Rural Environmental Health T32 Training Program
RURAL ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH T32 TRAINING PROGRAM
Roughly one-fifth of the US population is considered “rural”; however, these rural landscapes comprise 90% of the nation’s land area, and provide the overwhelming majority of the country’s food, energy, water and other natural resources. Simultaneously, rural residents face many health disparities compared to their urban counterparts. Virginia Tech is well positioned to provide a rich training environment for examining environmental health in rural landscapes, with top programs in agriculture, natural resources and environment, and engineering, and growing programs in public health and translational biology and medicine.
The Rural Environmental Health training program started out as an internal short-term pilot program, which was offered by the Global Change Center and funded by the Fralin Life Sciences Institute from 2020-2023. In 2023, the program received a NIH T32 Predoctoral Training Grant, allowing the program to continue to grow in size and scope. The newly funded Rural Environmental Health T32 Training program accepted its first trainee in Fall 2023.
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REH Program Overview , homeThe Rural Environmental Health T32 predoctoral training program at Virginia Tech is a competitive program that provides PhD students with training in environmental health sciences, with a focus on applications in rural landscapes. REH trainees will receive assistantship and tuition support for their first two years of the program.
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REH Courses and Requirements , homeTrainees will complete rural environmental health specific training covering toxicology, epidemiology, exposure science, and community-based methods. The curriculum will also leverage the well-established Interfaces of Global Change (IGC) program, an innovative interdisciplinary graduate education program that supplements home department PhD curricula.
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How to Apply , homeRural Environmental Health trainees must be enrolled in one of the six participating PhD programs in biomedical sciences and environmental engineering, be advised by an affiliated faculty mentor, and meet NIH T32 citizenship requirements.
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REH Fellowship Recipients , homeRural Environmental Health trainees are working to further build innovative research collaborations at the nexus of environment and health in rural areas. Learn more about current and past Rural Environmental Health trainees.