Global Research

HEI supports research across the globe, often with supplemental financial support from foundations and international organizations. Although the majority of HEI's studies have been in North America, important additional scientific insights have been provided by a growing number of new studies in Europe, Latin America, and Asia.

HEI has attracted significant additional support for its international work from foundations, international organizations, the European Union and industry. In Europe, for example, HEI worked in partnership with WHO on Air Quality Guidelines, and with the European Union on multi-investigator studies of air pollution and health in North America and Europe (APHENA). In Asia, with added support from domestic and international foundations, HEI implemented the Public Health and Air Pollution In Asia (PAPA) program (see several research reports and a comprehensive review comprehensive review of the Asian literature on air pollution and health). We have also conducted the first major multi-country, multi-investigator studies in Latin America (ESCALA). Additional studies in countries outside the US are funded through our competitive research selection process.

Ongoing Studies

Effect of air pollution reductions on mortality during the COVID-19 lockdown: A natural experiment study

Kai Chen

Yale University

This multicountry study will evaluate whether changes in mortality are associated with changes in ambient NO₂ and PM_2.5 levels before, during, and after the lockdown and disentangle the short-term effects of NO₂ versus PM_2.5 on mortality. The analysis will be conducted in four countries: China, Germany, Italy, and the United States.

Traffic-related air pollution and birth weight: the roles of noise, placental function, green space, physical activity, and socioeconomic status (FRONTIER)

Payam Dadvand

ISGlobal, Barcelona Institute for Global Health, Spain

Jordi Sunyer

ISGlobal, Barcelona Institute for Global Health, Spain

In this study, the investigators will recruit pregnant women in Barcelona and assess the effects of in-utero exposure to traffic-related pollution on birth weight, fetal growth trajectories, and placental function for each pregnancy. The investigators will estimate exposure to several pollutants and transportation noise and evaluate the roles of socioeconomic status, green space, physical activity, diet, and stress.

Comparison of Long-term Air Pollution Exposure assessment based on mobile monitoring, low-cost sensors, dispersion modelling and routine monitoring-based models (CLAIRE)

Gerard Hoek

Utrecht University, Netherlands

Hoek and colleagues will prepare maps of modeled annual average air pollution across the Netherlands, validate the maps using new measurements from over 100 sites, and evaluate the performance of several exposure models. The investigators will conduct cross-comparisons to evaluate how different exposure assessment methods compare in their ability to predict long-term pollutant concentrations, with a particular focus on spatial variability of pollutants.

Accounting for mobility in air pollution exposure estimates in studies on long-term health effects

Kees de Hoogh

Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute and Basel University, Switzerland

This study aims to improve our understanding of the contribution of individual mobility in air pollution exposure estimates. The investigators will use location tracking on a mobile phone application for 2,000 individuals in the Netherlands and Switzerland.

How do household energy interventions work?

Sam Harper

McGill University, Canada

Jill C Baumgartner

McGill University, Canada

This study will focus on a coal ban and heat pump subsidy program in the Beijing, China, region. They are building on an existing panel study that is following about 966 people who live in 50 villages around Beijing. Half the villages are subject to the policy, the other half are not.

Investigating the consequences of Measurement Error of gradually more sophisticated long-term personal exposure models in assessing health effects: the LOndon Study (MELONS)

Klea Katsouyanni

King's College London, United Kingdom

This study will investigate the consequences of measurement error on estimates of health effects of long-term exposure to outdoor air pollution in London by developing increasingly sophisticated exposure models.The investigators plan to compare exposure models that account for mobility, are based on exposure estimates at the residential address, and are based on concentrations measured at the nearest air pollution monitor.

Accounting for the health benefits of air pollution regulations in China, 2008–2020

Patrick L Kinney

Boston University

This study will evaluate the major national regulatory policies that were implemented in China from 2008–2018. The investigators will focus on regulations in particular regions that target specific sources, such as coal combustion, and how they have reduced ambient concentrations of fine particles (and their components).

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