Public Lecture by Prof Paolo Vineis "New Trends in Environmental Research"

Environmental epidemiology focuses on understanding the relationships between environmental exposures and human health outcomes. Although there exists a wealth of studies on environmental pollutants, the assessment of causality is often difficult due to confounding, reverse causation and other uncertainties. Even more complex is the understanding of how social relationships (in particular socio-economic differences) influence health and imprint on the fundamental biology of the individual. The identification of molecular changes that are intermediate between social determinants and disease status is a way to fill the gap. In this talk, Professor Vineis will introduce the concept of the ‘exposome’ and its value in understanding how social variables get biologically embedded. The world of the exposome is rapidly evolving, though a huge gap still needs to be filled between the original expectations and the concrete achievements. The most urgent need is for the establishment of a new generation of cohort studies with appropriately specified biosample collection, improved questionnaire data (including social variables), and the deployment of novel technologies that allow better characterization of individual environmental exposures, ranging from personal monitoring to satellite based observations.