Wildfire smoke effects near homes
Wildland Urban Interface Exposure Toxicity in Cells, Animals, and Humans
This project looks at how smoke from wildfires near homes affects people's lungs, especially those with asthma and other breathing problems.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R01 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Univ of North Carolina Chapel Hill NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Chapel Hill, United States) |
| Project ID | NIH-11252360 on NIH RePORTER |
What this research studies
Researchers will recreate wildfire and community burn conditions in the lab to measure harmful chemicals in the air. They will expose lung cells and animal models to those smoke conditions to track biological changes such as cell stress, low-oxygen responses, and signaling by extracellular vesicles. The team will link those lab findings to human data or samples from people exposed to wildfire smoke to find common patterns across cells, animals, and people. Together these steps aim to help predict health risks from different types of wildfire smoke exposures.
Who could benefit from this research
Good fit: Ideal participants are people who live in or near the wildland-urban interface or who have recent wildfire smoke exposure, particularly those with asthma, COPD, or other chronic airway conditions.
Not a fit: People without wildfire smoke exposure or with health issues unrelated to the lungs are unlikely to gain direct benefit from this project.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this work could improve predictions of who is at risk from wildfire smoke and support better protections and guidance for people with breathing problems.
How similar studies have performed: Previous work shows wildfire smoke can damage lungs, but integrating cell, animal, and human data and focusing on extracellular vesicle mechanisms is a newer and less-tested approach.
Where this research is happening
Chapel Hill, United States
- Univ of North Carolina Chapel Hill — Chapel Hill, United States (Active)
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Rager, Julia — Univ of North Carolina Chapel Hill
- Study coordinator: Rager, Julia
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.