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Your Environment. Your Health.

NHALES Study: Natural History of Asthma with Longitudinal Environmental Sampling

Open for Recruitment

Study Background

The NHALES Study: Natural History of Asthma with Longitudinal Environmental Sampling

Open for Recruitment

The goal of the NHALES Study is to help scientists understand how bacteria and other factors in the environment affect people who have moderate to severe asthma. Individuals who are unable to receive adequate asthma treatment currently are encouraged to join NHALES, which also offers free doctor visits and asthma medications to study participants.

Additional Information

All NHALES visits will take place at the NIEHS Clinical Research Unit (CRU) in Research Triangle Park, North Carolina, and volunteers will be compensated for their time. Participants will have approximately 12 CRU visits over the course of the 5-year study.

During the visits, NHALES team members will talk to you about your medical history, collect samples from you (blood, sputum, house dust, saliva, urine, stool), ask you to complete questionnaires about your asthma, and conduct breathing tests and a physical exam. A small group of eligible participants will be invited to take part in a small sub-study that will examine the inside of the lungs using a procedure called bronchoscopy.

NHALES participants who experience asthma difficulties may come to the CRU and receive health care and medications at no cost.

For more information on this study, please visit the Clinical Trials Study page.

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Please visit NIEHS Syndication to get started.

Eligibility

You may be eligible for this study if you are an asthmatic who meets the following criteria:

  • 18-60 years old
  • Non-smoking
  • Non-pregnant or breastfeeding

What will you do?

  • Participate in a minimum of 12 visits over 5 years.
  • All visits will take place at the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences Clinical Research Unit (CRU) in Research Triangle Park, NC.
  • Visits include providing medical information, physical exams, lung function testing, collection of biological samples (blood, saliva, urine, sputum, stool, and dust), and completing surveys.
  • A small group of participants may be asked to complete a bronchoscopy procedure.
  • Participants will also be eligible to see the study doctor for asthma consultations and receive asthma control medications at no cost.
  • Qualified participants may be compensated up to $3035 for completion of all study visits.  Participants who complete the bronchoscopy procedure will receive an additional $375.

Why Participate?

  • Be part of a research study to help scientists at NIEHS understand how things in your environment, such as allergens, medications, and diet, affect asthma symptoms.  
  • Receive compensation for your time and effort (compensation is according to the type of biological sample donated).

Study Location

Sample collections are conducted at the NIEHS Clinical Research Unit located in Research Triangle Park, North Carolina.

Protocol Number: 15-E-0058

Enrollment and Contact Information

For more information and to enroll in this study, please contact Nicole Edwards at  (919) 316-4976 or at Nicole P. Edwards.

Principal Investigator

Stavros Garantziotis, M.D.
Stavros Garantziotis, M.D.
Medical Director, NIEHS Clinical Research Unit and Principal Investigator
Tel 919-541-9859
Fax 919-541-9854
garantziotis@niehs.nih.gov
Curriculum Vitae(80KB)
P.O. Box 12233
Mail Drop CU-01
Durham, N.C. 27709