| Dr. Rodrigo Armijos funded by NIH for study |
Dr. Rodrigo Armijos, Associate Professor in the Department of Health Promotion, College of Health Sciences, has been awarded over $407,000 from the National Institutes of Health to conduct the study, AIR POLLUTION, SYSTEMIC INFLAMMATION, AND SUB-CLINICAL ATHEROSCLEROSIS IN HIGH-ALTITUDE CHILDREN. This study addresses the need for understanding the impact of long-term ambient air pollution exposure on the development of atherogenesis, a known risk factor for cardiovascular disease. The study will be conducted in healthy, young children (aged 5-12 years) living in Quito, Ecuador, a high-altitude (2,810 m) urban metropolis with a high population burden of cardiovascular disease. The high altitude environment provides a unique natural laboratory for studying the health effects of air pollution. The lower O2 content of air at this altitude increases the rate of respiration and the inhalation of any ambient air pollutants present compared to sea level. The city's complex topographical, air flow, traffic density, and other characteristics makes it possible to study different particulate matter exposure zones within the same population. Armijos and a team of interdisciplinary investigators will apply novel technology, computer modeling and clinical measures be able to detect the relationship of exposure to particulate matter air pollution to the systemic inflammatory processes that precede cardiovascular disease. The findings from this study will be of great importance in understanding of the links between ambient air pollution and risk for cardiovascular disease. Please join me in congratulating Dr. Armijos on his success in receiving this NIH funding for this innovative study! |
