Health Effects Institute 2019 Annual Conference

Dan Greenbaum, Health Effects Institute

Chairs: David Foster, University of Wisconsin, Madison, and Frank Kelly, King’s College London, United Kingdom

Mobility systems are undergoing a paradigm shift and have the potential to significantly change the way people travel. Rideshare businesses are expanding, and innovations and investments in electric and autonomous vehicles are increasing. In response, the relationship between transportation and air quality is also expected to change, but the actual path that change will take is not yet known. This session will explore the likely impact of emerging mobility trends on current and future air quality and health.

Chairs: Barbara Hoffmann, University of Düsseldorf, Germany, and David Savitz, Brown University

Evidence for potential impacts of prenatal and early-life air pollution exposure on health is rapidly increasing, and some birth outcomes are currently being considered for inclusion in Global Burden of Disease estimates. This session will provide an overview of the state of knowledge on various birth and other childhood health outcomes, consider methodological issues unique to this topic, and discuss longer-term consequences of early-life exposures for adult health.

Chairs: Kiros Berhane, University of Southern California, and Aaron Cohen, Health Effects Institute and Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation

In regions where air pollution levels are high, local data on exposures, sources, and related health effects are often limited. While current health burden estimates draw primarily from studies conducted in North America and Europe, efforts are underway to generate locally relevant air quality and health data in developing countries. This session will explore data, methods, and technology developments to characterize air pollution and its sources and health effects in these countries.

Chairs: Michael Jerrett, University of California - Lost Angeles, and Allen Robinson, Carnegie Mellon University

Wildfire smoke is increasingly recognized as an important source of air pollution, and frequency and intensity of wildfires are likely to increase with climate change. Wildfires and wildfire smoke composition are complex and dynamic, making exposure characterization difficult. Increasing evidence links air pollution from wildfire smoke to adverse health effects, in particular respiratory morbidity. This session will explore perceptions and realities about wildfires and their global impacts.

Chairs: Amy Herring, Duke University, and Sverre Vedal, University of Washington, Seattle

Although ambient air pollution levels are declining in high-income regions, epidemiological studies report associations with health effects at levels below current standards, raising questions about even lower standards. HEI is in the midst of funding three studies investigating the health effects of low-level exposure in very large populations in the United States, Canada, and Europe. This session will present the results currently available from those studies and their strengths and weaknesses identified by an independent HEI Review Panel, and discuss implications for future risk assessment and regulation.

Chairs: Dan Greenbaum, HEI, Robert O’Keefe, HEI, and Rashid Shaikh, HEI

The Institute's draft blueprint for the future, the HEI Strategic Plan 2020–2025, will be presented and discussed. Conference participants are encouraged to suggest and comment on upcoming policy decisions for which enhanced science will be needed and on priorities for HEI’s research programs and other activities during the next five years.

This first draft (pdf) is available for public comment. HEI will finalize the plan during the summer of 2019 and would love to hear from you at this early stage. Please send your thoughts on the draft plan to HEIPlan@healtheffects.org.