Opportunity Information: Apply for EPA G2017 STAR D2
The EPA Science to Achieve Results (STAR) program funding opportunity titled "Early Career Awards: Using a Total Environment Framework (Built, Natural, Social Environments) to Assess Life-long Health Effects of Chemical Exposures" supports early career research focused on how chemical pollution influences human health when viewed through a "total environment" lens. Instead of isolating chemical exposures from everything else happening in a persons life, this program is centered on the idea that health outcomes are shaped by the combined and interacting effects of the built environment (for example housing quality, transportation systems, industrial land use, and indoor environments), the natural environment (air, water, climate, ecosystems, and related processes), and the social environment (community conditions, socioeconomic status, stress, access to resources, discrimination, social networks, and other social determinants). The core premise is that chemical exposures do not operate in a vacuum: their health effects may be strengthened, weakened, or otherwise modified by the broader context in which exposure occurs.
The research emphasis is on developing and testing innovative models or impact assessment approaches that can better identify and explain causal relationships between chemical pollutants and health outcomes across the life course. Competitive projects are expected to move beyond simple association studies by building methods that can account for multiple interacting stressors and factors that accumulate or change over time, such as co-exposures to multiple chemicals, non-chemical stressors like psychosocial stress or noise, and contextual factors like neighborhood characteristics or access to healthcare. The opportunity is aimed at work that can untangle how these variables jointly influence health, including how certain environments or life circumstances may make individuals or populations more vulnerable (or more resilient) to the effects of chemical pollutants.
Because the "total environment" concept is inherently complex, the EPA strongly encourages proposals that integrate multiple disciplines and types of expertise. The announcement explicitly recommends combining perspectives and tools from fields such as social science, economics, epidemiology, engineering, environmental science, biology, statistics, toxicology, and chemistry. In practical terms, this suggests that strong applications will likely bring together teams and methods capable of linking exposure science (what people are exposed to and when), mechanistic or toxicological understanding (how those exposures can cause biological change), and population or community-level analysis (how real-world conditions and social determinants shape exposure patterns and health impacts). Projects that treat the environment as an interconnected system, rather than a set of separate silos, are aligned with the intent of the program.
From an administrative standpoint, this is a discretionary EPA funding opportunity (CFDA 66.509) offered as grants and/or cooperative agreements, indicating that EPA may have substantial involvement in certain projects depending on the award mechanism and the nature of the work. The opportunity number is EPA-G2017-STAR-D2. The anticipated maximum award amount is $600,000 per award, and the EPA expected to make about 5 awards under this call. The opportunity was created on December 5, 2016, with an original closing date of March 2, 2017, with applicants instructed to consult the full announcement (especially Section IV) for submission procedures and any detailed due date requirements. Eligibility is listed as "Others," with the specific eligible applicant types clarified in the announcement text under the additional eligibility information section.
Overall, this opportunity is designed to push early career investigators toward next-generation approaches for understanding life-long health effects of chemical exposures in realistic, multi-stressor settings. The EPA is looking for research that can better capture the combined roles of where people live, the physical and ecological conditions around them, and the social and economic pressures they experience, and then translate that complexity into models or assessment tools that improve causal inference and ultimately inform environmental health decisions.Apply for EPA G2017 STAR D2
- The Environmental Protection Agency in the environment sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Early Career Awards: 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 $600,000.00 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 title of this EPA STAR funding opportunity?
The funding opportunity is titled "Early Career Awards: Using a Total Environment Framework (Built, Natural, Social Environments) to Assess Life-long Health Effects of Chemical Exposures" under the EPA Science to Achieve Results (STAR) program.
What is the main goal of this grant opportunity?
The main goal is to support early career research that improves understanding of how chemical pollution influences human health across the life course when evaluated in the context of the total environment. The program is focused on approaches that consider chemical exposures alongside interacting built, natural, and social environmental conditions.
What does the EPA mean by a "Total Environment Framework"?
The Total Environment Framework refers to analyzing health effects of chemical exposures together with the broader context of a person's lived environment. It includes the built environment (such as housing quality, transportation systems, industrial land use, and indoor environments), the natural environment (air, water, climate, ecosystems, and related processes), and the social environment (community conditions, socioeconomic status, stress, access to resources, discrimination, social networks, and other social determinants).
Why does this opportunity emphasize context around chemical exposures?
The premise is that chemical exposures do not operate in isolation. Their health effects may be strengthened, weakened, or otherwise modified by other factors, including non-chemical stressors and the conditions of the built, natural, and social environments.
Who is this opportunity intended for?
It is designed as an early career awards program, supporting early career investigators conducting research on life-long health effects of chemical exposures using a total environment perspective.
What kinds of research approaches are competitive under this call?
Competitive projects are expected to develop and test innovative models or impact assessment approaches that better identify and explain causal relationships between chemical pollutants and health outcomes across the life course. The EPA signals interest in approaches that can incorporate multiple interacting factors and stressors that change or accumulate over time.
Are simple association studies responsive to this opportunity?
The announcement indicates competitive projects are expected to move beyond simple association studies. The intent is to build methods that can better support causal inference in complex, real-world settings that involve interacting exposures and stressors.
What kinds of factors should proposed models or assessments account for?
The opportunity highlights multiple types of interacting influences, including co-exposures to multiple chemicals, non-chemical stressors (for example psychosocial stress or noise), and contextual factors (such as neighborhood characteristics or access to healthcare), especially as they vary or accumulate across the life course.
Does the EPA want life-course (life-long) health analysis?
Yes. The emphasis is on assessing life-long health effects of chemical exposures, including how exposures and interacting stressors may change over time and how impacts may differ across life stages.
How does this opportunity address vulnerability and resilience?
The EPA is looking for research that can untangle how combined variables jointly influence health, including how certain environments or life circumstances may make individuals or populations more vulnerable to chemical pollutants, or alternatively more resilient to their effects.
Is interdisciplinary research encouraged?
Yes. Because the total environment concept is inherently complex, the EPA strongly encourages proposals that integrate multiple disciplines and types of expertise.
Which disciplines are explicitly recommended as part of an integrated approach?
The announcement explicitly recommends combining perspectives and tools from fields such as social science, economics, epidemiology, engineering, environmental science, biology, statistics, toxicology, and chemistry.
What does an integrated project look like in practical terms?
Based on the description, strong applications will likely connect (1) exposure science (what people are exposed to and when), (2) mechanistic or toxicological understanding (how exposures can cause biological change), and (3) population or community-level analysis (how real-world conditions and social determinants shape exposure patterns and health impacts).
What award mechanisms are available under this opportunity?
This is a discretionary EPA funding opportunity offered as grants and/or cooperative agreements.
What is the difference between a grant and a cooperative agreement in this context?
The description notes that cooperative agreements indicate EPA may have substantial involvement in certain projects depending on the award mechanism and the nature of the work.
What is the opportunity number?
The opportunity number is EPA-G2017-STAR-D2.
What is the CFDA number associated with this program?
The CFDA number listed is 66.509.
What is the maximum anticipated award amount?
The anticipated maximum award amount is $600,000 per award.
How many awards does the EPA expect to make?
The EPA expected to make about 5 awards under this call.
When was this funding opportunity created?
The opportunity was created on December 5, 2016.
What was the original closing date for applications?
The original closing date was March 2, 2017.
Where should applicants look for submission procedures and detailed due date requirements?
Applicants were instructed to consult the full announcement, especially Section IV, for submission procedures and any detailed due date requirements.
What does the eligibility category "Others" mean?
The eligibility is listed as "Others," and the specific eligible applicant types are clarified in the announcement text under the additional eligibility information section.
What is the overarching theme of projects aligned with the program intent?
Projects aligned with the intent treat the environment as an interconnected system rather than separate silos, and translate multi-stressor, real-world complexity into models or assessment tools that improve causal understanding of chemical exposure impacts on health.
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