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Ongoing Research
At any given time, HEI has a variety of ongoing studies at various stages of completion. Here, you will find a list of studies with more detailed information for each, including abstracts and posters presented at HEI Annual Conferences. We also indicate which studies have been completed and are currently undergoing HEI’s rigorous review process.
Ongoing Studies
Accountability Studies
Studies funded under RFA 23-2, Assessing Changes in Exposures and Health Outcomes in Historically Marginalized and Environmentally Overburdened Communities from Air Quality Actions, Programs, or Other Interventions; RFA 18-1, Assessing Improved Air Quality and Health from National, Regional, and Local Air Quality Actions; and HEI’s Open RFAs
Accountability Studies
Studies funded under RFA 23-2, Assessing Changes in Exposures and Health Outcomes in Historically Marginalized and Environmentally Overburdened Communities from Air Quality Actions, Programs, or Other Interventions; RFA 18-1, Assessing Improved Air Quality and Health from National, Regional, and Local Air Quality Actions; and HEI’s Open RFAs
In this HEI-funded project, the investigators will build on their previous accountability analyses in Atlanta, New York, and Los Angeles to characterize the health impacts of MV and EGU policy implementation.
What? Identify the health and equity impacts of state and local zoning policies for minimizing traffic-related air pollution (TRAP) from commercial vehicle fleets and distribution centers serving residential delivery in the Seattle and New York City areas
How? Develop scenarios and analyze the health effects and equity implications of future low- and zero-emission vehicle procurement programs, truck delivery efficiency improvements, and urban land use policies on logistics-related development. The project integrates stakeholder interviews, policy scans, traffic demand modeling, and simulation to estimate the health risks of chronic exposure to e-commerce-related TRAP in marginalized communities.
Where? Seattle and New York City
What? Examine the air quality, health, and equity implications of the adoption of the US EPA Clean Trucks Plan, Advanced Clean Trucks regulation, and vehicle omnibus regulation in Chicago, and whether policy-driven air pollution changes in Chicago are transferable nationwide
How? (1) Use new satellite data, along with other publicly available datasets, to improve the accuracy of nationwide heavy-duty vehicle emissions, with a focus on emissions from warehouse environments. (2) Use updated emissions estimates in a high-resolution chemical transport model to understand how warehousing-related emissions and emission reduction policies affect exposures, health, and equity.
Where: Chicago and Nationwide
What? Assess the effects of California’s Advanced Clean Trucks and Advanced Clean Fleets regulations on air pollutant exposure and health disparities in Southern California
How? Estimate the impact of recently adopted zero-emission truck regulations changes on tailpipe and nontailpipe pollutant emissions, refine an air quality model to simulate the corresponding changes in air pollutant concentrations, and assess disparities in exposures and health outcomes (mortality and asthma emergency department visits) in freight transport communities in Southern California
Where: Southern California
Non-Tailpipe Studies
Studies funded under RFA 21-1, Quantifying Real-World Impacts of Non-Tailpipe Particulate Matter Emissions
Non-Tailpipe Studies
Studies funded under RFA 21-1, Quantifying Real-World Impacts of Non-Tailpipe Particulate Matter Emissions
This study will measure concentrations of non-tailpipe particulate matter across Toronto, Canada, to determine how much non-tailpipe pollution people might breathe in everyday life and how to better measure these exposures in the future.
In this study, participants with mild-to-moderate asthma will ride stationary bicycles on sidewalks in three London, UK environments (busy road characterized by stop-and-go traffic, high-speed continuous traffic, and urban background) to measure how exposure to traffic with different mixtures of nontailpipe and tailpipe emissions affects the lung function of asthmatic adults.
Satellite Studies
Studies funded under RFA 25-1, Advancing Satellite-Derived Air Quality Data and Approaches for Use in Health Studies
Satellite Studies
Studies funded under RFA 25-1, Advancing Satellite-Derived Air Quality Data and Approaches for Use in Health Studies
This study will develop a novel Bayesian ensemble that integrates data from TROPOMI and TEMPO satellite instruments along with other data that can be used to (a) predict daily NO2 concentrations, and (b) rigorously quantify spatiotemporal uncertainty for use in health studies.
This study will create a harmonized database that integrates satellite retrievals from TROPOMI and VIIRS and generate daily NO2, O3, and PM2.5 surfaces with Bayesian pixel-level posterior uncertainty estimates.
Traffic Exposure and Health Studies
Studies funded under RFQ 24-1, Benefits Assessment of Accelerated Turnover of the On-Road Diesel Vehicle Fleet in the United States; RFA 23-1, Assessing Health Effects of Traffic-Related Air Pollution in a Changing Urban Transportation Landscape; and RFA 17-1, Assessing Adverse Health Effects of Exposure to Traffic-Related Air Pollution, Noise, and Their Interactions With Socio-Economic Status.
Traffic Exposure and Health Studies
Studies funded under RFQ 24-1, Benefits Assessment of Accelerated Turnover of the On-Road Diesel Vehicle Fleet in the United States; RFA 23-1, Assessing Health Effects of Traffic-Related Air Pollution in a Changing Urban Transportation Landscape; and RFA 17-1, Assessing Adverse Health Effects of Exposure to Traffic-Related Air Pollution, Noise, and Their Interactions With Socio-Economic Status.
This project will link and extend several models to create a framework for full-chain assessment of transportation systems and impacts of traffic-related air pollution (TRAP) on population health in the San Francisco Bay Area. The investigators will evaluate impacts of three policy scenarios — federal/California long-term transportation electrification, telecommuting impact from COVID-19, and a community-led scenario — on exposure to TRAP and associated mortality and morbidity outcomes, including environmental justice disparities.
This project will leverage an existing randomized control trial of older individuals in the United States to examine the associations of exposure to traffic-related air pollution and incident cardiovascular disease events and biomarkers of cardiovascular health. The investigators will also explore the potential for vitamin D and omega-fatty acid supplementation to modify the associations.
This project will assess the impacts of future urban transportation landscapes on cardiometabolic health through novel exposure estimation together with air quality modeling of traffic-related air pollution (TRAP). Exposures will be associated with markers of cardiovascular diseases using an existing population-based cohort in Augsburg, Germany. Findings will be then scaled up to the whole study area population (Munich metropolitan area), and eventually all of Germany. Various transportation scenarios will be evaluated, such as those related to transport infrastructure, technological advancements, and pricing policies.
This project will develop models relevant for characterizing exposures from vehicle (tailpipe and nontailpipe), rail, and aircraft sources and relate those exposures to birth outcome data in the Los Angeles area. They will also include a social vulnerability analysis and will assess the effect of electric vehicles, flight technologies, and the COVID-19 travel disruptions on air pollution and birth outcomes.
Wildland Fires and Agricultural Burning Studies
Studies funded under RFA 20-1A, Health Effects of Air Pollution (Open RFA)
Wildland Fires and Agricultural Burning Studies
Studies funded under RFA 20-1A, Health Effects of Air Pollution (Open RFA)
This study is investigating risk of birth outcomes and perinatal mortality from fire-related PM2.5. The interdisciplinary team is developing fire modeling methods to estimate PM2.5 specifically from fires for Australia with improved fire emissions inventories and Lagrangian modeling.
This study will explore whether repeated exposure to wildfire smoke contributes to cognitive decline and long-term neurological disease, how its effects compare to other types of air pollution, and which people may be most vulnerable.
The objectives of this study are to (1) estimate the contributions of prescribed burning to both fine particulate matter (PM2.5) and ozone (O3) levels in the Southeastern United States, (2) quantify the effects of prescribed fire smoke on rates of emergency department (ED) visits, and (3) assess how the observed health impacts vary across strata defined by age, sex, and socioeconomic markers.
Walter A. Rosenblith Award
This New Investigator Award study seeks to examine associations of long-term maternal exposures to PM2.5, NO2, and environmental noise with adverse birth outcomes in Accra, Ghana. The investigators also seek to determine the effect of these exposures on the risk of lower respiratory infections in infants.
The primary objective of this study, led by HEI's 2021 Walter A. Rosenblith New Investigator Award recipient Lucas Henneman, is to create fine-scale daily PM2.5 source impacts from major source and fuel categories from 2011 to 2020. This objective builds on recent work developing fine-scale daily air pollution exposure products in the United States, which have driven recent epidemiological studies on air pollution health effects.
Dr. Ornelas Van Horne’s study seeks to advance a community-academic partnership with Missouri Breaks Industries Research (an American Indian-owned research center serving Indigenous communities and others in North and South Dakota) and Columbia University to characterize sources of air pollution and identify community-driven solutions through an emissions reduction plan.
Dr. Wesselink’s study will leverage data from Pregnancy Study Online (PRESTO), an ongoing web-based preconception cohort study, to examine the effect of prenatal air pollution exposure on risk of postpartum depression.
