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SELECTED ON-GOING PROJECTS

Air Pollution and Dementia

A main research focus of our group is to better understand how air pollution impacts the human brain and cognitive functioning. This research is currently supported by one NIH/NIA R01 award (R01 AG079170; Huels/Wingo) and three on-going or recently completed pilot projects.

NIH/NIA R01AG079170 (09/30/22-08/31/27)

Air pollution exposure is a well-established risk factor for many health conditions including dementia. Yet, how air pollution affects dementia is poorly understood. Here, we aim determine the role of air pollution on two of the most common causes of dementia, namely Alzheimer's disease and vascular cognitive impairment, using well-characterized diverse longitudinal studies of brain aging that will provide biological insights and identify characteristics for people at higher risk (e.g., sex and race/ethnicity).

ADRC Pilot Project (05/01/21-04/30/23)

In this project we will integrate and simultaneously analyze multi-omics data (metabolome and epigenome) to investigate the molecular connection underlying the impact of air pollution exposures on human brain and neuropathology using postmortem brains from the Emory University Goizueta Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center (ADRC) Neuropathology Core Brain Bank. Our multidisciplinary team of investigators will conduct high-resolution metabolic profiling on brain tissues from ~150 donors of the ADRC brain bank and we will leverage several complementary projects with advanced air pollution exposure assessment and DNA methylation data on the same brain tissues. 

Dean's Pilot Project (08/10/20-07/31/22)

This study will analyze associations of air pollution exposure with neuropathology and epigenetic markers (DNA methylation) in human postmortem brains from the Emory University Goizueta Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center Neuropathology Core Brain Bank. The results of this study will provide data on the consequences of air pollution on neuropathology – a biological pathway that has been hypothesized for over a decade, but for which only very little data has been generated.

More details about the project can be found here.

HERCULES Pilot Project (04/01/20-03/31/22)

Outdoor air pollution from traffic, power plants, and other industry is the largest environmental cause of disease and premature death in the world. Recent studies have shown that some particular air pollutants can also affect our brain and increase the risk for dementia, a cognitive decline that affects behavior and thought processes. However, in real life, we inhale more than one air pollutant at a time and the interaction between many pollutants might be particularly dangerous. Our study will use data from the Emory Healthy Aging Study (EHAS), which is the largest research study on aging in Atlanta. We will link EHAS questionnaire data with data on traffic-related air pollution for each participant based on their residential location. Using the linked database, we will estimate relationships between air pollutant mixtures and different stages of cognitive decline. The results of this study will promote awareness about the harmful effects of air pollution mixtures on the human brain.

 

More details about the project can be found here.

Collaborators:

  • Thomas and Aliza Wingo from the School of Medicine at Emory University

  • Donghai Liang from the Rollins School of Public Health

  • James Lah, Allan Levey, Marla Gearing, Dean Jones from the School of Medicine at Emory University

  • Stefanie Ebelt, Lance Waller, Michele Marcus, Douglas Walker from the Rollins School of Public Health

Recent publications:

  • Joint effects of air pollution and neighborhood socioeconomic status on cognitive decline - Mediation by depression, high cholesterol levels, and high blood pressure (peer-reviewed article)

  • Association of PM2.5 Exposure and Alzheimer Disease Pathology in Brain Bank Donors—Effect Modification by APOE Genotype (peer-reviewed article)

  • Differential DNA methylation in the brain as potential mediator of the association between traffic-related PM2.5 and neuropathology markers of Alzheimer's disease (peer-reviewed article)

Current research assistants:

  • Tong Wen (Postdoc)

  • Sarina Abrishamcar (PhD Student in Epidemiology)

  • Lina Dimitrov (PhD Student in Epidemiology)

  • Terry Zhou (MPH Student in Epidemiology)

  • Keita Shimizu (MPH Student in Epidemiology)

  • Zander Vervaet (MSPH Student in Epidemiology)

Environmental Exposures and Brain Development

Collaboration with Heather Zar, Dan Stein, Aneesa Vanker and many other wonderful colleagues at the University of Cape Town &

Michael Kobor and his lab at the University of British Columbia

Recent publications:

  • Pruning and thresholding approach for methylation risk scores in multi-ancestry populations (peer-reviewed article)

  • DNA methylation as a potential mediator of the association between indoor air pollution and neurodevelopmental delay in a South African birth cohort (peer-reviewed article)

  • DNA methylation as a potential mediator of the association between prenatal tobacco and alcohol exposure and child neurodevelopment in a South African birth cohort (peer-reviewed article)

  • In-utero exposure to indoor air pollution or tobacco smoke and cognitive development in a South African birth cohort study (peer-reviewed article)

More information about the Drakenstein Child Health Study can be found here.

With the Drakenstein Child Health Study we are also part of the Pregnancy And Childhood Epigenetics (PACE) consortium, which is comprised of researchers at NIEHS and around the world who are interested in studying the early life environmental impacts on human disease using epigenetics.

Current research assistants:

  • Sarina Abrishamcar (PhD Student in Epidemiology)

  • Terry Zhou (MPH Student in Epidemiology)

  • Elaine Cheng (MPH Student in Epidemiology)

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