Contact: Joan Rose, Fisheries and Wildlife, (517) 432-4412, rosejo@msu.edu; or Tom Oswald, University Relations, (517) 355-2281, oswald@msu.edu

9/14/2004

EAST LANSING, Mich. – Michigan State University will be an integral part of a newly formed center that will study the Great Lakes, looking at how humans impact the lakes and how, in turn, the lakes affect human health.

The new Center of Excellence for the Great Lakes and Human Health is funded by a grant from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and will be located at the Ann Arbor-based Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory.

MSU will contribute much to the center, said Joan Rose, a professor of fisheries and wildlife who is heading up MSU’s role in the project, especially in the area of microbiology.

“MSU has a very strong history in microbiology,” said Rose, who also is the holder of the Homer Nowlin Chair in Water Research. “By combining the aspects of waterborne diseases, which are caused by micro-organisms, and expertise in microbiology, as well as an understanding of the Great Lakes system, we can start to address some of these areas that have been neglected.”

“I believe we are in a unique position to address important issues related to human health, as we at MSU have strengths in the areas of pathogens, microbial ecology and hydrology and modeling,” said Phanikumar Mantha, a professor of civil and environmental engineering and geological sciences and one of the co-directors of MSU’s role in the project.

The center will focus on human health effects in the Great Lakes in three main areas: drinking water, beaches and harmful algal blooms.

“Defining and forecasting these relationships will be the primary research focus of the center,” Rose said. “Research will concentrate on providing forecasts of water quality that can be used directly to reduce threats to human health.”

The health and well-being of the Great Lakes is as much an economic issue as it is a health issue, Phanikumar said.

“I think health is wealth,” he said. “There is a lot of debate recently on the connection between human health and economy. I think an investment in health and the environment is an investment in our future prosperity.”

The Great Lakes, said Rose, contain the largest supply of fresh water in the world, providing 56 billion gallons of water daily to more than 40 million people.

In addition, there are more than 500 beaches along its shores that are used for swimming and other recreational purposes.

“With the recent incidences of contamination on our beaches, sewage spills and outbreaks of illness, the work we do through this center will have a real impact on our health and particularly our children’s health and how well we can protect our water quality,” Rose said

Among other things, Rose is currently working to develop an accurate and reliable method to determine if fecal contamination is from humans or animals. She said this is necessary as human sources carry a greater risk of spreading disease.

Other partners in the center of excellence include the University of Michigan, the Florida Institute of Oceanography, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the U.S. Geologic Survey and the NOAA Beaufort Laboratory.

For more information, visit the Web at www.glerl.noaa.gov/