UM Uses $5 Million Gift to Ramp up Study of Health Safety Risks
The University of Michigan says a $5 million gift from an Ann Arbor couple will position the university to become the nation's premier, comprehensive resource for assessing, quantifying and communicating risks to public health.
The money, donated by UM graduates and long-time donors Charles and Rita Gelman to UM’s Risk Science Center, provides immediate funding to expand the center’s research agenda, the university says. The gift also will be used to support graduate student fellowships and general operations – including the hiring of two new faculty members – and establishes a named professorship for a senior researcher.
The Risk Science Center, established in 2003, is one of about a dozen such centers in the United States. Housed in the School of Public Health, it studies health hazards using expertise from across UM and outside the university. It draws on expertise in fields including public health; medicine; law; business; engineering; natural resources and environment; public policy; social research; economics; and communication.
While other centers specialize in evaluating risks, quantifying the amount of exposure from risks, or explaining risks, UM’s center is the only one that focuses on all three, the university says.
Center researchers currently are working on such issues as the role of pesticides in pancreatic cancer; lung cancer in automobile assembly plants; the effect of dioxin exposure; the public health impact of global climate change; how perception of risk affects treatment decisions of breast cancer patients; industrial ventilation; dust control in workplaces; human exposure to aerosols; and the safety of fish consumption. For example, in a study currently underway, data provided by Michigan's Department of Natural Resources are being used to develop a model to balance the risks and benefits of fish consumption in the state of Michigan.
"There is a serious and growing need to answer questions about environmental risk and its impact on human health," said Kenneth E. Warner, dean of the School of Public Health. "Stated simply, people want to know, for example, 'Is it safe to eat fish?' We need a place where citizens, elected officials, industry and international bodies can come for a scientific, nonbiased analysis and know that the results will be communicated to broad audiences, no matter the outcome."
According to the university, the Gelmans have been supporters of the UM for more than 30 years, donating to the School of Public Health, School of Social Work, Cardiovascular Center, Ophthalmology, University Musical Society, WUOM, Museum of Art and the UM-Dearborn Mardigian Library's Holocaust collection.
Through the Gelman Educational Foundation, the couple supports a variety of community and educational programs in Ann Arbor and throughout Michigan. They were recently awarded a Great Influence Award from the Michigan Council of Social Studies for their work in providing the Emmy Award-winning biographical film "The Power of Good" to schools throughout Michigan.
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The University of Michigan says a $5 million gift from an Ann Arbor couple will position the university to become the nation's premier, comprehensive resource for assessing, quantifying and communicating risks to public health.
