Exposure Biology Program
The Exposure Biology Program focuses on the development of innovative technologies to measure environmental exposures, diet, physical activity, psychosocial stress, and addictive substances that contribute to the development of disease. The program supports: development of environmental sensors for measurement of chemicals, dietary intake, physical activity, and psychosocial stressors and addictive substances; development of “fingerprints” (markers) of biological response that are indicative of activation of common pathogenic mechanisms such as oxidative stress, epigenetic modifications, and DNA damage; integration of biological responses with the development of biosensors; and application of these biomarkers to genome-wide association (GWA) studies of gene-environment interaction. This is accomplished through the use of five cooperative agreements led by the following NIH Institutes:
- National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS)
- National Cancer Institute (NCI)
- National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI)
- National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA)
For specific details on the five cooperative agreements, see Funding Opportunities.
Additional detail on the research funded through the Exposure Biology Program is available on the Web Pages for the individual Program Areas:
- Sensor Technologies for Environmental Exposure Assessment
- Improved Measures of Diet and Physical Activity
- Tools for Measuring Exposure to Psychosocial Stress and Addictive Substances
- Biological Response Indicators
