Health Effects Institute 2018 Annual Conference

Chairs: Francesca Dominici, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health and HEI Research Committee, and Katherine Walker, Health Effects Institute

Recent years have seen a growing interest in the application of modeling methods to systematically explore causal relationships between air pollution and health. This session will bring together experts in causal modeling to introduce different methods, provide critical perspectives on their potential contributions and limitations, and discuss their interpretation within the broader context of how to understand whether an exposure is or is not causing effects. Open to all conference attendees.

Chairs: Dan Greenbaum, Health Effects Institute, and Jana Milford, University of Colorado–Boulder and HEI Review Committee

Ozone is a secondary pollutant that is regulated through the National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS), which are reviewed every five years; the next ozone review is due to start soon. This session will discuss challenges in controlling ozone levels, including atmospheric transport across continents and climate change, and the current science-based evidence that will contribute to the ozone health assessment. The session will end with a discussion of challenges facing those who must work to implement the ozone NAAQS.

Chairs: Francesco Forastiere, Lazio Regional Health Service, Italy, and Fred Lurmann, Sonoma Technology, Inc.

This session will discuss important factors related to the design and interpretation of health studies of traffic-related air pollution. It is intended to aid the scope of a new systematic review to assess health effects of such air pollution, which will update HEI’s 2010 literature review. The session will also introduce the Traffic Review Panel, as well as announce new HEI studies that will assess the health effects of traffic-related air pollution while taking into account other factors such as noise, socioeconomic status, and green space.

Chairs: Barbara Hoffmann, University of Düsseldorf, Germany; and Ivan Rusyn, Texas A&M University, both of the HEI Research Committee

Diabetes and obesity, as well as air pollution, are known risk factors in the development of cardiovascular and respiratory diseases. Air pollution is associated with development of diabetes in adults, and there is some evidence that early-life exposure in children may be associated with diabetes later in life. This session will discuss the evidence, who is most susceptible, and what mechanisms are behind these observations.

Chairs: Amy Herring, Duke University and HEI Research Committee; and Kiros Berhane, University of Southern California and HEI Review Committee

Awareness has grown during the last decade that many scientific studies have not been reproduced and the problem seems to be particularly widespread in certain fields. Environmental standards are health based and there have been long-standing debates about replicability and reproducibility of the studies underpinning regulations (including data access, quality, and analyses), though arguably the recent debate has given this issue greater visibility. Reproducibility has been the focus of several recent debates in scientific journals and also is reflected in congressional efforts at transparency. This session will describe the background on this issue, different perspectives on it, and approaches to addressing it.

Research Committee Chair David Eaton, University of Washington–Seattle, and Review Committee Chair James Merchant, University of Iowa, will introduce the two committees and preside over a presentation of HEI’s research program, which includes traffic-related air pollution, low levels of exposure, accountability, and mechanisms of effect, as well as the expanding Global Health Program. Energy Research Committee Chair George Hornberger, Vanderbilt University, will join them to present HEI’s Energy Research Program, focused on the potential for human exposure and health effects from the development of oil and natural gas from unconventional resources.

Chairs: David Foster, University of Wisconsin–Madison and HEI Research Committee; and Frank Kelly, King's College London, United Kingdom, and HEI Review Committee

More than half of the world’s population now lives in urban areas, and this number is expected to increase because of continuing population growth and urbanization. Air pollution and noise, along with interrelated factors such as physical inactivity, lack of green space, stress, and socioeconomic deprivation, are associated with adverse health. This session will explore how integrated urban design, transport planning, and new mobility and transportation technologies can improve city residents’ health and reshape cities in the future.