Research Programs

Scientifically, the SCEHSC is organized around six Environmental Health Research Programs. Methods Research Programs identify and respond to methodological challenges posed by the new technologies and data opportunities afforded by investigator research. Investigators from these Methods Research Programs engage with multidisciplinary teams studying the role of environment in disease development, severity, and progression in Health Outcomes Research Programs, which are integrated by a cross-cutting thematic research framework examining critical developmental periods, population vulnerability, and shared molecular and biological processes of disease.

Health Outcomes Research Programs

Cardiorespiratory
Cancer
Obesity & Metabolic
Neurological

Program Leaders

Frank Gilliland, M.D., Ph.D. 
gillilan@usc.edu
Shohreh Farzan, Ph.D.
sffarzan@usc.edu
The Cardiorespiratory Outcomes Research Program studies short- and long-term effects of ambient air pollutants on lung development, asthma and asthma symptoms, atherosclerosis in children and young adults, major cardiovascular events in adults, and cardiorespiratory mechanisms, including airway inflammation, immunoregulation, and HDL function. Early-life susceptibility, genomics and epigenomics, and integrative systems approaches are also a part of the research agenda. This research program has led to important findings showing that air pollution has chronic cardiorespiratory health effects at current levels and that there are individual factors determining susceptibility to environmental exposures.
Recent Highlights
• Human studies show a role for genomic susceptibility to exposures and epigenetic changes underlying asthma development and asthma control.
In utero toxic metals exposures have been associated with cardiometabolic complications in children.
• Exposure to an immense plume of ultrafine particles downwind from the Los Angeles International Airport had significant acute systemic inflammatory effects with a response that was distinct from that of traffic-related ultrafine particles.
• Causal analytical approaches are being applied in studies identifying additional respiratory health benefits achievable with alternative scenarios of pollutant reductions.

Program Leaders

Anna Wu, Ph.D.
annawu@usc.edu
V. Wendy Setiawan, Ph.D.
vsetiawa@usc.edu
The Cancer Research Program is investigating environmental factors in human cancers and how host factors (genetic, epigenetic, health status, obesity, and other social and behavioral factors) influence the carcinogenic process. Research is focused on air pollution effects on breast and lung cancer etiology and survival, pesticides and hormonally related cancers, and ultraviolet radiation exposures and skin cancers. A major initiative of the Research Program has leveraged the prospective Multiethnic Cohort conducted in Hawaii and California, a unique resource developed at the University of Southern California and maintained for studies of cancer epidemiology by the Norris Cancer Center.
Recent Highlights
• Using address geocodes in studies of air pollution, breast cancer was associated with near-roadway pollution, NO2 and PM effects that were stronger among African American and Japanese American women in the Multiethnic Cohort. New studies utilizing this cohort include: 
(1) ambient air pollution and lung cancer/COPD susceptibility; 
(2) persistent endocrine disrupting chemicals exposure and liver and pancreatic cancer; and 
(3) nonpersistent endocrine disrupting chemicals exposure (e.g. urinary phthalates, bisphenol A) and breast cancer.
• Investigators are studying the role of ultraviolet exposure in childhood cancers and in developing interventions to prevent exposure, using novel ultraviolet dosimetry to measure momentary exposures in community and clinical populations.

Program Leaders

Lida Chatzi, M.D., Ph.D.
chatzi@usc.edu
Zhanghua Chen, Ph.D.
zhanghuc@usc.edu
The Obesity and Metabolic Outcomes Research Program has a research focus motivated by emerging studies suggesting that the environment affects development of obesity and metabolic diseases. Investigators are studying air pollution and chemical exposure effects on obesity development, type 2 diabetes, non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, glucose intolerance, beta-cell function, and lipid metabolism.
Mechanistic studies are investigating early life susceptibility and systemic and adipose tissue inflammation and adipokines. Collaborations have historically contributed to the development of an NIEHS/EPA-supported Children’s Environmental Health and Disease Prevention Research Center focused on air pollution, obesity and metabolic diseases (Southern California Children’s Environmental Health Center) and an NIEHS/NIMHD/EPA-supported Environmental Health Disparities Center (Maternal and Developmental Exposures from Environmental and Social Stressors).
Recent Highlights
•  Evidence from neonates, children, adults, and animal models indicates that near-roadway air pollution, PM2.5 and NO2 increase adiposity and reduce insulin sensitivity and beta-cell function, suggestive of type 2 diabetes.
• Groundbreaking studies showed effects of perfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), other persistent organic pollutants, phthalates and metals on obesity, type 2 diabetes, and NAFLD. Ongoing projects are measuring the impact of these mixtures on longitudinal changes in glucose metabolism, insulin sensitivity, and beta-cell function in various cohorts.

Program Leaders

Jiu-Chiuan Chen, M.D., Sc.D.
jcchen@usc.edu
Megan Herting, Ph.D.
herting@usc.edu
Emerging evidence suggests that the environment has important adverse neurological effects across the lifecourse in susceptible populations. This raises important clinical and public health concerns. The Center has brought together talented investigative teams to lead the emerging field of environmental determinants of cognitive decline, stroke, neurodevelopment, and autism. 
The Neurological Outcomes Research Program investigates environmental determinants of cognitive decline and associated structural brain changes, Alzheimer’s dementia, and stroke in the elderly as well as the effects of early-life exposures to air pollution, traffic-related air pollutants, and other toxicants in conjunction with a range of cognitive and behavioral health outcomes and trajectories of neurodevelopment among children. Mechanistic studies focus on neurodevelopmental and inflammatory processes and susceptibility to particulate air pollution.
Recent Highlights
• Research Program investigators reported the first epidemiologic evidence linking PM2.5 exposure with increased dementia risk in the U.S. Genetic susceptibility to these effects, and associated mechanisms, were corroborated by complementary translational animal and in vitro models.
• Existing and new cohorts are being leveraged to study the impacts of air pollution and other contextual exposures on neurodevelopment and brain health across the lifecourse (e.g. Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development Study, ENIGMA Consortium).

Methods Research Programs

Exposure Sciences
Biostatistics & Data Science

Program Leaders

Rima Habre, Sc.D.
habre@usc.edu
John Wilson, Ph.D.
jpwilson@usc.edu
The Exposure Sciences Research Program focuses on developing innovative methods to integrate the external (macro), personal (micro), and internal markers of exposure across the Health Outcomes Research Programs. New technologies and approaches for exposure measurement are applied in basic, clinical, and population health studies, including: 
(1) the use of mobile measurement platforms for investigating the characteristics of on-road and near-road air pollution, landing aircraft emissions, and exposures to ultrafine particles; 
(2) enhanced geospatial modeling; 
(3) deployment of novel instrumentation to characterize aerosol mixtures; and 
(4) evaluation and protocol development for the use of such instrumentation, e.g. to provide low-cost but accurate air pollution measurement integrated assignments for ambient elemental carbon exposures (as a marker for traffic or biomass combustion)
Recent Highlights
• Human studies show a role for genomic susceptibility to exposures and epigenetic changes underlying asthma development and asthma control.
In utero toxic metals exposures have been associated with cardiometabolic complications in children.
• Exposure to an immense plume of ultrafine particles downwind from the Los Angeles International Airport had significant acute systemic inflammatory effects with a response that was distinct from that of traffic-related ultrafine particles.
• Causal analytical approaches are being applied in studies identifying additional respiratory health benefits achievable with alternative scenarios of pollutant reductions.

Program Leaders

Sandrah Eckel, Ph.D.
eckel@usc.edu
David Conti, Ph.D.
dconti@usc.edu
The Biostatistics & Data Science Methods Research Program focuses on the development of innovative study designs and analysis methods for application to environmental exposures of importance in the Health Outcomes Research Programs. Methodological challenges include how to integrate high dimensional, often correlated, exposure mixtures and other data from new measurement platforms, longitudinal data identifying key windows of susceptibility to environmental exposures over the lifecourse, multiple phenotypes, and physiological and biomarker measurements. This research program is focusing on developing systems approaches, data integration including network analyses for omics data with environmental perturbations, and pathways approaches for breathomics, metabolomics, microbiome, genomics and transcriptomic data.
Recent Highlights
• A new method called LUCID (Latent Unknown Clustering Integrating Multi-omics Data) integrates observed exposures/genotypes, high dimensional omics data, and observed health outcomes using joint modeling via a latent cluster. LUCID has been utilized by Center investigators in analyses of PFAS and mercury effects on metabolic pathways.
• As part of the NIH Pediatric Research using Integrated Sensor Monitoring Systems (PRISMS) program, a statistical analysis pipeline was developed for mHealth data and novel statistical methods.
• Hierarchical Bayesian models were developed to estimate effects of air pollution exposures on airway and alveolar inflammation.
Southern California Environmental Health Sciences Center
Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California
2001 North Soto Street, MC 9237
Los Angeles, CA 90089-9013
scehsc@usc.edu
Supported by NIEHS grant P30ES007048
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