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Record Count: 7
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header (Title, Principal Investigator, Institution, City, ST, Award Code, or
Pubs).
DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant)
During its first five years, the Children's Environmental Health Center (CEHC) supported investigations of the roles of the environment and susceptibility in children's respiratory health. Important contributions were made supporting the growing consensus that current levels of ambient air pollutants and tobacco smoke have substantial adverse effects on children's respiratory health, especially among susceptible groups. The overall scientific and translational theme of the CEHC renewal application is air pollution, susceptibility, and childhood airway disease. The objectives proposed for the Center's next five years are: 1) to investigate the role of ambient air pollutants and genetic susceptibility in airway inflammation and in asthma occurrence during childhood; 2) to investigate the mechanism for the modulating effects of ambient air pollutants on allergic inflammation in children; 3) to implement a community-based participatory research program to respond to community concerns about the effects of regional ambient air pollutants and locally emitted fresh vehicle exhaust on early life asthma; 4) to provide a scientific resource for the broader community involved in protecting children's environmental health. In this application, the CEHC offers an innovative program of community-based participatory research, mechanistic and epidemiologic research to fill some pressing research and public health needs. The investigators propose a vigorous outreach and translation effort to ensure that communities, legislators, regulatory agencies, and other groups interested in children's environmental health are well informed about the evolving science and health impacts on children and communities. The proposed research program is integrated scientifically by a biological model that hypothesizes that chronic oxidative and nitrosative stress mediate the chronic effects of air pollution on asthma and allergic rhinitis. The investigators have identified six key research and translation questions about the adverse effects of ambient air pollution on children's airway diseases: 1) Do regional ambient air pollutants such as 03 or locally emitted fresh vehicle exhaust increase the risk of early life asthma? 2) Is chronic airway inflammation a risk factor for new onset asthma? 3) Do ambient air pollutants or locally emitted fresh vehicle exhaust produce chronic airway inflammation? 4) Do levels of expression or polymorphic variants of genes in antioxidant pathways such as GSTM1 confer special airway sensitivity to air pollution? 5) Which pollutants are responsible for the effects we see? 6) Can scientific approaches and translation to the broader community involved in protecting children's environmental health be enhanced by community-based participatory research approaches? Because the burden of airway disease and the numbers of children exposed to unhealthful air are large and growing, answers to these questions are urgently needed. The CEHC research program offers a timely opportunity to efficiently answer these key questions using an integrated approach and unique population and exposure assessment resources. Our collaborative multidisciplinary investigative team and strong working relationships with the community research partners, enhance the CEHC's ability to continue to contribute to understanding the effects of environmental exposures on childhood airway disease and to strengthen public health efforts to protect children.
DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant)
The overall theme of the Columbia Center for Children's Environmental Health (CCCEH) is the identification and prevention of risks of neurodevelopmental impairment and childhood asthma from prenatal and postnatal exposure to urban pollutants. Since it was established in 1998, the Center has forged a successful partnership with West Harlem Environmental Action, Inc. (WE ACT), and nine other community organizations to identify and prevent environmental causes of childhood disease in Northern Manhattan and the South Bronx. The Center has enrolled and retained a unique cohort of mothers and children of color who belong to one of the most at-risk urban populations in this country with respect to environmental exposures, social adversity, and childhood health problems. Using molecular epidemiologic approaches, Center investigators have developed a rich body of knowledge about this vulnerable and disadvantaged urban population. They have documented substantial prenatal exposure to indoor and outdoor urban pollutants, including the combustion byproduct polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH), environmental tobacco smoke (ETS), pesticides, and pest allergens. The research has demonstrated significant associations between prenatal exposures to those pollutants and adverse birth outcomes and/or neurodevelopmental, immunological, and respiratory health outcomes in children studied through age two. Building on its achievements of the past five years, the Center proposes several important new initiatives. These include follow-up of the mother and child cohort through ages five to seven, as the children enter school, with links to school performance data at age eight. Additional exposure, biomarker, and outcome assessments will allow testing of new etiologic hypotheses in the community based participatory research (CBPR) projects on asthma and growth and development. A new laboratory-based mechanistic research project will elucidate possible mechanisms of in utero sensitization by co-exposure to PAH/diesel exhaust particles and allergens, directly complementing the CBPR asthma project. A CBPR Intervention project on integrated pest management and health-related housing improvements will be conducted in partnership with the New York City Departments of Health and Mental Health and the New York City Housing Authority. A new Community Outreach, Translation, and Application Core (COTAC) will ensure that the Center's findings have local and national public health impact. COTAC initiatives will include: education of medical students, medical residents, and pediatricians about children's environmental health; a new community campaign to improve air and housing quality in New York City, co-led by WE ACT; and risk assessment, cost, and risk prevention analyses on the Center's findings regarding the health effects of environmental exposures and the cost-effectiveness of IPM. In summary, it is important that the Center as an institution be continued as an established and valued resource to the community, scientific researchers, and policymakers.
Crisp Terms/Key Words: environmental exposure, clinical research, developmental neurobiology, human subject, environmental health
We propose to establish a Center for Children's Environmental Health and Disease Prevention Research that addresses the concerns of a community living in the Tar Creek Superfund site of Oklahoma - an area highly contaminated by metals (lead, cadmium, iron, manganese, and others) in mining waste and populated by many residents of Native American descent. Our overall goal is to take a highly innovative and integrated approach to addressing a "real world" problem, i.e., the potential of the mixtures of metals that are present in "chat" (mining waste) to interact with each other in terms of exposure, absorption, dose, and adverse effects on the development of children.
Our Center will pursue four Research Projects with the support of four Cores. Project 1 will be a community-based participatory epidemiologic study that examines biological markers of fetal and early childhood exposure to metals (lead, manganese, cadmium, and iron), their impact on measures of mental development, and their response to a quasi-experimental randomized trial
of nutritional and behavioral interventions. Project 2 will assess the utility of size fractionation and sequential extraction studies for characterizing chat, conduct a nested case-control study of the determinants of high versus low burdens of metals amongst children participating in Project 1, and produce standardized "homogenized chat" for Projects 3 and 4. Project 3 will investigate the expression of binding and transporter molecules for metal transport and the corresponding pharmacokinetics of metals from the lung and gut to the blood, CNS and other organs as they relate to pregnant rats and their weanlings. Project 4 will examine the
effect of pre- and neo-natal exposure to metals on neurochemical changes and neurobehavioral outcomes in rats. The effect of simple mixtures of metals will be compared with the effect of "homogenized chat" in both Projects 3 and 4. The potential effect of stress from living near toxic waste will be explored in Project 1 and the potential modifying effect of stress on metals
neurotoxicity will also be explored in Project 4. Our Administrative, Analytical Chemistry, and Biostatistics Cores will enable us to fully integrate and support our research, and our Community Outreach and Translation Core will utilize an innovative portfolio of outreach activities developed in conjunction with a broadly-based Community Advisory Board to develop awareness and
influence behaviors and health practices in order to prevent adverse health effects in children from exposure to metals in mining waste.
Crisp Terms/Key Words: environmental exposure, clinical research, mining, metal poisoning, human subject, environmental health
DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant)
Two classes of industrial chemicals with endocrine-disrupting capability-the phthalates and the alkylphenols-have become widely dispersed in the urban built environment, and significant levels of phthalates are now nearly ubiquitous in the bodies of Americans. Highest exposures occur in children and in minorities. Infants and children appear especially susceptible to disruptors, because of their disproportionately heavy exposures and the vulnerability of their still forming organs to any disruption of the hormonal signaling that irreversibly shapes early development. Yet little is known, either of children's pathways of exposure, or of the human developmental toxicity of EDs. To address these gaps, the Mount Sinai Center for Children's Environmental Health and Disease Prevention Research proposes, 1) to characterize the levels and sources of children's exposures to contemporary-use EDs in the urban built environment; 2) to study relationships between EDs and neurobehavioral development; 3) to study relationships among ED exposures, diet, physical activity, and somatic growth; 4) to characterize previously unexplored enzymatic polymorphisms that may modulate individual susceptibility to EDs; and 5) to develop and deploy culturally appropriate, evidence-based strategies in East Harlem to improve children's diets, increase physical activity, reduce obesity, reduce ED exposures, and promote good health. Project 1, the Community-based Prevention Research Project (CBPR), Growing Up Healthy in East Harlem, is built on a long-standing partnership with the East Harlem community. It will study levels and sources of urban children's exposures to EDs and assess relationships among ED exposures, diet, physical activity, obesity, and use of personal care products. Project 2, an ongoing prospective epidemiological study, will analyze new and previously banked biological samples to examine associations between pre- and postnatal exposures to EDs and growth and development in a cohort study of urban children. This project will also continue to assess the developmental effects in this cohort of early exposures to neurotoxicants-organophosphates, pyrethroids, PCBs, and lead-that have been its focus for the past 5 years. Project 3, a molecular genetic study, will assess gene-environment interactions that may influence individual susceptibility to EDs by identifying and characterizing polymorphisms and variations in expression levels of PON1, lipase, and UGT-glucuronyltransferase enzymes involved in ED metabolism. A new Community Outreach and Translation Core (COTC) will use scientific information from the Center to educate and empower community leaders in East Harlem and to inform policy makers and health professionals regionally and nationally about links between the urban environment and children's health. The Center will contain an Exposure Assessment Core that collaborates with the laboratories of the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) National Center for Environmental Health, a Biostatistics and Data Management Core and an Administration Core. The Center will support two new investigators in children's environmental research.
The overall research objectives of the FRIENDS Children's Environmental Health Center are to: (1) study the impact of exposure to polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and methylmercury (McHg) on cognitive, sensory and motor development of children, (2) develop effective educational strategies to reduce exposure to these neurotoxic contaminants, and (3) undertake laboratory studies to better understand the mechanisms by which these contaminants induce neurological deficits in children. The Center will build on several long-standing research collaborations and will be organized around an exposure cohort that is already being recruited. The cohort consists of Hmong and Laotian refugees who are consuming PCB- and MeHg- contaminated fish from the Fox River in northeastern Wisconsin. The Center includes an administrative core, a community-based project, two biomedical research projects and an analytical toxicology core. The two primary goals of the community-based project are: (1) to evaluate the impact of PCB and MeHg exposure on reproductive health and child development and (2) to provide families with practical information that will help them to reduce their exposure to PCBs and MeHg. The assessments of the children will focus on specific aspects of behavioral and sensory function that have not been adequately addressed in previous human studies. These goals will be accomplished in partnership with community resource groups in the area. The biomedical research projects will complement the community-based project by characterizing the cognitive, sensory, motor and neurochemical effects of exposure to PCBs alone, MeHg alone or PCBs and MeHg combined in a rodent model. Moth projects will used a mixture of PCBs that models the PCB congener profile in Fox River fish, and a ratio of PCBs to MeHg similar to that found in the fish. The findings from the animal studies will guide the selection of additional behavioral and sensory endpoints for use in the children exposed to PCBs and MeHg via maternal consumption of Fox River fish. The analytical toxicology will formulate the PCB mixture to be used in the animal studies and provide congener specific PCB analysts, heavy metal analysis, and pesticide analysis in human and animal samples from the three research projects. The administrative core will provide oversight, coordination and integration of all Center activities.
DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant)
The mission of the University of California-Davis Center for Children's Environmental Health (CCEH) is to promote daily interactions among a multidisciplinary team of scientists whose main research interest is to understand the complex web of etiologic factors that contribute to autism. The shared philosophy among Center participants is that a better understanding of the immunological and neurobiological mechanisms associated with this neurodevelopmental disorder can not only lead to a better understanding of the mechanisms that influence it but can also accelerate the discovery of effective intervention strategies. The goals of the CCEH in the next five years are to: (1) better understand the mechanisms by which environmental, immunologic, and molecular factors interact to influence the risk and severity of autism; (2) identify early immunologic, environmental, and genomic markers of susceptibility to autism; (3) develop mouse models of immunologic susceptibility to environmental triggers and define the impact of these triggers on the development of complex behaviors, key brain structures and neurotransmitter receptors relevant to autism; (4) translate the research findings into diagnostic tools that can be used in clinical practice to predict early autism risk; and (5) supply the community with accurate and timely information about autism risk factors. The CCEH has organized three interrelated hypothesis-based Research Projects that are supported by five Facility Cores (Administrative, Community Outreach and Translation, Analytical Chemistry, Molecular Genomics, and Statistics).
The projects are: Project 1, Environmental Epidemiology of Autism, will build upon the investigators' discovery of immunologic and molecular biomarkers specific to children with autism found in 2-5 year olds enrolled in the CHARGE (Childhood Autism Risks from Genetics and Environment) study. Working closely with the Community Outreach and Translation Core and Project 2, newborn bloodspots and a second set of blood samples (CHARGE-BACK study) from CHARGE children will examine the stability over time of these biomarkers. CHARGE-BACK blood samples will also provide peripheral immune cells to study how autism alters properties of cell activation, and susceptibility to known immunotoxicants. The investigators will launch a new cohort study called Markers of Autism Risk in Babies-Learning Early Signs (MARBLES) that tracks 200 women at high risk of giving birth to an autistic child, starting from early pregnancy and following the pregnancies and the babies to the age of three years.
Project 2, Immunological Susceptibilities in Autism, will work closely with Project 1 to test the overall hypothesis that autistic children have fundamental defects in cellular immunity that ultimately lead to abnormalities in immune dysfunction and heightened susceptibility to environmental triggers. Project 3, Models of Neurodevelopmental Susceptibility, will develop and use mouse models to understand the relationships between immune system dysfunction and perinatal exposure to environmental toxicants in the development of neurobehavioral disorders in sociability and seizure susceptibility. Working closely with Project 2, the investigators will test mouse strains with low (C57BL/6J) or high (SJL mice) susceptibility to autoimmunity to determine how perinatal exposures to methylmercury, noncoplanar PCB, or polybrominated diphenyl ether 47 (BDE 47) influence brain development, complex social behaviors, and immune system function.
DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant)
Over the past 5 years, the Center for Children's Environmental Health Research at the University of California, Berkeley has successfully created a fully coordinated research program that addresses the unique environmental health needs of primarily Latino farmworker children living in an agricultural community. The investigators have focused their research on pesticide exposures, their potential health consequences, and community-based exposure prevention strategies. A strong community partnership and infrastructure has been developed with extensive outreach to constituent groups, service providers, and policy makers, and the investigators have received awards from both the University and the community. In addition, the investigators have leveraged Center resources to obtain additional funding for numerous other community and scientific projects. The core of the Center has been the CHAMACOS (Center for the Health Assessment of Mothers and Children of Salinas) project, conducted in collaboration with a coalition of community health care providers and agencies. CHAMACOS, which means 'small child' in Mexican Spanish, is a longitudinal birth cohort study of pregnant women and children living in the agricultural community of the Salinas Valley, Monterey County, California. The CHAMACOS cohort includes primarily low-income Mexican immigrant farmworkers and their families, and thus, provides a unique opportunity to examine prospectively the influence of prenatal and early childhood exposures encountered in an agricultural environment, such as to pesticides and bioaerosols, on the health of children. Over the next 5 year, the investigators propose to follow the CHAMACOS cohort into the school years and to determine whether prenatal and childhood exposure have impacted their neurodevelopment, respiratory health, and somatic growth. Moreover, they propose to expand the scope of the Center in three related and complementary directions: first, laboratory investigations will be conducted to understand the mechanisms of immuno- and neuro-toxicity of pesticides; second, exposure-related studies will be conducted to better understand the routes and pathways of pesticide exposure to children; and third, outreach will be extended to constituent groups within the immediate Salinas community and to similar populations in Monterey County, the state of California, and throughout the nation. These activities are aimed at accomplishing the Center's ultimate goal: to translate research findings into sustainable strategies to reduce pesticide and other environmental exposures to children, and thus reduce the incidence of environmentally related childhood disease.
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