Southern California center protecting children's health from air pollution

Southern California Center for Children’s Environmental Health Translational Research

NIH-funded research University of Southern California · NIH-11238469

This center partners with families and communities to develop and share practical ways to lower air pollution harms for children in Southern California.

Quick facts

Grant typeNIH-funded research
Study typeNIH-funded research
Funding institutionUniversity of Southern California NIH-funded
Lab location1 site (Los Angeles, UNITED STATES)
Project IDNIH-11238469 on NIH RePORTER

What this research studies

This center works with families, schools, community groups, and researchers to study how traffic, industry, and wildfires affect children's breathing, growth, and development. Teams will collect air measurements, health data, and community input while testing real-world solutions like cleaner routes, building interventions, and alert systems. Youth and community members help design and run the projects so local needs guide the work. The center also trains new researchers and builds partnerships to turn findings into policies and programs communities can use.

Who could benefit from this research

Good fit: Ideal participants are children and families (especially ages 0–11) who live in urban Southern California communities affected by traffic, industry, or wildfire smoke and who want to help test local solutions.

Not a fit: People without exposure to urban air pollution or those living far outside Southern California are unlikely to benefit directly from this center's local projects.

Why it matters

Potential benefit: If successful, the work could reduce children's exposure to harmful air pollution and lower rates of asthma, metabolic problems, and neurodevelopmental harm.

How similar studies have performed: Community-based environmental health efforts have previously lowered exposures and improved respiratory outcomes in some settings, and this center applies those approaches with added youth engagement and translational emphasis.

Where this research is happening

Los Angeles, UNITED STATES

Researchers

About this research

  1. This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
  2. Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
  3. For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page below.
Last reviewed 2026-06-13 by the Find a Trial editorial team. Information on this page is for educational purposes and is not medical advice. Always consult qualified healthcare professionals about clinical trial participation.