The University of Texas Medical Branch (UTMB) Center for Environmental Toxicology (CET) mission is to integrate, foster and coordinate interactions and collaborations among multidisciplinary groups of new and established investigators pursuing research pertinent to the adverse effects of environmental factors on human health.  Our proximity to sources of numerous significant manmade and natural environmental insults affecting the air, ground and water in Gulf of Mexico coastal environs—and its rapidly growing population—makes UTMB a compelling site for an environmental health sciences Center.  The CET seeks to understand the ‘human ecosystem’, encompassing the human environed unit (be it the individual or the community), the environment, and the interactions between and within the respective components.  During its almost twenty years of existence, the CET has emerged as a national leader in elucidating the response mechanisms to environmental challenge, and in working with the community to enhance awareness of environmental health issues and formulate prevention and intervention strategies.

The overarching vision of the CET is to develop strategies to monitor, ameliorate and prevent the adverse human health effects of exposure to environmental contaminants.  Accordingly, the CET’s strategic goals are to support team science, organized as Collaborative Research Teams (CRTs) that integrate diverse multidisciplinary approaches to examine fundamental and translational research problems in environmental health.  The CRT concept represents a transformative organizational structure to promote and reward collaborative team-based research.  The CET promotes mentored career development of young investigators, taking advantage of the CRT setting to enhance the training experience.