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Grantee Research Project Results

Research Centers
2005)

Health Effects Institute

The Health Effects Institute (HEI) is an independent, nonprofit corporation chartered in 1980 to provide high-quality, impartial, and relevant science on the health effects of pollutants from motor vehicles and from other sources in the environment. Supported jointly by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and industry (manufacturers and marketers of motor vehicles or engines), HEI has funded over 170 studies and published over 100 Research Reports, and several Special Reports, producing important research findings on the health effects of a variety of pollutants, including carbon monoxide, methanol and aldehydes, nitrogen oxides, diesel exhaust, ozone, and most recently, particulate air pollution. HEI has also been called upon periodically to produce special reports reviewing an entire area of scientific literature on topics such as the health effects of asbestos, diesel exhaust, and oxygenates in fuel.

To accomplish its mission, HEI:

  • Identifies the highest priority areas for health effects research;
  • Funds and oversees the conduct of high-quality research in these priority areas;
  • Provides intensive, independent review of HEI-supported and related research;
  • Integrates HEI’s research results with those of other institutions into coherent, broader evaluations of health effects;
  • and Communicates the results of HEI research and analyses to public and private decision makers.

 

The HEI research program has addressed questions about the health effects associated with exposure to both regulated pollutants such as carbon monoxide, ozone, and nitrogen dioxide, and unregulated pollutants such as diesel exhaust, aldehydes, and methanol. HEI has also funded studies to understand the mechanisms of diseases, to develop better methods to assess health effects and determine dose response relationships. The program has included theoretical, in vitro, animal, controlled human exposure, and epidemiological studies.The center has conducted research in several areas, including:

  • Mobile Source Air toxics - which includes research on benzene and 1,3-butadiene, mechanisms of carcinogenicity and biomarkers of dose and effect, and the health effects of aldehydes;
  • Oxygenated Fuels - the comparative metabolism and health effects of ethers used to increase gasoline oxygen content (MTBE);
  • and Particulates - health effects of particulate air pollution and potential relationship to increased daily mortality.

 

HEI’s Board of Directors, chaired by Richard Celeste, consists of public figures in science and policy who are committed to the public-private partnership that is central to the HEI approach. The Institute’s scientific work is overseen by two independent scientific committees. The Health Research Committee works with the Institute’s scientific staff to develop and manage HEI’s research program. The Health Review Committee which has no role in selecting or overseeing studies, works with the Institute’s scientific staff to evaluate and interpret the results of HEI studies and related research. HEI’s priorities for research and special reviews are guided by the five-year HEI Strategic Plan, which is reviewed and updated annually after consultations with HEI sponsors and other interested parties.

Relevant Websites:
http://www.healtheffects.org/ exit EPA
Health Effects Institute (2005 — 2010)
Health Effects Institute (2010 — 2015)

Center Publications:

Views: All publications Selected publication types Journal articles Publications submitted after final report

View Projects in Tabular Format

Main Center Abstract and Reports:

Atlantic Coast Environmental Indicators Consortium
Development, Testing, and Application of Ecological and Socioeconomic Indicators for Integrated Assessment of Aquatic Ecosystems of the Atlantic Slope in the Mid-Atlantic States
Southern California Particle Center and Supersite (SCPCS)
Research Center for Particulate Air Pollution and Health
Ambient Particle Health Effects: Exposure, Susceptibility, and Mechanisms
Consortium for Estuarine Ecoindicator Research for the Gulf of Mexico (CEER-GOM)
Center for Childhood Neurotoxicology and Assessment
Center for Hazardous Substances in Urban Environments (CHSUE)
Health Effects Institute (2000-2005)
The Johns Hopkins University Center For The Asthmatic Child in the Urban Environment
Centers of Excellence in Children's Environmental Health and Disease Prevention Research
Center for Child Environmental Health Risks Research
Midwest Hazardous Substance Research Center
Center for Hazardous Substances in Urban Environments (CHSUE)
Research Consortium on Ozone and Fine Particle Formation in California and in the Northeastern United States
National Environmental Respiratory Center: Health Hazards of Inhaled Gasoline Engine Emissions and Street Dust
Columbia Center for Children's Environmental Health
Environmental Bioinformatics and Computational Toxicology Center
Carolina Environmental Bioinformatics Center
Johns Hopkins Particulate Matter Research Center
Harvard Particle Center
Southern California Particle Center (SCPC)
The Center for Advancing Microbial Risk Assessment (CAMRA)
National Research Program on Design-Based/Model-Assisted Survey Methodology for Aquatic Resources
Metal Mixtures and Children’s Health
Center for Children's Environmental Health Research
Center for Child Environmental Health Risks Research
Johns Hopkins Center for Childhood Asthma in the Urban Environment
Carolina Center for Computational Toxicology
The Columbia Center for Children’s Environmental Health
Mechanisms of Asthma -- Dietary Interventions against Environmental Triggers
Center for Integrative Research on Childhood Leukemia and the Environment (CIRCLE)
Center for Children’s Environmental Health and DiseasePreventionResearch (P01) (joint EPA and NIEHS) - CHAMACOS
Endotoxin Exposure and Asthma in Children
Novel Methods to Assess Effects of Bisphenol A (BPA) & Phthalates on Child Development
Center for Child Environmental Health Risks Research
Formative Center for the Evaluation of Environmental Impacts on Fetal Development
Children's Environmental Health and Disease Prevention Research Centers: Formative Centers
Berkeley/Stanford Children’s Environmental Health Center
Great Lakes Air Center for Integrative Environmental Research (GLACIER)
University of Washington Center for Clean Air Research (UW CCAR)
Air Pollution Mixtures: Health Effects Across Life Stages
National Environmental Respiratory Center
Environmental Research and Technology Transfer Program of The Consortium for Plant Biotechnology Research, Inc.
Water Environment and Reuse Foundation (WE&RF)'s National Center for Resource Recovery and Nutrient Management
The UCSF Pregnancy Exposures to Environmental Chemicals (PEEC) Children's Center
Predictive Toxicology Center for Organotypic Cultures and Assessment ofAOPs for Engineered Nanomaterials
SEARCH: Solutions to Energy, AiR, Climate, and Health
Comparing Urban and Rural Effects of Poverty on COPD (CURE COPD)
Center for Indigenous Environmental Health Research
Center for Research on Environmental and Social Stressors in Housing across the Life Course
Center for Native American Environmental Health Equity Research
Center for Research on Early Childhood Exposure and Development in Puerto Rico
The Columbia Center for Childrens Environmental Health
Center for the Study of Childhood Asthma in the Urban Environment (CCAUE)
A Sustainable Center for Crowd-Sourced Water Infrastructure Modeling
Initial Annual CEMALB Progress Report: Human Health Effects of Environmental Pollutants

Center Research Projects:

R828112C042 - Does Inhalation of Methanol Vapor Affect Human Neurobehavior?

R828112C043 - Human Responses to Nitrogen Dioxide

R828112C044 - The Role of Inflammation in Ozone-Induced Lung Injury

R828112C045 - How Does Exercise Affect the Dose of Inhaled Air Pollutants?

R828112C046 - How Do Chemicals in Diesel Engine Exhaust Damage DNA?

R828112C047 - Effect of Nitrogen Dioxide on Bacterial Respiratory infectionin Mice

R828112C048 - Effects of Ozone Exposure on Airway Epithelium

R828112C049 - Inhalation of Aldehydes and Effects on Breathing

R828112C050 - Does Ozone Cause Precancerous Changes in Cells?

R828112C051 - Effects of Formaldehyde on Human Airway Epithelial Cells Exposed in a Novel Culture System

R828112C052 - Carbon Monoxide and Cardiac Arrhythmias

R828112C053 - Effects of Formaldehyde and Particle-Bound Formaldehyde on Lung Macrophage Functions

R828112C054 - Mechanisms for Protecting Lung Epithelial Cells Against Oxidant Injury

R828112C055 - Relationship of Nitropyrene-Derived DNA Adducts to Carcinogenesis

R828112C056 - Particle Trap Effects on Heavy-Duty Diesel Engine Emissions

R828112C057 - Carbon Monoxide and Atherosclerosis

R828112C058 - Nitrogen Dioxide and Respiratory Illness in Children

R828112C059 - Noninvasive Methods for Measuring Ventilation in Mobile Subjects

R828112C060 - Oxidant Air Pollutants and Lung Cancer: An Animal Model

R828112C061 - Detection of Carcinogen-DNA Adducts: Development of New Methods

R828112C062 - Effects of Carbon Monoxide on Heart Muscle Cells

R828112C063 - Development of Personal Ozone Samplers: Three Approaches

R828112C064 - Development of Biomarkers to Monitor Carcinogen Exposure

R828112C065 - Effects of Prolonged Ozone Inhalation on Collagen Structure and Content in Rat Lungs

R828112C065II - Prolonged Ozone Exposure and the Contractile Properties of Isolated Rat Airways

R828112C065III - Changes in Complex Carbohydrate Content and Structure in Rat Lungs Caused by Prolonged Ozone Inhalation

R828112C065IV - Genetic Control of Connective Tissue Protein Synthesis After Prolonged Ozone Inhalation

R828112C065V - Pulmonary Function Alterations in Rats After Chronic Ozone Inhalation

R828112C065VII - Prolonged Ozone Exposure Leads to Functional and Structural Changes in the Rat Nose

R828112C065VIII - IX - Studies of Changes in Lung Structure and Enzyme Activitiesin Rats After Prolonged Exposure to Ozone

R828112C065X - An Innovative Approach to Analyzing Multiple Experimental Outcomes: A Case Study of Rats Exposed to Ozone

R828112C065XI - The Consequences of Prolonged Inhalation of Ozone on Rats: An Integrative Summary of the Results of Eight Collaborative Studies

R828112C066 - Interactive Effects of Nitropyrenes in Diesel Exhaust

R828112C067 - Detection of Formaldehyde–DNA Adducts: Development of New Methods

R828112C068I - Comparison of the Carcinogenicity of Diesel Exhaust and Carbon Black in Rat Lungs

R828112C068II - An Investigation of DNA Damage in the Lungs of Rats Exposed to Diesel Exhaust

R828112C068III - No Evidence For Genetic Mutations Found In Lung Tumors From Rats Exposed To Diesel Exhaust or Carbon Black

R828112C069 - Noninvasive Determination of Respiratory Ozone Absorption: The Bolus-Response Method

R828112C070 - The Effects of Inhaled Oxidants and Acid Aerosols on Pulmonary Function

R828112C071 - Biochemical Consequences of Ozone Reacting with Membrane Fatty Acids

R828112C072 - DNA Mutations in Rats Treated with a Carcinogen Present in Diesel Exhaust

R828112C073 - Developmental Neurotoxicity of Inhaled Methanol in Rats

R828112C074 - Methanol Distribution in Non Pregnant and Pregnant Rodents

R828112C075 - Is Increased Mortality Associated with Ozone Exposure in Mexico City?

R828112C076 - Effects of Fuel Modification and Emission Control Devices on Heavy-Duty Diesel Engine Emissions

R828112C077 - Metabolic Studies in Monkeys Exposed to Methanol Vapors

R828112C078 - Effects of Ozone on Pulmonary Function and Airway Inflammation in Normal and Potentially Sensitive Human Subjects

R828112C079 - Improvement of a Respiratory Ozone Analyzer

R828112C080 - Mechanism of Oxidative Stress from Low Levels of Carbon Monoxide

R828112C081 - Long-Term Exposure to Ozone: Development of Methods to Estimate Past Exposures and Health Outcomes

R828112C082 - Effects of Ambient Ozone on Healthy, Wheezy, and Asthmatic Children

R828112C083 - Daily Changes in Oxygen Saturation and Pulse Rate Associated with Particulate Air Pollution and Barometric Pressure

R828112C084 - Evaluation of The Potential Health Effects of the Atmospheric Reaction Products of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons

R828112C085 - Mechanisms of Response to Ozone Exposure: The Role of Mast Cells in Mice

R828112C086 - Statistical Methods for Epidemiologic Studies of the Health Effects of Air Pollution

R828112C087 - Development of New Methods to Measure Benzene Biomarkers

R828112C088 - Alveolar Changes in Rat Lungs After Long-Term Exposure to Nitric Oxide

R828112C089 - Effects of Prenatal Exposure to Inhaled Methanol on Nonhuman Primates and Their Infant Offspring

R828112C090 - A Pilot Study of Potential Biomarkers of Ozone Exposure

R828112C091 - Effects of Concentrated Ambient Particles on the Cardiac and Pulmonary Systems of Dogs

R828112C092 - Cancer, Mutations, and Adducts in Rats and Mice Exposed to Butadiene and Its Metabolites

R828112C093 - Effects of Concentrated Ambient Particles in Rats and Hamsters: An Exploratory Study

R828112C094I - The National Morbidity, Mortality, and Air Pollution Study: Methods and Methodologic Issues

R828112C094II - The National Morbidity, Mortality, and Air Pollution Study: Morbidity and Mortality from Air Pollution in the United States

R828112C095 - Association of Particulate Matter Components with Daily Mortality and Morbidity in Urban Populations

R828112C096 - Acute Pulmonary Effects of Ultrafine Particles in Rats and Mice

R828112C097 - Identifying Subgroups of the General Population That May Be Susceptible to Short-Term Increases in Particulate Air Pollution

R828112C098 - Daily Mortality and Fine and Ultrafine Particles in Erfurt, Germany

R828112C099 - A Case-Crossover Analysis of Fine Particulate Matter Air Pollution and Out-of-Hospital Sudden Cardiac Arrest

R828112C100 - Effects of Mexico City Air on Rat Nose

R828112C101 - Penetration of Lung Lining and Clearance of Particles Containing Benzo[a]pyrene

R828112C102 - Metabolism of Ether Oxygenates Added to Gasoline

R828112C103 - Characterization and Mechanisms of Chromosomal Alterations Induced by Benzene in Mice and Humans

R828112C104 - Acute Cardiovascular Effects in Rats from Exposure to Urban Ambient Particles

R828112C105 - Genetic Differences in Induction of Acute Lung Injury and Inflammation in Mice

R828112C106 - Effects on Mice of Exposure to Ozone and Ambient Particle Pollution

R828112C107 - Emissions from Diesel and Gasoline Engines Measured in Highway Tunnels

R828112C108 - Case-Cohort Study of Styrene Exposure and Ischemic Heart Disease Investigators

R828112C110 - Effects of Metals Bound to Particulate Matter on Human Lung Epithelial Cells

R828112C111 - Effect of Concentrated Ambient Particulate Matter on Blood Coagulation Parameters in Rats

R828112C112 - Health Effects of Acute Exposure to Air Pollution

R828112C113 - Benzene Metabolism in Rodents at Doses Relevant to Human Exposure from Urban Air

R828112C114 - A Personal Particle Speciation Sampler

R828112C115 - Validation and Evaluation of Biomarkers in Workers Exposed to Benzene in China

R828112C116 - Biomarkers in Czech Workers Exposed to 1,3-Butadiene: A Transitional Epidemiologic Study

R828112C117 - Peroxides and Macrophages in the Toxicity of Fine Particulate Matter in Rats

R828112C118 - Controlled Exposures of Healthy and Asthmatic Volunteers to Concentrated Ambient Particles in Metropolitan Los Angeles

R828112C119 - Manganese Toxicokinetics at the Blood-Brain Barrier

R828112C120 - Effects of Exposure to Concentrated Ambient Particles from Detroit Air on Healthy Rats and Rats with Features of Asthma or Mild Bronchitis

R828112C121 - Field Evaluation of Nanofilm Detectors for Measuring Acidic Particles in Indoor and Outdoor Air

R828112C123 - Time-Series Analysis of Air Pollution and Mortality: A Statistical Review

R828112C126 - Effects of Exposure to Ultrafine Carbon Particles in Healthy Subjects and Subjects with Asthma

R828112C128 - Neurogenic Responses of Rat Lung to Diesel Exhaust

R828112C130-I - Relationships of Indoor, Outdoor, and Personal Air (RIOPA). Part I. Collection Methods and Descriptive Analyses

R828112C132 - An Updated Study of Mortality Among North American Synthetic Rubber Industry Workers

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The perspectives, information and conclusions conveyed in research project abstracts, progress reports, final reports, journal abstracts and journal publications convey the viewpoints of the principal investigator and may not represent the views and policies of ORD and EPA. Conclusions drawn by the principal investigators have not been reviewed by the Agency.

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Last updated April 28, 2023