Communities of Research (CoRs) are formed by groups of people, sharing a significant interest in the field of nanosafety and interacting regularly to advance that interest. They develop a shared repertoire of resources: experiences, tools, ways of addressing recurring questions and challenges but do not necessarily work together on a daily basis. Members are in regular contact through the use of wikis, webcasts, conference calls, and/or through the annual US-EU meeting.
Summary
Who: NanoEHS scientists and other interested stakeholders from academia, government, industry, and NGOs in the U.S., EU, and third-party countries.
What: A platform for scientists to develop a shared repertoire of protocols and methods to overcome research gaps and barriers and to enhance their professional relationships.
Where: Video- and/or teleconferences and annual workshops.
Why: To address environmental, health, and safety questions about nanomaterials and to collaboratively advance the field.
How: The communities will be largely self-run with the EC and the U.S. National Nanotechnology Coordination Office providing administrative support.
Contact Stacey Standridge for more information.
CoR Directory
More information on each Community can be accessed here. The link will take you to the Directory link of the CoRs webpage.
Timeline
The CoRs were proposed at the first U.S.-EU workshop on Bridging nanoEHS Research Efforts, which was held in Washington, DC in March 2011.
Three CoRs were announced at the Society of Toxicology Annual Meeting in San Francisco in March 2012: Predictive Modeling for Human Health, Ecotoxicity Testing and Predictive Models, and Exposure through the Life Cycle. The U.S. National Nanotechnology Coordination Office will provide administrative support for these CORs.
The remaining three CoRs were announced at the NanoSafety Cluster meeting in Grenoble, France in May 2012: Databases and Ontology, Risk Assessment, and Risk Management and Control. The European Union will provide administrative support for these communities.
For more information on upcoming CoRs meetings please click here.