PI, Institution:
John R Balmes, Nina T Holland, Elizabeth Marianne Noth; University of California Berkeley

Grant: R24ES030888

Description:

Children’s Health and Air Pollution Study (CHAPS)

The Children’s Health and Air Pollution Study (CHAPS) has enrolled more than 600 participants living in the San Joaquin Valley region in central California. The study examines how exposure to air pollution influences allergic and metabolic disease risk in children and young adults. For more information about this cohort, visit the NIEHS Epidemiology Resources webpage for CHAPS.

Cohort Maintenance & Enrichment Activities:
Retaining and continuing to follow participants with two in-person visits over the next five years with improved anthropometry, assessment of psychosocial stressor data, blood collection, and biomarker analysis. Conducting validation, pilot, and feasibility studies using existing data and samples. Investigating new methods of assessing environmental exposures and exploring novel methodologies related to metabolomics, genomics, and the microbiome.

Data Management & Sharing Activities:
Maintaining and strengthening data management infrastructure with a Data Manager who will improve the accuracy, completeness, documentation, consistency, and timeliness of the CHAPS database to facilitate research and encourage new collaborations and data sharing. Maintaining and enriching the repository of biospecimens, including specimens preserved for future analyses. Encouraging data sharing by developing a web-based data sharing portal that will summarize 18 years’ worth of existing air pollution exposure and health data to encourage its use by outside collaborators. This portal will provide access to the data platform to facilitate sharing with external investigators and foster collaboration with other NIH-sponsored children’s environmental epidemiology cohorts.

Data Access:
Raw data were generated at UC Berkeley School of Public Health. Derived CHAPS study data are available on request from Dr. John Balmes ([email protected]). Once a data request is submitted and approved, the CHAPS Data Manager will arrange for data access through the CHAPS secure data server. The data are not publicly available due to their containing information that could compromise the privacy of the CHAPS research participants.

Please see NIH RePORTER for publications associated with this R24 grant.