Health Effects Institute 2020 Annual Conference

Chairs: Jennifer Peel, Colorado State University and HEI Review Committee, and Kiros Berhane, Columbia University and HEI Review Committee

Accountability research, or evaluating the effectiveness of interventions to improve air quality and public health, remains a topic of high interest. Although there have been some successes, showing effectiveness particularly at increasingly lower air pollution levels is challenging. This session will take stock of recent progress across the globe, including novel statistical approaches and big data; discuss the importance of accountability evidence for the causality debate; and explore what approaches are needed for future research.

Webinar recording

Chairs: Frank Kelly, Imperial College London and HEI Review Committee, and Jeffrey Brook, University of Toronto and HEI Research Committee

Evidence on the health effects of particulate matter has led regulatory agencies to establish mass-based ambient air quality standards for PM_2.5. However, interest remains high in whether some chemical components or physical characteristics of the PM mixture are of greater public health concern. This session will present the state of the science related to PM_2.5 components and other attributes, and discuss whether regulations based on any of these would be more protective of public health than the current PM-mass based approach.

Webinar recording  

Chairs: Allen Robinson, Carnegie Mellon University and HEI Research Committee, and David Foster, University of Wisconsin, Madison and HEI Research Committee

The contribution of ultrafine particle (UFP) exposure to health effects of the air pollutant mixture is an unresolved issue in air pollution research. Recent reviews of the UFP literature continue to identify many of the same challenges in measurement, exposure assessment, and health assessment that were previously identified by HEI’s 2013 review. This session will summarize those challenges, discuss areas of progress, and identify issues that need to be resolved by targeted research.

Webinar recording 

Chairs: Barbara Hoffmann, University of Düsseldorf and HEI Research Committee, and David Savitz, Brown University and HEI Research Committee

Globally, neurological disorders represent the second leading cause of death. While increasing evidence has emerged reporting an association between air pollution exposure and brain health throughout the life course, important research gaps remain. This session provides an overview of the relationship between air pollution and neurological effects in childhood and adolescence, and neurodegenerative disease in adulthood, as well as the physiological impacts on the brain that have been observed using recent neuroimaging techniques.

Webinar recording 

Chairs: Jana Milford, University of Colorado and HEI Review Committee, and Michael Jerrett, University of California, Los Angeles, and HEI Review Committee

A growing body of research has examined inequitable distribution of air pollution exposure across racial and socioeconomic groups in the United States. Questions remain about which population groups are inequitably exposed and likely to benefit from air quality improvements. This session will provide an overview of social determinants of health and exposure in the United States, air pollution inequality research to date, and applications in epidemiological research and policy decisions.

Webinar recording

In preparation for the 2020 Annual Conference, HEI invited abstract submissions from students or postdocs and then sponsored travel for several award winners so they could present posters detailing their latest research. After the conference was changed to a virtual format during the COVID-19 pandemic, the Student and Postdoc Travel Award winners presented their work remotely in an HEI webinar on December 3, 2020.