Fall 2017 Update now available

October 17, 2017

In the Fall 2017 HEI Update, read about the new ways HEI is making study data accessible; a literature review that HEI will soon initiate on the effects of exposure to traffic-related air pollution; two new members of the HEI Review Committee; and a newly published summary of an HEI expert workshop on the effects of fuel composition on particulate matter emissions.

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Examining air pollution and neurocognitive effects in older women

October 12, 2017

HEI has published Research Report 193, which describes a novel study of older women in the United States led by Jiu-Chiuan Chen of the University of Southern California. The investigators examined the possible association between long-term exposure to ambient particulate matter and changes in brain volumes and in neurocognitive outcomes, specifically mild cognitive impairment and dementia.

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Workshop summary: Effects of fuel composition on particulate emissions

September 12, 2017

HEI is pleased to announce the publication of the Executive Summary of proceedings from an HEI workshop that focused on the effects of fuel composition on particulate matter (PM) emissions. Approximately 45 researchers and government and industry representatives attended the workshop, which was held in Chicago in December 2016.

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Greenbaum honored for clean air leadership at HEI

July 21, 2017

HEI President Dan Greenbaum has received a 2016 Haagen-Smit Clean Air Leadership Award from the California Air Resources Board (CARB). This honor is conferred annually on “extraordinary individuals to recognize significant career accomplishments in at least one of these air quality categories: research, environmental policy, science and technology, public education and community service.”

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Walter A. Rosenblith New Investigator Awards announced

July 21, 2017

HEI is pleased to announce recipients of the 2017 Walter A. Rosenblith New Investigator Awards. Although the HEI Research Committee normally selects one recipient, the large number of quality applications this year led them to select two excellent awardees.

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Examining heart and lung effects from low ozone exposures in healthy older adults

June 29, 2017

HEI Research Report 192 describes a multicenter study by John Balmes at the University of California–San Francisco, Philip Bromberg at the University of North Carolina–Chapel Hill, and Mark Frampton at the University of Rochester, New York. The study was designed to test whether ozone has short-term cardiovascular effects at present-day ambient levels. It evaluated respiratory and cardiovascular outcomes in 87 healthy participants (60 years old on average) who were exposed to 0, 70, or 120 ppb ozone for 3 hours while exercising moderately. 

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Spring 2017 Update now available

June 8, 2017

In the Spring 2017 Update, read about HEI’s forthcoming publication of a major report, Multicenter Ozone Study in Older Subjects; the briefing of key legislators and stakeholders on HEI’s Accountability Research Program; and a forthcoming study examining potential links between air pollution and dementia in older women. This issue also highlights worldwide media coverage of HEI’s State of Global Air Report 2017.

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HEI issues open call for preliminary applications

April 25, 2017

HEI has issued Request for Applications (RFA) 17-2, Health Effects of Air Pollution, which solicits small research projects on air pollution and health. The RFA provides an application mechanism for investigators whose area of interest falls outside the topics targeted in the current major research requests. RFA 17-2 requests preliminary applications for small, innovative studies on air pollution and health in general that are relevant to HEI’s current priorities. Please refer to Funding Opportunities on how to apply.

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Lancet reports Global Burden of Disease 2015 PM2.5 results

April 13, 2017

The April 10 issue of the Lancet reports that exposure to ambient particulate matter was the fifth-ranking mortality risk factor in 2015, causing 4.2 million deaths and loss of 103.1 million disability-adjusted life-years worldwide.

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Ozone study tests hypothesis on protective role of eosinophils

March 22, 2017

Research Report 191 describes a study by Allison Fryer and colleagues that addressed how exposure to ozone affects the immune and physiological responses in guinea pigs. In her study, Dr. Fryer focused on eosinophils, white blood cells that play an important role in inflammation, allergies, and allergic asthma, and can modify the airway response to ozone inhalation. This study tested a novel hypothesis: that allergic guinea pigs react differently to ozone than normal animals because of newly formed eosinophils that migrate from bone marrow to the lungs.

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