PFAS chemicals, blood lipoproteins, and coronary heart disease risk
Official title: Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, apolipoproteins, and risk of coronary heart disease
Funded at Brigham and Women's Hospital · NIH-11285433 · Data updated 2026-11-12
Researchers will look at whether common environmental chemicals called PFAS are linked to specific blood lipoproteins and higher risk of coronary heart disease in adults.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R01 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Brigham and Women's Hospital NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Boston, United States) |
| Project start | April 16, 2024 |
| Project end | January 31, 2029 |
| Funding year | 2026 |
| Award (this year) | $702,689 |
| NIH project number | 5R01ES036206-03 |
| Project ID | NIH-11285433 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Adults in the U.S. who are enrolled in or eligible for the participating long-term cohort studies and who can provide blood samples and health history data would be the likely participants for this research.
✕Less likely to help
Children, people without available blood samples or follow-up data, and those not enrolled in the participating cohorts are unlikely to be part of or benefit directly from this project.
What this research studies
You would be part of work using stored blood samples and medical records from large U.S. long-term health studies to measure PFAS levels and detailed lipoprotein particles that carry apolipoproteins like ApoC-III. The team will compare PFAS and lipoprotein patterns at a single time point and follow people over years to see who develops coronary heart disease. The research uses participants from several well-known U.S. cohorts that include men and women from diverse backgrounds. Results may help explain how PFAS exposure relates to heart disease risk through changes in specific blood fats.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If links are confirmed, this could point to new ways to prevent heart disease by reducing harmful exposures or targeting the lipid pathways affected by PFAS.
How similar studies have gone: Prior epidemiologic studies have reported mixed links between PFAS and cholesterol, but examining PFAS effects on specific apolipoprotein-containing lipoprotein subspecies is a newer approach with limited prior evidence.
Where this research is happening
-
Brigham and Women's Hospital
Boston, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Sun, Qi — Brigham and Women's Hospital
- Study coordinator: Sun, Qi
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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.