John Volckens
Colorado State University-Fort Collins, CO·Public Health & Epidemiology
Fine particle air pollution, called PM2.5 (particles smaller than 2.5 micrometers), is a leading cause of disease and early death worldwide. But not all particles are alike.
- Fields
Public Health & Epidemiology
Earth & Environmental Science
Engineering
- Topics
air pollution
PM2.5
fine particulate matter
- Grants
- 1 known grant, through May 2030
What they work on
- Deploy a low-cost national air sampling network and analyze PM2.5 samples for trace metals and oxidative potential, the particles' ability to promote oxidative stress in cells.
- Test, using a time-stratified case-crossover study of Medicare enrollees, whether PM2.5 composition and oxidative potential modify links between daily PM2.5 levels and acute heart attacks, heart failure, COPD and asthma.
- Evaluate in a Medicare cohort how geographic variation in PM2.5 components and oxidative potential modifies associations between yearly PM2.5 levels and chronic health outcomes, and estimate concentration-response curves.
- Test the hypothesis that particle acidity increases the bioavailability of PM2.5 metals, letting them drive redox reactions linked to cardiorespiratory harm.
More about the research
Little is known about how the makeup and toxicity of PM2.5 vary across the United States. Recent studies suggest that the transition metal and sulfur content of particles may affect heart and lung risks. Studies also report stronger links between PM2.5 and health problems when its oxidative potential is high. Oxidative potential is a measure of how strongly particles promote oxidative stress, a type of chemical damage in cells and tissues.
Why it matters
Knowing which kinds of fine particles are most harmful could give policymakers actionable data to protect public health. Regulators could then target pollution sources more precisely, beyond total particle mass alone. Older adults and people at risk of heart attack, heart failure, COPD or asthma could benefit. The work could also explain how air pollution damages the heart and lungs.
Known grants
From NIH and NSF research grants. Labs often have other funding we can't see.
Closest labs
Cande Ananth
Rutgers University-New Brunswick, NJ·Public Health & Epidemiology
Build a linked birth database of about 16 million births in five U.S. states from 2000–2016, assigning each residence daily PM2.5 and its components, nitrogen dioxide, ozone, and weather measures.
Sima Ramratnam
University of Wisconsin-Madison, WI·Medicine & Clinical Research·Early-career
Identify genes associated with preschool-onset asthma, which begins before age four, through a candidate gene association study.
Thomas Clasen
Emory University, GA·Public Health & Epidemiology
Test whether the HAPIN LPG stove and fuel intervention, given during pregnancy and the first year of life, has lasting benefits for neurological and physical development in children followed to age 5 in Guatemala, India and Rwanda.
The school
Colorado State University-Fort Collins: 23 labs on PI Pages, $466M a year on research, 276 research doctorates a year.
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