Health Effects Institute 2020 Annual Conference

April 7, 2020 to May 20, 2020

In lieu of its 2020 Annual Conference in Boston, HEI offered a series of webinars in April and May 2020 and an Early Career Researcher Webinar in December.

Below are the webinar recordings, followed by session overviews and slides.

 

WEBINAR 1: April 7, 2020, 10 AM − 12 PM EDT
The Big Deal About Big Data, Causal Inference, and Accountability Research
Webinar recording


WEBINAR 2: April 29, 2020, 10 AM − 12 PM EDT
Particle Components & Associated Health Effects: Then & Now
Webinar recording


WEBINAR 3: May 5, 2020, 10 AM − 12 PM EDT
Understanding Ultrafine Particles & Health: How Can We Make Progress?
Webinar recording


WEBINAR 4: May 13, 2020, 10 AM − 12 PM EDT
Brain Health and Air Pollution
Webinar recording

 

WEBINAR 5: May 20, 2020, 12 − 2 PM EDT
Inequalities of Air Pollution Exposures & Associated Health Effects in the U.S.
Webinar recording

 

EARLY CAREER RESEARCHER WEBINAR (2020 TRAVEL AWARD RECIPIENTS)
December 3, 2020, 3 − 4:30 PM EDT

Webinar recording

 

 

Sessions: 

Webinar 1: The Big Deal about Big Data, Causal Inference, and Accountability Research

Apr. 7, 2020 - 10:00am

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

10:00 AM Opening Remarks

  • Moderator: Annemoon van Erp, Health Effects Institute

10:05 AM Accountability Studies: Lessons Learned and Recommendations for Future Opportunities

10:30 AM Perspectives in Household Air Pollution Intervention Research in Middle- and Low-Income Countries

10:55 AM Opportunities for Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning in Environmental Health

11:20 AM The Big Deal About Big Data, Causal Inference, and Accountability Research: What’s Next?

11:45 AM Question and Answer Period

  • Moderators: Kiros Berhane, Columbia University and Jennifer Peel, Colorado State University

12:00 PM Webinar ends

Webinar 2: Particle Components and Associated Health Effects: Then and Now

Apr. 29, 2020 - 10:00am

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 PM2.5. 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 PM2.5 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  

10:00 AM Opening Remarks

  • Moderator: Allison Patton, Health Effects Institute

10:05 AM Toxicity of Airborne Particles: Established Evidence and Knowledge Gaps

10:25 AM Remarks

10:40 AM Integration of Global and Local Datasets for Particle Composition Exposure

11:00 AM Advances in Contributions of Toxicology to the Understanding of Particle Component Toxicity

11:20 AM Advances in Epidemiology of Multiple PM2.5 Components

11:40 AM Question & Answer Period

  • Moderator: Jeffrey Brook
    ,

    University of Toronto and HEI Research Committee

12:00 PM Webinar ends

Webinar 3: Understanding Ultrafine Particles and Health: How Can We Make Progress?

May. 5, 2020 - 10:00am

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 

10:00 AM Opening Remarks

  • Moderator: Eleanne van Vliet, Health Effects Institute

10:05 AM Introduction

  • Allen L. Robinson
    ,

    Carnegie Mellon University

10:10 AM Ultrafine Particles: What Progress Have We Made and What Questions Remain?

10:25 AM International Approaches to Vehicular Emissions Regulation: Expectations and Realities

10:40 AM Ultrafine Particles in a Changing Landscape of Engines and Emissions Control

11:00 AM Trends in Inter- and Intraurban Ultrafine Particle Levels in the U.S.

11:15 AM Ultrafine Particles and Nervous System Effects: What Can Toxicological Evidence Tell Us?

11:30 AM Question and Answer Period

  • Moderators: Allen Robinson, Carnegie Mellon University, and David Foster, University of Wisconsin–Madison

12:00 PM Webinar ends

Webinar 4: Brain Health and Air Pollution

May. 13, 2020 - 10:00am

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 

10:00 AM Opening Remarks

  • Moderator: Anna Rosofsky, Health Effects Institute

10:10 AM Air Pollution and the Brain: Where Are We and Where Are We Going?

10:30 AM Are We Ready to Call Air Pollution Exposure a Risk Factor for Dementia? An Update on the Evidence

10:50 AM A Multimodal MRI Approach to Studying Air Pollution Exposure and Adolescent Neurodevelopment

11:10 AM Developmental Exposures to Ambient Ultrafine Particulate Matter Produce Pathological and Behavioral Features Shared by Multiple Neurodevelopmental Disorders

11:30 AM Question & Answer Period

  • Moderators: Barbara Hoffman, University of Düsseldorf, and David Savitz, Brown University

12:00 PM Webinar ends

Webinar 5: Inequalities of Air Pollution Exposures and Associated Health Effects in the U.S.

May. 20, 2020 - 12:00pm

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

 

12:00 PM Opening Remarks

  • Moderator: Pallavi Pant, Health Effects Institute

12:05 PM Introduction

12:10 PM Social Determinants of Health: Concepts and Methods Relevant to Air Pollution

12:30 PM Quantifying Air Pollution Exposure Inequality: Methods and Challenges

12:50 PM The Role of Socioeconomic Status (SES) in Studies of Air Pollution and Health

1:10 PM Assembly Bill 617 and the Quest for Democracy in Air Quality Management

1:30 PM Question and Answer Period

  • Moderator: Jana Milford, University of Colorado

2:00 PM Webinar ends

Early Career Researcher Webinar (2020 Travel Award Recipients)

Dec. 3, 2020 - 3:00pm

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.

3:00 PM Atmospheric Reactivity of Brake Wear: Implications for Predicting and Improving Air Quality

3:15 PM Exposure Beyond Mass: High-Spatial Resolution Exposure to Source-Resolved Atmospheric Particle Number and Chemical Mixing State

3:30 PM Quantifying the Health Co-Benefits of Climate Action

3:45 PM Air Pollution, Exposure to Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons, and Early Cardiovascular Effects: A Natural Experiment in Travelers from Los Angeles to Beijing

4:00 PM Spatiotemporal Variations and Sources of NOx in Accra, Ghana

4:15 PM Air Pollution Exposure is Associated with the Gut Microbiome as Revealed by Shotgun Metagenomic Sequencing

Location
Online Webinars
Boston, MA 02110
United States
Full Conference Rate: 

Not applicable

Single Day Rates
Not applicable
Accommodations

Not applicable

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