The Health Effects Institute

HEI Annual Conference 2001

Air Pollution and Populations at Risk

 April 29–May 1, 2001
Georgetown University Conference Center
Washington, DC

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Scientific Program

HEI Program Coordinators
        Geoffrey Sunshine
        Annemoon van Erp

Sunday April 29, afternoon session

1:00 pm     Welcome, Dan Greenbaum, President, Health Effects Institute

1:05 pm     The Interface of Science and Policy:  Accountability
Chair: Richard Stewart, New York University Law School and HEI Board of Directors.
This session will provide an interdisciplinary assessment of "Accountability" or measuring the health impacts of environmental regulation. Speakers from both the economic and health perspectives will critically evaluate why it is important to measure the impact of regulatory efforts on the health status of the population and the relevance of this effort to determining regulatory cost effectiveness.  Speakers will discuss the nature of health outcomes that should be measured, how research data have been used in the past, present assessment methods and their strengths and limitations, and indicate directions for future research.

	Why should we measure the impact of regulation?
1:15 pm	Policy Perspective - Jonathan Wiener, Duke University
1:30 pm	Public Health Perspective - Richard Jackson, Centers for Disease Control
1:45 pm	Questions and Answers
	How do we measure the impact of regulation today? How can we do better?
2:00 pm	Health Scientist's Perspective - Jonathan Samet, Johns Hopkins School of Public Health
2:15 pm	Economist's Perspective - Paul Portney, Resources for the Future
	HEI and Accountability: Initial directions
2:30 pm	Bob O'Keefe, Vice President, Health Effects Institute
2:40 pm	Discussion

3:15 pm    Break

3:30 pm    Poster Session 1: Air Toxics and Particulate Matter
Poster presentations of ongoing research funded by HEI and others on the health effects of air toxics - including benzene, butadiene and metals - and exposure assessment and experimental studies of particulate matter.

5:30 pm     Reception

6:30 pm     Dinner and Opening Remarks
Archbald Cox, Outgoing Chair, HEI and Richard Celeste, Incoming Chair, HEI

Monday April 30, morning session

8:30 am      Childhood Asthma
Chair: Frank Speizer, Harvard Medical School and HEI Research Committee
The incidence of asthma has grown explosively in developed countries over the last 50 years. The overwhelming majority of newly diagnosed cases are in young children. This session will describe the theories to explain this upsurge in cases, and address the role air pollution may play in the development and exacerbation of childhood asthma. Speakers will address a range of topics including epidemiologic studies of children in inner cities, the search for genes that may influence the response in asthmatics, and the use of animal models.

8:30 am	Introduction, Frank Speizer
8:40 am	The epidemiology of asthma: Determinants at the social and individual level, Kathleen Mortimer, University of California, Berkeley
9:10 am	Genetics of asthma, Eugene Bleecker, Wake Forest University
9:35 am	Air pollution and asthma, Charlotte Braun-Fahrländer, University of Basel, Switzerland
10:05 am	Break
10:20 am	Animal models of asthma: strengths and limitations, Ted Barrett, Lovelace Respiratory Research Institute
11:45 am	Air pollution effects in a primate model of asthma, Charles Plopper, University of California, Davis
11:10 am	Discussion

11:30 am    HEI Update: The Latest Research Underway and Planned 
Daniel Tosteson, Harvard Medical School and HEI Review Committee Chair, and Jane Warren, Director of Science, Health Effects Institute.
HEI will present an update of activities in the past year and discuss future plans. This will include a summary of HEI Reports on particulate matter (PM) that were published recently, and the status of diesel research planning efforts.

12:00 pm    Lunch

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Monday April 30, afternoon session

1:00 pm    Poster Session 2:  Particulate Matter - Epidemiology
Poster viewing of ongoing research funded by HEI and others of epidemiology studies on the health effects of particulate matter.

2:00 pm    Poster Discussion: Recent Developments in the Epidemiology of the Chronic Effects of Air Pollution
Chairs: Sverre Vedal, University of British Columbia and HEI Review Committee, and Claire Weinberg, National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences and HEI Research Committee

3:00 pm     Break

3:15 pm    Potential Immune, Developmental and Reproductive Effects of Air Pollution
Chair: Germaine Buck, National Institute of Child Health and Human Development.
The potential for air pollution to be associated with developmental and reproductive outcomes has only recently been investigated. This session will explore the potential effects of air pollution on young children, on fertility and birth outcomes, and on immune responses in potentially susceptible people.

3:15 pm	Introduction: Air pollution and fetal development, Beate Ritz, University of California, Los Angeles
3:30 pm	Air pollution in relation to immunologic parameters measured at birth and to children’s morbidity, Irva Hertz-Picciotto, University of North Carolina
4:00 pm	Air pollution effects on semen quality, Sally Perreault-Darney, NIH
4:30 pm	Measuring developmental effects of air pollution in animal models, Kent Pinkerton, University of California, Davis
5:00 pm	Discussion
6:00 pm	Reception at the Historic Car Barn, Georgetown