Rutgers Researchers Receive $4 Million Grant to Study Fertility Impacts of Wildfire Smoke

Strategic Insights -

New Brunswick researchers have secured a $4 million grant from the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences to study the potential effects of wildfire smoke on fertility and reproductive health. The research program, led by Philip Demokritou and Shuo Xiao, will examine how wildfire smoke may impact fertility and reproductive health, building on previous research into respiratory health and air quality impacts.

Key Takeaways:

  • The $4 million research program, funded by the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, will study the potential effects of wildfire smoke on fertility and reproductive health.
  • The program will integrate laboratory toxicology, exposure science, and epidemiology to determine how complex mixtures of ultrafine particles, gases, and combustion by-products from wildfires influence reproductive outcomes.
  • The research team will use a combination of approaches across the exposure-disease continuum, including laboratory studies, epidemiological studies, and advanced geospatial-temporal modeling using satellite data.
  • The findings from this program will benefit public health by providing evidence-based guidance to public health officials, policymakers, and community leaders on interventions, advisories, and preparedness strategies for wildfire events.
  • Philip Demokritou, Henry Rutgers Chair and professor of nanoscience and environmental bioengineering, and Shuo Xiao, associate professor at the Ernest Mario School of Pharmacy, will lead the project in collaboration with Audrey Gastkins, an associate professor at Emory University's Rollins School of Public Health.

Statistics:

  • The research program has received a $4 million grant from the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences.
  • The program will integrate laboratory toxicology, exposure science, and epidemiology to study the effects of wildfire smoke on reproductive health.
  • The research team will use a combination of approaches across the exposure-disease continuum, including laboratory studies, epidemiological studies, and advanced geospatial-temporal modeling using satellite data.
  • The program is a natural extension of the researchers' ongoing studies on respiratory health and air quality impacts, including ongoing studies of the Los Angeles 2025 wildfires and the Canadian wildfires in the summer of 2023.

Sources:

  • Nakaysha Gonzalez, "Rutgers Health professors receive fourth grant to study wildfire impacts on human health" (no date).
  • Philip Demokritou, "Rutgers researchers receive $4 million grant to study fertility impacts of wildfire smoke" (no date).