Qunwei Zhang, MD, MPH, PhD, Assistant Professor in the Department of Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences, has been awarded funding through the Great Rivers Affiliate Research Committee of the American Heart Association for his project "Mechanisms Underlying the Susceptibility of Diabetics to Ultrafine Particles."  This two-year project aims to develop tools for studying particulate matter-induced health effects, to identify the cause(s) of particulate matter-induced cardiovascular diseases, and to examine the effects of ultrafine particles on subjects with preexisting diseases such as diabetes.