Grantee Research Project Results
The Columbia Center for Childrens Environmental Health
EPA Grant Number: R836154Center: Southern California Children's Environmental Health Center
Center Director: McConnell, Rob Scot
Title: The Columbia Center for Childrens Environmental Health
Investigators: Perera, Frederica P.
Current Investigators: Perera, Frederica P. , Rauh, Virginia , Rundle, Andrew , Peterson, Bradley S , Shepard, Peggy , Hernandez, Diana
Institution: Columbia University in the City of New York
EPA Project Officer: Callan, Richard
Project Period: September 1, 2015 through August 31, 2019 (Extended to August 31, 2020)
Project Amount: $2,552,707
RFA: Children's Environmental Health and Disease Prevention Research Centers (2014) RFA Text | Recipients Lists
Research Category: Endocrine Disruptors , Human Health , Children's Health
Objective:
The ultimate goal is the prevention of serious adverse PAH-related effects on children’s health and development by providing communities, policy-makers, and clinicians with scientific data that will motivate community engagement, strengthen environmental and health policy both locally and nationwide, and ultimately lead to effective interventions in children affected by air pollution.
Specific Aim 1: Provide essential evidence of PAH impacts on these significant public health problems.
Specific Aim 2: Investigate how PAH affects the development of neural systems in the brain.
Specific Aim 3: Inform environmental and public health policy
Specific Aim 4: Suggest new avenues for prevention and early intervention.
Approach:
The overarching hypothesis of the proposed program of research, around which our three research projects are organized, is that prenatal and early childhood exposures to PAH disrupt development of the neural systems that support capacities for self-regulation, and that these PAH-related brain disturbances lead to the emergence or persistence of serious cognitive, emotional, behavioral, and adiposity (hereafter, “CEBA”) problems during adolescence. Preliminary findings suggest that these PAH-related CEBA problems in adolescence will include increased rates of depression, Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder, physical aggression, substance abuse, and risky sexual behaviors. The proposed program will: 1) provide essential evidence of PAH impacts on these significant public health problems; 2) shed light on how PAH affects the development of neural systems in the brain; 3) inform environmental and public health policy; and 4) suggest new avenues for prevention and early intervention. Investigators anticipate that, by providing needed scientific data on a highly prevalent environmental exposure, this research program will have wide-reaching implications for public health and, particularly, for the protection of children’s health. This project will leverage strong existing partnerships with community groups, especially West Harlem Environmental Action (WE ACT), through our Community Outreach and Translation Core (COTC), to inform the community, policy-makers, and the wider public about scientific findings data on PAH and air and children’s health.
Rationale:
The Columbia Center for Children’s Environmental Health (CCCEH) proposes an innovative program which builds directly on prior research findings in a well characterized cohort of inner city children enrolled prenatally and now being followed into adolescence. Repeated waves of assessment prior to age 11 have shown that high prenatal exposure to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) is associated with recurrent neurodevelopmental abnormalities, higher rates of obesity, and a failure to increasingly improve the capacity to regulate thought, emotion, and behavior over the course of development. Moreover, preliminary evidence from a brain imaging study in children from this cohort show that early PAH exposure adversely affects the structure of neural systems known to support self-regulatory capacities.
Journal Articles: 10 Displayed | Download in RIS Format
| Other center views: | All 13 publications | 10 publications in selected types | All 10 journal articles |
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Conrad L, Rauh V, Hopener L, Acosta L, Perera F, Rundle A, Arteaga-Solis E, Miller R, Perzanowski M. Report of prenatal maternal demoralization and material hardship and infant rhinorrhea and watery eyes. Annals of Allergy Asthma & Immunology 2020;125(4):399. |
R836154 (2019) R832144 (Final) |
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Durham T, Guo J, Cowell W, Riley K, Wang S, Tang D, Perera F, Herbstman J. Prenatal PM2.5 Exposure in Relation to Maternal and Newborn Telomere Length at Delivery. Toxics 23;10(1):13. |
R836154 (Final) R827027 (2002) R832141 (Final) R834509 (Final) |
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Flores N, Lovinsky-Desir S, Divjan A, Hoepner L, Zou J, Miller R, Herbstman J, Perera F, Perzanowski M, Checn Q. Trajectory analysis of rhinitis in a birth cohort from lower-income New York City neighborhoods. JOURNAL OF ALLERGY AND CLINICAL IMMUNOLOGY 2024;154(1) |
R836154 (Final) |
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Hoepner LA, Whyatt RM, Widen EM, Hassoun A, Oberfield SE, Mueller NT, Diaz D, Calafat AM, Perera FP, Rundle AG. Bisphenol A and adiposity in an inner-city birth cohort. Environmental Health Perspectives 2016;124(10):1644-1650. |
R836154 (2017) R834509 (Final) |
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Hopson MB, Margolis A, Rauh V, Herbstman JB. Impact of the home environment on the relationship between prenatal exposure to environmental tobacco smoke and child behavior. International Journal of Child Health and Human Development 2016;9(4):453-464. |
R836154 (2017) |
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Maresca MM, Hoepner LA, Hassoun A, Oberfield SE, Mooney SJ, Calafat AM, Ramirez J, Freyer G, Perera FP, Whyatt RM, Rundle AG. Prenatal exposure to phthalates and childhood body size in an urban cohort. Environmental Health Perspectives 2015 June 12 [Epub ahead of print], doi:10.1289/ehp.1408750. |
R836154 (2017) R834509 (2013) R834509C001 (Final) |
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Margolis AE, Herbstman JB, Davis KS, Thomas VK, Tang D, Wang Y, Wang S, Perera FP, Peterson BS, Rauh VA. Longitudinal effects of prenatal exposure to air pollutants on self-regulatory capacities and social competence. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry 2016;57(7):851-860. |
R836154 (2017) R834509 (Final) |
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Perera FP, Wheelock K, Wang Y, Tang D, Margolis AE, Badia G, Cowell W, Miller RL, Rauh V, Wang S, Herbstman JB. Combined effects of prenatal exposure to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and material hardship on child ADHD behavior problems. Environmental Research 2018;160:506-513. |
R836154 (2017) R836154 (2018) |
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Perera F, Nolte ELR, Wang Y, Margolis AE, Calafat AM, Wang S, Garcia W, Hoepner LA, Peterson BS, Rauh V, Herbstman J. Bisphenol A exposure and symptoms of anxiety and depression among inner city children at 10-12 years of age. Environmental Research 2016;151:195-202. |
R836154 (2017) |
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Widen EM, Whyatt RM, Hoepner LA, Mueller NT, Ramirez‐Carvey J, Oberfield SE, Hassoun A, Perera FP, Gallagher D, Rundle AG. Gestational weight gain and obesity, adiposity and body size in African-American and Dominican children in the Bronx and Northern Manhattan. Maternal & Child Nutrition 2016;12(4):918-928. |
R836154 (2017) R834509C001 (Final) |
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Progress and Final Reports:
Subprojects under this Center: (EPA does not fund or establish subprojects; EPA awards and manages the overall grant for this center).
R836154C001 The Impact of PAH Exposure on Adolescent Neurodevelopment: Disruption of Self-Regulatory Processes
R836154C002 The Impact of PAH Exposure on Childhood Growth Trajectories and Visceral Adipose Tissue
R836154C003 An MRI Study of the Effects of Prenatal and Early Childhood PAH Exposure on Brain Maturation and Its Mediating Influences on Adverse Adolescent Outcomes
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.