economic status), Health Systems (access to quality health care), and Environment (natural/built, weather, geography), all ultimately manifested through Biological/Genetic mechanisms, including changes in gene expression (epigenetics). Rapidly growing evidence has linked environmental agents, pollutants and living/working conditions with epigenetic variations that appear to promote dramatic increases in susceptibility to develop disease.  Further, the effects on gene expression by the environment, life style, social structural determinants, and inadequate health care appear to be heritable.  In other words, what your grandparents were exposed to may affect your own health and you will pass this on to your grandchildren in the absence of any continued exposure. This new understanding of environmentally mediated changes in gene expression also provides for plausible treatment or prevention prospects for diseases previously thought to be hard-coded into the genome (DNA). 

Bio:
Dr. Coulter received the Ph.D. in Biological Psychology from the University of Oklahoma Medical Center and completed post-doctoral training at the University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston, the Universita de Pisa, Italy, and the University of Edinburgh, Scotland. He came to The University of Iowa as Head of the Department of Anatomy in 1985 and subsequently served as Director, Neuroscience Graduate Program, as Associate Provost for Diversity and Director, Opportunity at Iowa, and as Associate Dean for Diversity in the College of Public Health.  Dr. Coulter’s professional service has included Associate Program Director, Behavioral and Neurosciences Division, National Science Foundation; Chair, Council of Academic Societies, Association of American Medical Colleges; and President, Association of Neuroscience Departments and Programs. Dr. Coulter is currently active in teaching, research/scholarship and community service in human rights and American Indian/Alaskan Native health.                      

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