2024 Pilot Project Awards

Interdisciplinary Pilot Project Award:

Principal Investigators: Becky F. Antle, PhD, MSSW, LMFT
Co-Investigator: Luz Huntington-Moskos, PhD, RN, CPN
Title: Community Needs Assessment and Training to Address Health Disparities among Refugee/Immigrant Populations in Louisville
Description of Project: This project will assess the environmental health needs of two refugee/immigrant populations in the Louisville area through partnerships with See Forward Ministries (African populations), Backside Clinic/Learning Center and South Jefferson Neighborhood Place (Hispanic populations). Preliminary data from existing partnerships with these organizations shows community concerns regarding neighborhood safety and health, as well as overall challenges related to well-being indicators for these target groups. This project will conduct a needs assessment and develop training strategies for community members and providers to reduce health disparities and promote environmental justice.

Interdisciplinary Pilot Project Award:

Principal Investigators:Lu Cai, M.D., Ph.D.
Co-I/Collaborators:Matt Cave, M.D., Carolyn Klinge, Ph.D., Melissa Smith, Ph.D., Juw Won Park, Ph.D., Xuehong Zhang, Ph.D.
Title: Identification of Metals in Liver Disease and Cancer
Description of Project: Liver cancer is major health issue for the US, particularly Kentucky. The persistent, high prevalence of liver cancer in Kentucky may be due to environmental contamination, such as heavy metal toxicity. We will use mice to develop a model for the development of liver cancer, to directly answer whether exposure of mice to metal cadmium can induce liver cancers in these mice. Then we will detect multiple metals in the stored blood samples of the patients with liver disease and cancer to see whether the metal levels are higher in these patients’ blood. We will also look for its molecular mechanisms for providing future potential intervention. This study includes environmental toxicologist, epidemiologist, and clinical physician from both UofL and Yale University. Completing this project will help us to apply federal grant to solve the concern of Kentucky community.

New Direction Pilot Project Award:

Principal Investigators: Alex Carll, Ph.D.
Collaborators: Pawel Lorkiewicz, Ph.D., Juw Won Park, Ph.D.
Title: The Arrhythmogenic Impacts of Extreme Heat Exposure
Description of Project: The number of extremely hot days is expected to increase due to human and environmental factors, and individuals lacking access to air conditioning are particularly vulnerable. Short-term extremes in high ambient temperatures coincide with increases in sudden cardiac deaths. Sudden cardiac death can occur from impairments in normal cardiac rhythm and electrical conduction that are called arrhythmias. We will examine how extreme heat exposures affect cardiac electrical function to promote arrhythmia. The purpose of the present study is to demonstrate a causal relationship between extreme heat exposure and cardiac arrhythmias using controlled exposures in animal models that mimic human conditions of heightened susceptibility. In addition, our long-term objective is to provide guidance to people suffering from cardiovascular disease with protective measures to reduce the risks of sudden cardiac death associated with heatwaves.

Interdisciplinary Pilot Project Award:

Principal Investigators: Natalie DuPre, Sc.D.; Sandy Kavalukas, M.D.
Collaborators:Lu Cai, M.D., Ph.D.
Title: Lifetime Environmental Exposure to Metal Carcinogens and Colorectal Cancer: A Clinical Case-Control Study
Description of Project: This pilot project will directly measure known environmental metal carcinogens in blood and urine in Louisville residents with colorectal cancer and without colorectal cancer from a colorectal cancer surgical clinic at UofL Health. It is unknown whether environmental metal carcinogens increase risk of colorectal cancer. However, in prior work, we observed colorectal cancer hotspots within Louisville and observed that higher exposure to ambient arsenic and ambient cadmium was associated with residing in these colorectal cancer hotspot neighborhoods. This pilot study will compare levels of environmental carcinogens in urine and blood samples of Louisvillians with colorectal cancer (i.e., “cases”) and without colorectal cancer (i.e., “controls”). It will provide necessary information to: 1) demonstrate our ability to develop a clinical case-control study in our community, and 2) compare levels of environmental carcinogens in patients with colorectal cancer and patients without colorectal cancer.

Interdisciplinary Pilot Project Award:

Principal Investigators: Jason Hellmann, Ph.D.
Co-Investigator: Petra Haberzettl, Ph.D.
Title: Environmental Air Pollution Impairs Resolution of Inflammation, a Mechanism for Increased Insulin Resistance
Description of Project: Air pollution exposure is associated with increased risk for developing type 2 diabetes, a well-established risk factor for the development of cardiovascular disease including heart attacks and stroke. While not well understood, one possible explanation for air pollution-induced diabetes is by causing chronic inflammation. My lab has a long-standing interest in understanding how the body turns off inflammation. In this proposal, we will therefore test if air pollution exposure in mice causes diabetes by stopping the production of natural “inflammation-off” signals and determine which cell types are more susceptible to the air pollution insult. This application will provide necessary funds to work with CIEHS supported Cores to aid in the generation of preliminary data for a larger, more comprehensive application to the National Institutes of Health.

Interdisciplinary Pilot Project Award:

Principal Investigators:Timothy O’Toole, Ph.D.
Co-I/Collaborators: Jingjing Zhao, Ph.D.
Title: Exposure to Polystyrene Microplastics Exposure and Cardiovascular Outcomes
Description of Project: Modern society produces large amounts of plastics, much of which is discarded in landfills and water systems. In these ecosystems, there is a gradual breakdown of larger plastics into small particles (microplastics), by natural erosion and chemical forces. These microplastics can find their way into water supplies and the food chain where human consumption is inevitable, as evidenced by their detection in human blood, breast milk, and urine as well as in some organs like the lungs. The consumption of microplastics will be an ongoing concern in the future, given that globally increasing temperatures and UV exposures can accelerate the breakdown of large plastics. Furthermore, microplastics consumption is of a particular concern to residents of the greater Louisville area, given that our drinking water derives from the Ohio River, and that high levels of larger plastics and microplastics have been found up-stream in the Pittsburgh and Cincinnati areas.
The incidence of diabetes and obesity are considerable global health problems. Significantly, the Louisville area, and Kentucky in general, have some of the highest rates of diabetes and obesity in the US. These disorders are risk factors for larger cardiovascular disease and increase the probability of developing atherosclerosis and the incidence of heart attacks and strokes. Understanding why our population is more susceptible to these outcomes is an important area of research. Thus, in this proposal we will determine if there is any association between microplastics consumption and increased cardiovascular disease. This will be done in a mouse model, where polystyrene beads are supplied to these animals in drinking water. After this feeding, we will measure several markers of cardiovascular disease and also determine if these exposures alter the identity and abundance of bacterial species in the gut, which may also contribute to adverse outcomes. Results from this proposal will shed insight as to if and how consumption of microplastic particles impacts our health.