Advancing science in rapidly changing environments: opportunities for the Central and Eastern European Conference on Health and the Environment to connect to other networks

The Central and Eastern Europe region is faced with longstanding environmental health problems as well as emerging health threats from pollution caused by the region’s recent period of rapid industrialization. As researchers in the region continue to work to address these problems, they could find unique approaches by increasing collaborations between biomedical and non-biomedical scientists and by more closely following the Superfund Research Program model of pursuing basic research, then connecting with stakeholders in the region to share and apply new knowledge. To build upon and leverage research in the region, researchers and stakeholders should work to formalize the bi-annual meeting of the Central and Eastern European Conference on Health and the Environment into a more cohesive organization and make efforts to connect to broader global networks that aim to spread research results and applications around the world. By taking these steps to connect to the broader world of environmental health research, the CEE region stakeholders can reduce pollution-related disease, minimize costs of hazardous waste remediation, and help grow the economy in their region.