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College of Health and Human Services Department of Global and Community Health

New Approach Better Predicts Air Pollution Models’ Performance in Health Studies

Mary Cunningham — Tue, 05 Apr 2022 14:25:18 +0000

New Approach Better Predicts Air Pollution Models’ Performance in Health Studies Mary Cunningham Tue, 04/05/2022 - 10:25

Nine out of 10 people in the world breathe air that exceeds the World Health Organization’s guidelines for air pollution. The era of big data and machine learning has facilitated predicting air pollution concentrations across both space and time. With approximately seven million people dying each year as a result of air pollution, leveraging these novel air pollution prediction models for studies of health is important. However, it is not always known whether these air pollution prediction models can be used in health studies.

A new study from Jenna Krall, assistant professor of the Department of Global and Community Health, develops a new approach to aid air quality modelers in determining whether their air pollution prediction models can be used in epidemiologic studies, studies that assess health effects.

“Understanding the relationship between air pollution and health often requires predicting air pollution concentrations. Our approach will be useful for determining whether an air pollution prediction model can be used in subsequent health studies. As a result, our work can help translate new prediction models to better understand air pollution health impacts,” said Krall.

Existing air pollution prediction models are generally evaluated on how well they can predict air pollution levels. Using data from 17 locations in the US, Krall found that the new evaluation approach was able to better identify errors in air pollution prediction models most relevant for health studies.

“Assessing the health estimation capacity of air pollution exposure prediction models” was published in Environmental Health in March 2022.

Joshua P. Keller of Colorado State University and Roger D. Peng of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health were a part of the research team. Krall was supported in part by the Thomas F. and Kate Miller Jeffress Memorial Trust, Bank of America, Trustee. Peng was supported in part by the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) through award RD835871. This work has not been formally reviewed by the EPA. The views expressed in this document are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect those of the agency. EPA does not endorse any products or commercial services mentioned in this publication.

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Mason DEVA Project addresses state wide air pollution

Rena Malai — Fri, 15 Oct 2021 17:04:26 +0000

Mason DEVA Project addresses state wide air pollution Rena Malai Fri, 10/15/2021 - 13:04

In This Story

DEVA project leaders and students
gather to discuss recent research findings.

Taking a deep breath of fresh, clean air is a necessity many take for granted. This basic yet vital physical function is essential for health and well-being.

Mason is doing its part to protect clean air through the “Detailed Emissions in Virginia: Novel Approaches to Estimate Air Pollution Sources for Environmental Justice” (DEVA) research project funded by the Jeffress Trust Awards Program in Interdisciplinary Research.

A dedicated team of Mason professors and undergrads will apply their research skills in 2021-2022 while exploring the sources of air pollution in Virginia and how it directly affects the surrounding communities.

“DEVA will examine the major sources of air pollution in Virginia,” says Jenna Krall, an assistant professor in the Department of Global and Community Health and DEVA project co-lead at Mason.

According to Lucas Henneman, assistant professor of environmental engineering at Mason and DEVA project lead, some populations can be more exposed to air pollution than others.

He says in the state of Virginia, there is a gap in research that explores the link between air pollution sources and vulnerable populations. One goal of DEVA is to try to fill this gap, and the research findings could play an important role in shaping clean air policies.

“We will study emission sources in Virginia—like power plants, cars, and factories—and see what the surrounding community around these sources is like in terms of income, race, and proximity to air pollution sources,” says Henneman.

An important aspect of the funded work is providing undergraduates an opportunity to perform academic research under faculty mentorship.

Students benefit from learning effective research practices that can apply to their careers.

According to junior Gabriella Armada, she sees working on DEVA as a way to help her become a better data scientist.

“I wanted to apply my data science skills outside my courses, and I wanted a real-world application like DEVA where I could apply those skills,” says Armada, who is majoring in computational and data science at Mason.

Air pollution is a major concern for Mason junior Sara Alhassani, a statistics major, and she says working on research that can help to change clean air policies is important to her.

“Looking at how air pollution affects people of lower income and minority groups is a big issue,” says Alhassani. “Being able to identify the root causes and how to minimize air pollution can have a domino effect on everything else, like health.”

The Thomas F. and Kate Miller Jeffress Memorial Trust was founded in 1981 with the mission of benefitting the people of Virginia. The Jeffress Trust Program provides seed funding to support one-year pilot studies, like DEVA.

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Environmental News Network: Research by Mason scientists in CHHS on the effects of pollution on commuters is cited.

eander6 — Wed, 21 Jul 2021 17:28:45 +0000

Environmental News Network: Research by Mason scientists in CHHS on the effects of pollution on commuters is cited. eander6 Wed, 07/21/2021 - 13:28

In This Story

New Study Examines Commuter Characteristics and Traffic Pollution Exposure Among Commuters.

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ZME Science: Research by Mason scientists in CHHS on the effects of pollution on commuters is cited.

eander6 — Wed, 21 Jul 2021 17:24:46 +0000

ZME Science: Research by Mason scientists in CHHS on the effects of pollution on commuters is cited. eander6 Wed, 07/21/2021 - 13:24

In This Story

‘No significant difference’ in air pollution exposure between rush-hour commuters and others.

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New Study Examines Commuter Characteristics and Traffic Pollution Exposure Among Commuters

Anonymous — Wed, 07 Jul 2021 16:10:15 +0000

New Study Examines Commuter Characteristics and Traffic Pollution Exposure Among Commuters Anonymous (not verified) Wed, 07/07/2021 - 12:10

In This Story

��AV faculty Jenna Krall studies commuter habits, such as departure time and commute length, and their associations with air pollution exposure.

The link between on-road traffic and air pollution is well-known, as are the negative health impacts of pollution exposure. However, the many factors that may influence commuters’ exposure to pollutants – such as frequency, time, and duration of commute – and the overall impact of commuting remains a matter of on-going scientific discovery.

Dr. Jenna Krall, assistant professor at the ��AV College of Health and Human Services, is using statistical methods to better understand exposure to air pollution. Krall studies how commuting patterns impact exposure to fine particulate matter (PM_2.5) from various traffic-related sources such as tailpipe emissions, road salts, and brake wear.

New research from Krall and colleagues published in Environmental Research examines commuter characteristics to better understand how factors such as departure time, commute length, and number of trips are associated with exposure to PM_2.5. Building on a study of 46 women’s exposure to PM_2.5 using personal air pollution monitors, the new research clustered commuters to determine whether these clusters were associated with traffic pollution exposures.

As COVID-19 infection rates decline in most areas of the country and employers weigh whether to continue work-from-home policies, studies such as this provide important insight into the role that daily commutes can play in personal air pollution exposure and the public’s health.

“This is one of the first studies to utilize in-vehicle monitoring, specifically on-board diagnostics data loggers, to understand real-world commuting behaviors for environmental health,” said Krall, “Linking these data with personal air pollution monitoring allowed us to better understand how commuter characteristics are associated with sources of air pollution exposures.”

“The current research cannot tell us whether modifying commutes, for example by avoiding highways or commuting outside of rush hour, will lower traffic pollution exposures for commuters. More research is needed to determine what changes would be effective to lower exposures,” says Krall.

Krall’s on-going research seeks to distinguish between similar sources of traffic pollution, such as pollution generated by brake wear or from tailpipe emissions, and to develop statistical methods to better estimate exposure to pollution sources.

Study participants included 46 women commuters in northern Virginia who were exposed to pollution generated by mobile vehicles, road salts, and other sources throughout a 48-hour period.

The study was funded through a multidisciplinary seed grant from ��AV and Thomas F. and Kate Miller Jeffress Memorial Trust, Bank of America, Trustee.

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Could avoiding rush hour traffic be healthier? Mason research drives new insight.

Mariam Aburdeineh — Mon, 01 Jun 2020 02:52:05 +0000

Could avoiding rush hour traffic be healthier? Mason research drives new insight. Mariam Aburdeineh Sun, 05/31/2020 - 22:52

The COVID-19 pandemic shifted thousands of jobs online, allowing employees to telework and avoid congested roadways. That’s good for slowing the spread of the virus, but new research from ��AV also shows such habits could limit people’s exposure to harmful traffic pollution.

“This is one of the first studies to use vehicle monitors paired with air pollution monitors to assess trip exposures,” said Jenna Krall, assistant professor of global and community health. “We found there was higher pollution exposure during rush hour compared to nontrip exposures.”

The study led by Krall that included collaborators from the College of Health and Human Services, the Volgenau School of Engineering, and the College of Humanities and Social Sciences specifically measured women’s exposure to traffic pollution during commutes. Krall said she was inspired to conduct the study by recent research that showed pollution exposure during pregnancy may lead to adverse health outcomes.

Alumni Nada Adibah and Gabriella Cuevas, seen here in a photo from 2019, demonstrate the installation of air pollution monitors in a vehicle. As students, they worked with Dr. Jenna Krall, assistant professor of global and community health, on a multidisciplinary study looking at the effect of traffic pollution exposure for women. Photo by Lathan Goumas/Strategic Communications

When study participants were in the car, their exposure to fine particulate matter (air pollutants that can become a health concern when they enter the body) was higher than when they weren’t driving. The exposure to the pollutants increased even more when they drove during rush hour.

“It is really awesome to be part of one of the first studies that [examined] traffic pollution exposure [for women] during real-world commutes,” said Nada Adibah, a 2019 master of public health graduate who is one of the paper’s authors.

“The findings were interesting and very insightful,” Adibah said, adding that she was surprised to find no differences in pollution concentrations for varying commute lengths.

From left to right: Nada Adibah, Jenna Krall, Gabriella Cuevas. Photo by Lathan Goumas/Strategic Communications

The data could be used to help inform policy decisions, Krall said, such as implementing telework as a potential solution for women with health risks.

“We need to develop policies that protect public health, this may mean that it is necessary to reduce exposure to traffic-related pollution,” Krall said.

Funded by a Provost’s Multidisciplinary Research Award and a Jeffress Memorial Trust grant, the project provided opportunities for Mason undergraduate and graduate students to be involved in research with real-world impact.

“I am so grateful for this opportunity to work with Dr. Krall and Dr. [Anna] Pollack,” said Karlin Moore, a May 2020 chemistry graduate from the Honors College.

Moore said she helped analyze data from the air pollution monitors, determining ratios and concentrations of individual pollutants.

“It was interesting seeing a different area of STEM,” Moore said. “Getting exposure and experience to biostatistics and epidemiology opened my eyes to a whole plethora of different fields and careers that help public health.”

Moving forward, Krall said Mason researchers will take a deeper dive into the collected data and conduct further analysis.

“One goal is to develop new statistical approaches for estimating how we’re exposed to traffic pollution,” Krall said. “Hopefully this presents a new way for us to move forward with collecting better information to understand pollution exposure during commutes.”

Alumna Nada Abidah, seen here in a photo from 2019, downloads data from an air pollution monitor with Dr. Jenna Krall. Photo by Lathan Goumas/Strategic Communications

Multidisciplinary team drives research on traffic pollution and women’s health

Melanie Balog — Mon, 07 Jan 2019 10:00:32 +0000

Multidisciplinary team drives research on traffic pollution and women’s health Melanie Balog Mon, 01/07/2019 - 05:00

There are a number of things you could be thinking about during your commute, from the day’s agenda to what podcast to listen to. For a few ��AV professors and students from the College of Health and Human Services, the Volgenau School of Engineering and the College of Humanities and Social Sciences, a less common topic is front of mind: the effects of traffic pollution on women’s health.

In a project funded by a Provost’s Multidisciplinary Research Award, the team is measuring women’s exposure to traffic pollutants during their commutes.

Graduate student Nada Adibah and senior Gabriella Cuevas demonstrate the installation of air pollution monitors in a vehicle. The students are working with Dr. Jenna Krall, assistant professor of global and community health, who is leading the data collection portion of a multidisciplinary study between the College of Health and Human Sciences, the Volgenau School of Engineering and the College of Humanities and Social Sciences looking at the effect of traffic pollution exposure on women's health. Photo by Lathan Goumas/Strategic Communications.

“This is one of the first studies to look at women commuters,” said Jenna Krall, an assistant professor of global and community health who is leading the study’s data collection. “The reason this project is focusing on women specifically is because there has been recent research indicating that pollution exposures during pregnancy may lead to adverse health outcomes.”

Preterm birth, gestational diabetes, preeclampsia and low birthweight are among the adverse health effects Krall referenced. The study, Gestational Exposure to Traffic Pollution in the D.C. Metro Area, aims to learn more about pollution exposure during commuting to potentially better protect public health.

“If women do have higher exposure to traffic pollution while they are commuting, [that may influence] ways to think about maternity leave, for example, [and] different policies that can be set in place,” said Nada Adibah, a second-year master of public health student with a concentration in health policy.

This semester marks the project’s data collection phase, which involves setting up commute and pollution monitors in the personal vehicles of women commuters. The pollution monitors measure fine particulate matter—an air pollutant that can be at high levels near roadways and becomes a health concern when it enters the body.

Adibah has been heavily involved in recruiting study participants and has been working in the lab to change out the monitor filters. She’s one of several graduate and undergraduate students taking an active role in data collection and lab work.

“Working collaboratively on a cross-disciplinary research project has helped me feel more connected to the Mason community,” said Jenny LaFreniere, a master’s student studying human factors and applied cognition. “I feel fortunate to be a part of research that has the potential to affect so many people.”

LaFreniere said she feels the experience has been a great asset to her education and appreciates working with others outside her discipline—something she knows will be required of her as a human factors researcher.

The cross-disciplinary work will continue into future semesters, too. After collecting pollution exposure measurements, Mason experts in psychology and reproductive epidemiology will analyze the data, and engineering faculty will help the team develop technology based on the findings.

The team hopes this study will facilitate future studies to estimate the effects of traffic pollution on pregnancy-related health outcomes, such as low birth weight in newborns.

Graduate student Nada Abidah downloads data from an air pollution monitor with Dr. Jenna Krall, assistant professor of global and community health. Photo by Lathan Goumas/Strategic Communications.

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