The Health Effects Institute

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2008 HEI Annual Conference April 27–29, 2008 Sheraton Society Hill Hotel  Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA

 

Slide presentations are now available. Please click on a speaker name in the agenda below to access the presentation (PDF format; all files are less than 2 MB unless otherwise indicated). Also available, the final attendees list can be downloaded here.   NEW
The next HEI Annual Conference will be held May 3-5, 2009 at the Hilton Portland & Executive Tower in Portland, Oregon.
Brochure      Final program and abstracts      Contact us      Final Attendees List
Scientific Program Last updated May 30, 2008
April 27th, 2008	April 28th, 2008	April 29th, 2008

Sunday, April 27, 2008
11:30 AM	LUNCH
1:00 PM	OPENING REMARKS, Daniel Greenbaum, Health Effects Institute
1:10- 3:15 PM	BIOFUELS ON THE RISE
Chairs: Melvyn Branch, University of Colorado & HEI Research Committee; and Kent Hoekman, Desert Research Institute Biofuels can offer advantages over conventional fuels for reducing dependence on petrolem and reducing greenhouse gas emissions. However, the potential environmental and health impacts of producing and using biofuels need to be considered. This session will provide an overview of biofuels, current trends in production and utilization, life cycle analyses, and characterization of biofuel emissions and their effect on air quality. Ethanol will be used as an example to illustrate the issues surrounding technology, feedstock, and environmental impacts.
1:10 PM	Overview of Biofuels, Kent Hoekman
1:35 PM	National Programs for Renewable Fuels Paul Argyropoulos - US Environmental Protection Agency
1:55 PM	Emissions from Ethanol and Biodiesel Fuels
	1:55 PM Douglas Lawson , National Renewable Energy Laboratory
	2:15 PM Darrick Zarling , University of Minnesota
2:35 PM	Life-Cycle Assessment of Ethanol Fuel Daniel Kammen , University of California, Berkeley
3:00 PM	Health Effects of Emissions that Result from Biofuel Combustion Miriam Gerlofs-Nijland , National Institute for Public Health and the Environment, The Netherlands
3:15 PM	General Discussion
3:30-3:45 PM	BREAK
3:45-5:45 PM	POSTER SESSION 1
Posters will present ongoing research on air toxics, particulate matter, and diesel exhaust. HEI studies will be highlighted, along with complementary research supported by other organizations.
6:15 PM	RECEPTION AND DINNER
Monday, April 28, 2008
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8:00- 9:30 AM	PROGRESS AT HEI
Chairs: Homer Boushey, University of California, San Francisco & HEI Review Committee; and Mark Utell, University of Rochester & HEI Research Committee Two recipients of the 2007 Walter A. Rosenblith New Investigator Award will be introduced. A recently completed, important HEI-funded study (the American Cancer Society extended follow-up study) will be presented, followed by progress on HEI projects (the Advanced Collaborative Emissions Study and the Traffic Review Panel).
8:00 AM	Walter A. Rosenblith New Investigator Award: 2007 Recipients Annemoon van Erp, Health Effects Institute Charles Stanier , University of Iowa Yifang Zhu , Texas A&M University-Kingsville
8:15 AM	Extended Follow-Up and Spatial Analyses of the American Cancer Society Study Linking Particulate Air Pollution and Mortality
	8:15 AM Research Findings Daniel Krewski , University of Ottawa, Canada
	8:40 AM HEI Review Committee Comments Ben Armstrong , London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, UK, and HEI Review Committee
8:55 AM	Advanced Collaborative Emissions Study: Phase 1 Chris Tennant , Coordinating Research Council
9:15 AM	Critical Review of the Studies of the Health Effects of Traffic-Related Air Pollution Ira Tager , University of California, Berkeley & HEI Research Committee
9:30- 9:50 AM	BREAK
9:50- 11:45 AM	FROM SOUND SCIENCE TO SOUND DECISIONS
Chairs: Sverre Vedal, University of Washington; and Robert O'Keefe, Health Effects Institute This session will cover recent developments in how governments translate science on air pollution and health effects into regulating air quality. Topics include the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's revised process for reviewing the National Ambient Air Quality Standards and the resulting NO2 integrated science assessment, and new policy efforts in India and California.
9:50 AM	Introduction, Robert O'Keefe
9:55 AM	EPA’s Revised NAAQS Process and Integrated Assessment of NO2 Ila Cote , US Environmental Protection Agency
10:20 AM	A CASAC Member’s Perspective on the new NAAQS Process Jonathan Samet , Johns Hopkins University
10:40 AM	National Ambient Air Quality Standards in India B Sengupta , Central Pollution Control Board, Delhi, India
11:05 AM	Regulation of Ports and Goods Movements in California Mike Scheible (6 MB) – California Air Resources Board
11:30 AM	General Discussion
11:45-1:30 PM	LUNCH WITH KEYNOTE SPEAKER Kathleen McGinty, Secretary, Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection
1:30-3:15 PM	POSTER SESSION 2
Posters will present ongoing research on air toxics, particulate matter, and diesel exhaust. HEI studies will be highlighted, along with complementary research supported by other organizations.
3:15-3:30 PM	BREAK
3:30-6:00 PM	AIR POLLUTION AND CARDIOVASCULAR DISEASE: MECHANISMS AND SUSCEPTIBILITY
Chairs: Stephanie London, National Institute for Environmental Health Sciences & HEI Review Committee; and William Rom, New York University & HEI Review Committee Session topics will include possible biologic mechanisms that could explain links between air pollution exposure and development of cardiovascular disease and events; the roles of possible susceptibility factors and critical windows of susceptibility; and epigenetic modifications (heritable changes in gene expression that are not explained by genetic variation).
3:30 PM	Introduction, Stephanie London
3:35 PM	Mechanisms Linking PM Exposure and the Development of Cardiovascular Disease and Cardiac Events, Murray Mittleman , Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center
4:10 PM	Epigenetic Changes in Response to Exposure to Air Pollution Andrea Baccarelli , Università degli Studi di Milano, Italy
4:40 PM	Associations Between PM, Traffic, and the Development of Cardiovascular Disease Barbara Hoffmann (4 MB) , University Hospital Essen, Germany
5:15 PM	Cardiovascular Effects in Animal Models of Exposure to Defined Sources Matthew Campen , Lovelace Respiratory Research Institute
5:45 PM	General Discussion
6:00 PM	EVENING FREE
Tuesday, April 29, 2008
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8:30- 11:30 AM	EXAMINING EXPOSURE TO AIR TOXICS IN POTENTIAL HOT SPOTS
Chairs: Bert Brunekreef, University of Utrecht, The Netherlands & HEI Review Committee; and Brian Leaderer, Yale University One strategy for understanding potential health effects from exposure to air toxics is to study populations living in areas with relatively high concentrations of these pollutants (hot spots). However, before studies to evaluate health risks at environmentally relevant exposure concentrations can begin, studies to confirm actual hot spots are needed. Speakers will discuss results from HEI studies and others about whether concentrations in several possible hot spots are high enough to conduct health-based studies. They will present data from neighborhoods near busy road systems and those near both roads and industrial areas.
8:30 AM	Introduction, Bert Brunekreef
8:40 AM	Assessing Personal Exposure to Air Toxics in Camden, New Jersey Paul Lioy , Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences Institute
9:10 AM	Multiple Air Toxics Exposure Study (MATES) III Jean Ospital , South Coast Air Quality Management District
9:40 AM	Air Toxics Exposure from Vehicular Emissions at a US Border Crossing John Spengler (coming soon), Harvard School of Public Health
10:10- 10:30AM	BREAK
10:30 AM	Detroit Exposure and Aerosol Research Study (DEARS) Ronald Williams , US Environmental Protection Agency
11:00 AM	Concluding Remarks, Brian Leaderer
11:30-12:30 PM	BOXED LUNCH
12:30-3:00 PM	TIME-SERIES STUDIES: WHAT DO THEY CONTRIBUTE?
Chairs: Ross Anderson, St. George's Hospital; and Ben Armstrong, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine Time-series studies of the health effects of short-term exposure to air pollution have been a central part of the scientific evidence that underpins U.S. and international air quality management and regulation. With a focus on HEI-sponsored regional, coordinated time-series studies and methodologic research, this session will explore the ongoing role of time-series studies in air pollution science and policy. Speakers will discuss the robustness of time-series study estimates, regional variability in results, limitations of current statistical methods, new evidence at the higher end of the concentration-response function, and consistency in evidence from studies of long- and short-term exposures to particulate matter and ozone.
12:30 PM	Introduction, Ross Anderson
12:40 PM	What Do Time-Series Studies Tell Us About the Health Effects of Air Pollution? Ari Rabl , École des Mines, France
1:10 PM	How Certain Is the Evidence: Results from the Air Pollution and Health in Europe (APHENA) Study, Francesca Dominici , Johns Hopkins University
1:35 PM	New Science from HEI’s Public Health and Air Pollution in Asia (PAPA) Program
	1:35 PM Overview of Coordinated and Combined Analyses Chit Ming Wong , University of Hong Kong, China
	1:55 PM Results at Temperature Extremes Zhengmin Qian , Penn State College of Medicine
	2:15 PM New Evidence at the High End of the Concentration–Response Function Bart Ostro , California Air Resources Board
2:35 PM	Discussants and General Discussion, Sverre Vedal and Ben Armstrong
3:00 PM	CONFERENCE ADJOURNS

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Further Information:
Robert Shavers
Health Effects Institute
Charlestown Navy Yard
120 Second Avenue
Boston, MA 02129 USA
Telephone: +1-617-886-9330 ext 308
Fax: +1-617-886-9335
Email: rshavers@healtheffects.org

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