Grant Number:	5U2RTW010108-10 Interpret this number
Primary Investigator:	Sieber, Nancy
Organization:	Harvard University D/B/A Harvard School Of Public Health
Project Title:	2/2-geohealth Health Effects of Selected Environmental Exposomes Across the Life Course (HEALS)-Us
Fiscal Year:	2026

Air pollution is a major contributor to illness and premature death in countries around the world. It promotes chronic cardiometabolic and neurodegenerative disease and can trigger acute cardiac events. It is also linked to a heightened risk of premature birth, childhood asthma, and developmental disabilities including autism. While air quality in the US has substantially improved since the Clean Air Act of 1970, the US Department of State, citing WHO data, estimates that air pollution is responsible for about 135,000 early deaths in the US each year, and countless additional illnesses. India, with its high levels of air pollution, frequent high temperature events, and wide array of exposure patterns, gives American scientists the opportunity to develop a comprehensive understanding of the interactions between air pollution, heat, and the human body. In the proposed project, tools developed by US scientists will be used to analyze the composition of air pollution and to model exposures in six ongoing Indian cohorts. The project leverages previously collected developmental, cardiometabolic and cognitive health data from cohorts of varying ages that are already funded by other sources, making this a valuable and cost-effective collaboration for the U.S. as well as India. Training Indian scientists in the use of these analytic techniques strengthens Indian research institutions and allows them to continue to generate this knowledge to the benefit of Americans. In the proposed project, entitled, “2/2-GEOHealth Health Effects of Selected Environmental Exposomes Across the Life CourSe (HEALS)-US,” our multidisciplinary team of researchers, mentors and faculty from the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health (HSPH) and the Centre for Chronic Disease Control (CCDC) will build on knowledge gained in GEOHealth I, in which trainees and mentors developed models to estimate levels of ambient PM2.5 in Indian cities and quantified the links between air pollution exposure and cardiometabolic disease and death in Delhi. Through this initial training grant, three students earned master’s degrees from HSPH and one earned a Doctor of Public Health (DrPH). The proposed project will focus on training early career faculty and researchers in the design of research studies, proposal writing, and research related to the research aims of the linked U01 grant. The project will be led by Dr. Sieber and Dr. Schwartz from HSPH and by Dr. Dorairaj Prabhakaran and Dr. Poornima Prabhakaran of CCDC, who will be assisted by the: 1) Administrative Oversight Committee; 2) Training Oversight Committee; 3) Program coordination personnel at HSPH and CCDC; and 4) Supervisory teams to provide oversight for individual trainees. Evidence from the research conducted under the linked U01 will add to our understanding of the health effects of air pollution and will inform both US and Indian governmental agencies and policymakers on how to protect their populations against exposures and the consequent burden of disease. The training of Indian scientists will build their capacity to carry out research to advance our understanding of this environmental threat, leading to policies that will benefit all Americans.




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