Finding which children are most affected by combined air and chemical exposures
Statistical Methods for Precision Environmental Health with Mixture Exposures
Creating new statistical tools to spot kids who are most vulnerable to health harms from mixtures of air pollution and chemicals.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R01 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Colorado State University NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Fort Collins, United States) |
| Project ID | NIH-11393743 on NIH RePORTER |
What this research studies
From a parent's perspective, researchers are building new mathematical tools that look at many pollutants together, personal and neighborhood factors, and the timing of exposure to find which children are most at risk. They will adapt and extend existing mixture models (including Bayesian approaches) so the effects can differ between individuals and discover novel combinations of factors that define susceptible groups. The team will also develop methods to identify critical windows during pregnancy and early childhood when mixtures are most harmful. These methods will be tested using longitudinal child and birth data to target prevention more precisely.
Who could benefit from this research
Good fit: The most relevant people would be pregnant people, newborns, and children through about age 11 who have exposure or health records in birth and childhood cohorts.
Not a fit: People without exposure or health data in the cohorts used, or whose conditions are unrelated to environmental exposures, would be unlikely to benefit directly from this work.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this work could help identify high-risk children so clinicians and public-health programs can target interventions to prevent pollution- and chemical-related harms.
How similar studies have performed: Researchers have used mixture models and Bayesian methods before with some success, but applying individualized mixture responses and identifying personalized critical windows is a novel extension.
Where this research is happening
Fort Collins, United States
- Colorado State University — Fort Collins, United States (Active)
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Wilson, Thomas Ander — Colorado State University
- Study coordinator: Wilson, Thomas Ander
About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page below.