Robert Chambers recently highlighted corruption, entomophagy, neglected tropical diseases, cookstove air pollution, climate change and ocean ecology as blindspots in his "Can We Know Better?" (2017) book. I think we ought to add environmental toxins and child health. Consider the following quotes from "Children & Environmental Toxins: What Everyone Needs to Know" (2018) by Landriagan and Landriagan (an overview book for non-experts published by Oxford University Press). As a background, it is worth noting that there have been rapid rises in infant and childhood cancers, asthma, allergies and autism in recent decades:

• "Research in children's environmental health and epidemiology shows us that infants and children are exquisitely vulnerable to toxic chemicals. Exposures during pregnancy and in early childhood to even very low level of lead, methylmercury, organophosphate pesticides, and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) have all been proven to cause damage to children's developing brains that presents as IQ loss, shortened attention span, and disordered behavior. Early-life exposure to air pollution causes asthma, pneumonia, impaired lung growth, and sudden infant death. Prenatal exposures to solvents and pesticides are linked to childhood cancer. Endocrine disruptors, such as phthalates and bisphenol A, are associated with birth defects, diminished reproductive function, and disordered behavior." (p. xix)

• "A fundamental problem is that often little or no assessment is made of the safety or potential toxicity of new chemicals before they are brought to market. This failure to exercise due diligence makes it impossible to know which chemicals will be beneficial and which need to be treated with caution." (p. 11)

• "The majority of the 3,000 high-production-volume chemicals have not undergone even minimal assessment for safety or potential toxicity. Only approximately 20% of high-production-volume chemicals have been screened for their potential to disrupt early human development or to cause disease in infants and children. Accordingly, we have no knowledge of the possible dangers to children of most of the synthetic chemicals in the world today." (p. 13)

• "Only 10% to 20% of cancers in children are considered to be genetic. The remaining 80% to 90% are due to environmental factors - chemical and physical factors in the environment called environmental carcinogens." (p. 48)
  

The Children and Youth in Challenging Contexts Network (cyccnetwork.org) based at Dalhousie University and under the direction of Dr. Michael Ungar, Canada Research Chair in Child, Family and Community Resilience, is looking for dynamic individuals with an interest in developing expertise and expanding their research in the field of knowledge mobilization/implementation science/knowledge translation related to the community based child and youth mental health and social service sector. The mission of the CYCC Network is to build a stronger, more effective and collaborative youth serving sector to support the mental health and wellbeing of children and youth living in challenging contexts. The position is ideal for doctoral students launching their research careers and postdocs seeking to gain experience developing, funding and managing research projects related to knowledge mobilization and implementation science. Experience with mixed methods is preferred. Proficiency in English is also required. Applicants can be from any discipline, though familiarity with psychological and social factors affecting children, youth and families will be an advantage.

The CYCC Network is primarily funded through the Networks of Centre of Excellence as a Knowledge Mobilization Network for $2.8 million over 7 years, and currently has over 250 members across 20 countries, including approximately 80 researchers. We are connected to the Resilience Research Centre (RRC) which is an international group of scholars, practitioners and policy makers from more than 20 countries who together collaborate on research and knowledge mobilization projects. Over the last eight years, the RRC has received over $5M in research funding for mixed methods studies from national funders and helped its overseas partners secure another $8M from domestic and international granting agencies. This is an excellent opportunity for the right candidate to build a strong network of contacts and increase her/his publications.

More details.