Hippocrates, the Father of Medicine, instructed his pupils "If you want to learn about the health of a population, look at the air they breath, the water they drink, and the place that they live." During the Revival of Learning, Ramazzini, the Father of Occupational Medicine added, "Ask your patient, What kind of work do you do?" The recognition, evaluation, and control of environmental and occupational health hazards are central to both medicine and public health. The Great Lakes Centers continue this tradition and seek to improve, maintain, and promote the health of workers and communities through the academic triad of teaching, research, and service.

Based at the University of Illinois School of Public Health, the Great Lakes Centers work in partnership with the University's Colleges of Nursing, Agriculture, and Institute for Labor and Industrial Relations, and with Cook County Hospital to fulfill our mission. As an Education and Research Center funded by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, we provide graduate, residency and fellowship training in occupational and environmental medicine, occupational health nursing, industrial hygiene, agricultural safety and health and toxicology. We provide continuing education and outreach in these disciplines, as well as hazardous substances, occupational safety, asbestos, radon, and lead. We offer research support to local scientists, businesses, and unions and encourage them to develop research partnerships to address regional occupational health and safety problems.

As a World Health Organization Collaborating Centre in Occupational and Environmental Health, our training and research programs span the globe. With research and training support from the National Institutes of Health Fogarty International Center, the faculty and visiting scientists in our Center for Global Environmental and Occupational Health address issues ranging from mercury poisoning in the Amazon basin to thyroid cancer in children following the Chornobyl reactor accident. Our international centers of excellence program seeks to build the capacity of our partner institutes to address occupational and environmental health problems in their own countries.

As the U.S. Region V Pediatric Environmental Health Specialty Unit, our Center for Children's Environmental Health at Cook County Hospital provides clinical and community evaluations for children and families exposed to environmental health hazards. We provide continuing education to primary care providers on children's environmental health. With support from the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry and the United States Environmental Protection Agency, our research and consultation programs have helped families and governmental agencies deal with problems arising from community exposures to lead, mercury, pesticides, and bioaerosols.

Through our Occupational Health Service Institute, we provide innovative occupational and environmental health service programs to clients ranging from individual patients and small businesses to foreign governments and the World Bank. The Great Lakes Centers bring a world of expertise to Illinois and the expertise of Illinois to the world. We invite you to learn more about our Centers and take advantage of the many resources that we have to offer.

Daniel Hryhorczuk, Director