Opportunity Information: Apply for EPA G2017 STAR D1
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), through its Science to Achieve Results (STAR) program, offered a discretionary funding opportunity focused on improving how researchers understand the long-term health impacts of chemical pollution when people are exposed within a "total environment." In this context, the total environment means the combined influence of built environments (such as housing quality, transportation systems, land use, and industrial or urban infrastructure), natural environments (including air, water, soil, climate, and ecosystem conditions), and social environments (like socioeconomic status, neighborhood conditions, social stress, access to health care, discrimination, occupational factors, and community resources). The central idea is that chemical exposures do not happen in isolation, and health outcomes are shaped by interacting physical and social conditions across an entire lifetime.
The opportunity specifically encouraged projects that move beyond simple exposure-to-outcome associations and instead build and test innovative models or impact assessment approaches that can better evaluate causal relationships between chemical pollutants and health effects. A key emphasis was on capturing modifying interactions, meaning research should account for how factors across the built, natural, and social environments can amplify, reduce, or otherwise change the health effects of chemical exposures. This includes considering multiple stressors at once, recognizing cumulative and combined risks, and reflecting the reality that people encounter varied exposures and stressors over time rather than a single pollutant or event.
EPA signaled a strong preference for interdisciplinary proposals, explicitly recommending teams that combine expertise across fields such as social science, economics, epidemiology, engineering, environmental science, biology, statistics, toxicology, and chemistry. The goal of that interdisciplinary approach is to handle the complexity of real-world exposure scenarios, integrate different types of data (for example, environmental monitoring, biomonitoring, health records, spatial and neighborhood data, and social determinants), and develop methods that can support more realistic and useful risk or impact assessments. In practical terms, competitive projects would likely involve advanced statistical or computational modeling, improved exposure reconstruction across life stages, methods for disentangling confounding and interaction, and frameworks that translate complex environmental and social information into clearer estimates of health impact.
Administratively, this opportunity was issued as EPA Funding Opportunity Number EPA-G2017-STAR-D1 under CFDA 66.509. Funding instruments included grants and cooperative agreements, indicating that some awards could involve substantial agency involvement depending on the project structure. The award ceiling was $800,000, and EPA anticipated making about five awards. The announcement was created on December 5, 2016, with an original closing date of March 2, 2017, and eligibility was listed broadly as "Others" with additional eligibility details provided in the full solicitation (particularly in Section IV, which also covered submission requirements and due dates).Apply for EPA G2017 STAR D1
- The Environmental Protection Agency in the environment sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Using a Total Environment Framework (Built, Natural, Social Environments) to Assess Life-long Health Effects of Chemical Exposures" and is now available to receive applicants.
- Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 66.509.
- This funding opportunity was created on Dec 05, 2016.
- Applicants must submit their applications by Mar 02, 2017 Please refer to the announcement, including Section IV, for additional information on submission methods and due dates.. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
- Each selected applicant is eligible to receive up to $800,000.00 in funding.
- The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 5 candidate(s).
- Eligible applicants include: Others (see text field entitled Additional Information on Eligibility for clarification).
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Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
What is the main purpose of this EPA STAR funding opportunity?
The opportunity (EPA STAR) focused on improving how researchers understand the long-term health impacts of chemical pollution when exposures occur within a "total environment." The emphasis was on developing and testing better models or impact assessment approaches that can evaluate causal relationships between chemical pollutants and health outcomes across a lifetime, rather than relying only on simple exposure-to-outcome correlations.
What does "total environment" mean in this announcement?
"Total environment" refers to the combined influence of built, natural, and social environments on exposure and health across time. The announcement described:
- Built environments: housing quality, transportation systems, land use, industrial or urban infrastructure
- Natural environments: air, water, soil, climate, ecosystem conditions
- Social environments: socioeconomic status, neighborhood conditions, social stress, access to health care, discrimination, occupational factors, community resources
What kinds of research projects were encouraged?
The opportunity encouraged projects that move beyond basic association studies and instead build and test innovative models or impact assessment approaches to better evaluate causal relationships between chemical pollutants and health effects. Projects were expected to reflect real-world complexity, including varied exposures and stressors over time and across life stages.
Why did EPA emphasize causal relationships rather than associations?
The announcement highlighted that chemical exposures do not occur in isolation and that health outcomes are shaped by interacting physical and social conditions across an entire lifetime. Because of that complexity, the opportunity prioritized approaches aimed at causal inference and more decision-relevant impact estimates, rather than simple correlations that may be affected by confounding or unmeasured interacting factors.
What are "modifying interactions" in the context of this opportunity?
Modifying interactions refer to situations where factors from the built, natural, and social environments can amplify, reduce, or otherwise change the health effects of chemical exposures. The opportunity emphasized capturing these interactions so that the estimated health impacts of chemical pollutants reflect how real-world conditions can modify risk.
Did the EPA encourage research on multiple stressors and cumulative risk?
Yes. The opportunity explicitly emphasized considering multiple stressors at once, recognizing cumulative and combined risks, and reflecting the reality that people encounter varied exposures and stressors over time rather than a single pollutant or event.
What disciplines were recommended for competitive proposals?
EPA signaled a strong preference for interdisciplinary proposals. The announcement explicitly recommended teams combining expertise across fields such as social science, economics, epidemiology, engineering, environmental science, biology, statistics, toxicology, and chemistry.
Why was an interdisciplinary team considered important?
The stated goal of interdisciplinary teams was to handle complex real-world exposure scenarios, integrate different types of data, and develop methods that support more realistic and useful risk or impact assessments.
What types of data did the announcement suggest integrating?
The opportunity suggested integrating multiple data types, including environmental monitoring, biomonitoring, health records, spatial and neighborhood data, and social determinants of health.
What kinds of methods or approaches were likely to be competitive?
Based on the description, competitive projects would likely involve advanced statistical or computational modeling, improved exposure reconstruction across life stages, methods for disentangling confounding and interaction, and frameworks that translate complex environmental and social information into clearer estimates of health impact.
What is the funding opportunity number and program?
The funding opportunity was issued as EPA Funding Opportunity Number EPA-G2017-STAR-D1 through the EPA Science to Achieve Results (STAR) program.
What is the CFDA number for this opportunity?
The CFDA number listed for this opportunity was 66.509.
What funding instruments were available under this announcement?
The announcement indicated awards could be made as grants and cooperative agreements. It also noted that cooperative agreements may involve substantial agency involvement depending on the project structure.
How much funding was available per award?
The award ceiling listed for this opportunity was $800,000.
How many awards did EPA anticipate making?
EPA anticipated making about five awards.
When was the announcement created and what was the closing date?
The announcement was created on December 5, 2016. The original closing date was March 2, 2017.
Who was eligible to apply?
Eligibility was listed broadly as "Others". The announcement also stated that additional eligibility details were provided in the full solicitation, particularly in Section IV.
Where would applicants find submission requirements and due dates?
The announcement indicated that submission requirements and due dates were covered in the full solicitation, particularly in Section IV.
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