§2.Research into environmental risk factors that may contribute to neurodegenerative disease
This section establishes a program within the National Institutes of Health (NIH) for the conduct and support of research, training, and health information dissemination regarding environmental risk factors—including toxicant exposures such as volatile organic compounds, particulate matter, per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, and heavy metals in air, water, food, and soil—for neurodegenerative diseases.
Research under the program must focus on (1) potential environmental toxicants and stressors and their mechanistic interactions with disease outcomes, (2) presymptomatic markers of disease, and (3) environmental health strategies to prevent, manage, treat, or slow disease progression; it may also address occupational exposures, sociobehavioral factors, social determinants of health, multifactorial causation, disease prevalence by community and population, gene-environment interactions, and physiological mechanisms of neurodegeneration.
The Secretary must coordinate the program across Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) activities to avoid duplication, expand funding for relevant research centers, and submit biennial reports on research findings to the House and Senate Appropriations Committees, House Energy and Commerce Committee, and Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee (with reports posted online and incorporated into NIH's triennial report under section 403).
The program further requires establishment of Collaborative Centers for Neurodegenerative Disease Environmental Research at institutions of higher education, medical centers, or other entities, which must (1) conduct basic, applied, and clinical research on environmental risk factors and disease progression; (2) use single-institution or consortium facilities; (3) emphasize population-based environmental health research; (4) perform interdisciplinary research; (5) coordinate with HHS intramural and extramural efforts; and (6) collaborate with stakeholders including researchers, health professionals, nonprofits, patients, and caregivers. Centers may also provide training and stipends; disseminate information to professionals and the public; establish a nationwide data system comparing patient and general populations; create an Environmental Contributions to Neurodegenerative Disease Information Clearinghouse; and develop a national education program.