Grant: Environments, Genes and Chronic Disease - LOI

We are a team of scientists who have been working on key aspects of the chronic health effects of environmental exposures to very small air-borne particles (ultrafine particles). The ultrafines, which are about 1/600th the diameter of a human hair, are produced mostly from the burning of fossil fuels, such as oil and diesel. They are present in the air in both urban and rural environments. Because of their small size people can breathe them in. There is little known about the health effects of ultrafines. We will study whether these ultrafines can cause cardiopulmonary disease and whether we can identify how these particles affect people's health biologically and genetically. We will investigate whether people exposed to higher levels of ultrafines in Toronto, Montreal, and Vancouver are at higher risk of developing cardiopulmonary disease. We are also going to collect ultrafines in air in Montreal and from a diesel laboratory to determine what the physical and chemical properties of these particles are. These particles will then be sent to our biology laboratories so we can determine how they may affect the biological and genetic characteristics of human cells and whether they impact the cardiopulmonary health of mice. This project will help our understanding of the role of ultrafines on the development of chronic cardiorespiratory disease. For example, we may identify a genetic signature that could tell us who maybe at higher risk. We may also find a way to treat or prevent negative health effects in individuals garnered from information on our biological assessments. This information can also be used in developing regulations and other policy frameworks that would reduce levels in the air. The net outcome of this research program would be the effective reduction of chronic cardiopulmonary disease in Canadians exposed to very small particles in air.