The Exposure Assessment and Geographical Information Systems Facility Core (EAFC) provides a range of exposure support services to Center members, affiliated faculty, and pilot project investigators in performance of their respective research projects and study interests. As described in the following sections, EAFC expertise in field operations, aerosol science, analytical chemistry, and geospatial modeling, coupled with an impressive array of monitoring, analytical, and computational instrumentation, provides Center investigators with a powerful ally in the conduct of environmental health research. Re-organization of the Core has strengthened and expanded its capabilities and allowed it to better focus its interaction with researchers seeking advice and technical support in the area of exposure assessment.

As exposure assessment needs among Center investigators have evolved and technological advancements and new investigator expertise have become available, the Exposure Assessment Facility Core has expanded and restructured to better serve the needs of Center investigators. The Core is now organized into three sub-units -- a Field Operations Unit, a Laboratory Analysis/Aerosol Science Unit, and a GIS/ Modeling Unit.

The Field Operations section of the EAFC supplies a range of critical services to Center investigators. These services include: technical consultation and support in the design of studies involving field operations; consultation on study logistics and alternative operational approaches; description and explanation of recruitment and/or sampling approaches to identify/enroll needed study populations, sampling locations, or exposure monitoring instrumentation; recommendations for monitoring instrumentation to achieve study objectives; review of study personnel allocation given study objectives, scope of work, and budgetary limitations; review of study quality assurance plans and recommendations; training of field personnel on critical aspects of subject recruitment, instrumentation deployment, and field operations. The unit is led by Professor Ed Avol, a research investigator with 30 years’ experience in field sampling and laboratory studies related to air pollution exposure monitoring and respiratory health effects-related research.

The Laboratory Analysis/Aerosol Science unit is led by Dr. William Hinds and provides services in two areas: (1) processing and chemical analysis of samples; (2) expertise in the area of aerosol properties and measurement. Laboratory analysis and support is provided by three laboratories (at the University of Wisconsin [UW] and UCLA) led by three Center investigators and collaborators (Dr. James Schauer at UW, and Drs. Shane Que Hee and Antonio Miguel at UCLA). Dr. Schauer’s facility provides the Center with analysis of environmental samples on a fee-per-sample basis, useful for specific high-throughput organic analyses. Dr. Que Hee oversees a new ICP/MS facility, organized as a cost center to provide analyses on a fee-for-services basis. Dr. Miguel’s laboratory specializes in methods development and methods validation for organic analysis, especially PAHs.

GIS and Spatial Modeling Unit services are directed by Dr. Michael Jerrett. GIS services are supported by additional capabilities in the laboratories of Dr. John Wilson, Director of the GIS Research Laboratory in the USC Department of Geography and Dr. Myles Cockburn, in the USC Department of Preventive Medicine. The GIS unit of the EAFC provides a full range of services including geographic data processing and interpretation, remote sensing data assignment, advanced cartographic visualization, spatial exposure modeling, geocoding of subject location and exposure, and spatial regression.