PFAS pollution: how it spreads and affects children's health
Official title: Sources, Transport, Exposure & Effects of PFAS (STEEP) Center - RENEWAL
Funded at University of Rhode Island · NIH-11384025 · Data updated 2026-11-12
This program looks at how PFAS chemicals move through air, water, and people and how they affect children’s immune systems and metabolism.
Quick facts
| Grant type | NIH-funded research |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | University of Rhode Island NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Kingston, United States) |
| Project start | September 1, 2017 |
| Project end | June 30, 2027 |
| Funding year | 2025 |
| Award (this year) | $86,978 |
| NIH project number | 3P42ES027706-09S2 |
| Project ID | NIH-11384025 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Ideal participants would include families living near known PFAS-contaminated sites, breastfeeding mothers, infants, and children whose exposures could be measured and followed.
✕Less likely to help
People with no known PFAS exposure or whose health concerns are unrelated to environmental chemical exposure may not see direct benefits from this center's activities.
What this research studies
Researchers will track PFAS chemicals in the environment—air, groundwater, and soils—and develop better tools to detect them. They will study how PFAS move into food, breast milk, and human tissues and compare those measurements with models that predict bioaccumulation. The team will build on previous work about PFAS effects in children, focusing on immune and metabolic changes, and will work with state agencies to apply findings to real communities. Outreach and training are part of the center so local families and health officials can learn about exposure reduction and testing.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this work could improve testing and cleanup of PFAS contamination and help protect children by informing exposure reduction and public-health actions.
How similar studies have gone: Previous studies have linked PFAS to immune and metabolic effects in people and animals, and this center builds on that evidence while adding new detection and transport research.
Where this research is happening
-
University of Rhode Island
Kingston, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Lohmann, Rainer — University of Rhode Island
- Study coordinator: Lohmann, Rainer
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.