The supercourse of fisheries: Importance of sharing educational materials and implications for cancer and chronic disease research

Epidemiologic research has demonstrated that fish is an important component of human nutrition. Existing information for the public about the benefits vs dangers of fish consumption is often contradictory and unclear. Education in the field of human nutrition, especially in the area of fish consumption could be markedly enhanced if there were better mechanisms for the development of customized high quality, low cost educational lectures Researchers from the Department of Epidemiology, University of Pittsburgh, in collaboration with the members of the Global Health Network Supercourse project are developing a library of lectures on nutrition, environmental health, and fisheries, for the use and share among the scientists of the world. With the growing demand for environmental health/nutrition awareness, there is an escalating demand for easily accessible and inexpensive teaching materials on nutritional information, including fish and fisheries. The Supercourse has a network of 45,000 faculty members from 171 countries who have contributed more than 3400 public health lectures, providing forum for sharing the latest research developments in the areas of nutrition. This article outlines the importance of creating easily accessible educational modules on the issues of nutrition, environmental health challenges, and fisheries.