Georgia Southern University to Open Public Health Core Research Laboratory in Fall 2010

October 2, 2009

When Georgia Southern University’s Jiann-Ping Hsu College of Public Health moves into the renovated Hendricks Hall in Fall 2010, one of the new additions will include a new Public Health Core Research Laboratory.

The Public Health Core Research Laboratory will be dedicated to analyzing soil, air and water samples from the surrounding area in an effort to find and remove contaminants. The research performed at the lab will aid in the development of ways to clean hazardous materials from the environment. One proposed project involves examining municipal water supplies for possible contaminants. Another project will focus on well-water contamination, which is of special concern in many rural areas of Georgia.

‘The research conducted in this laboratory will help protect the health of the public throughout Georgia,” said Charles Hardy, Dean of the Jiann-Ping Hsu College of Public Health. ‘The level of research we will be able to conduct will help us better understand how various agents move through the environment and impact the health of our communities.”

Because of the high level of research the laboratory can support, the University expects to attract more grants and research funding opportunities. The laboratory will also significantly increase the quality of research opportunities available to Georgia Southern University graduate students.

‘The faculty at the Jiann-Ping Hsu College of Public Health, especially our Environmental Health Sciences faculty, is excited about the opportunity to embark on this level of public health research pertinent to rural and under-served populations in Southeast Georgia,” Hardy said. ‘The training our students will receive in this lab as they prepare to embark on careers dedicated to improving the health of our communities will be invaluable.”

The Public Health Core Laboratory will include a Bio-Safety Level 3 (BSL3) lab and will be one of roughly a dozen of its kind in Georgia. BSL3 labs are built to allow for extensive testing of a variety of materials and are equipped with both structural and protocol safeguards. However, Georgia Southern University will only use the Public Health Core Laboratory to test samples brought in from the surrounding environment and conduct research on contaminants that affect the environment and human health.

Georgia Southern University, a Carnegie Doctoral/Research University, offers 115 degree programs serving 19,000 students. Through eight colleges, the University offers bachelors, masters and doctoral degree programs built on more than a century of academic achievement. The University, one of Georgia’s largest, is a top choice of Georgia’s HOPE scholars and is recognized for its student-centered approach to education.Visit: www.georgiasouthern.edu.