# Air Pollution, Stress and Asthma Morbidity Risk: Role of Biological and Geospatial Markers

> **NIH NIH K23** · BOSTON CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL · 2021 · $197,123

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY / ABSTRACT
Candidate: Dr. Marissa Hauptman is an Instructor of Pediatrics at Harvard Medical School (HMS), a
pediatrician and environmental medical toxicologist, and Assistant Director of the Pediatric Environmental
Health Center at Boston Children’s Hospital (BCH). At BCH, she completed her pediatrics residency and a joint
pediatric environmental medicine and health services research fellowship. Building on her early work, her
proposed career development plan focuses on 2 areas of career development—geospatial and biomarker
environmental exposure science, clinical biomedical informatics—that will add to her research toolkit, increase
the rigor of her work, and enhance her ability to develop, evaluate, and integrate environmental exposure
science and epidemiology into clinical medicine. She will gain these skills through coursework, experiential
learning, mentorship, and participation in seminars and national and international meetings. Environment: Dr.
Hauptman is supported by extensive research, professional, and academic resources at BCH, HMS, and
Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, including the BCH Institutional Centers for Clinical and
Translational Research, Harvard-Chan NIEHS Center on Environmental Health, and the Harvard Catalyst
Program. Her committed team of mentors and advisors include national experts in geospatial, air pollution and
biomarker environmental exposure science and epidemiology, biostatistics/bioinformatics and clinical
prediction methodology. Research: Despite increasing evidence of its adverse effects, air pollution has not
been effectively addressed by healthcare providers in clinical medicine. Further knowledge is clearly needed,
as elucidating robust environmental air pollutant biomarkers and readily available geospatial data as well as
underlying mechanisms may lead to new therapeutic options and strategies for clinicians to better address a
patient’s environment at the bedside. Dr. Hauptman proposes to build on prior work to rigorously evaluate and
develop—through geospatial and biomarker environmental exposure science, epidemiology, and biomedical
informatics—a feasible innovative Asthma Integrated Risk (AIR) Clinical Prediction model that relies on readily
available data through patient report, the electronic medical record system, public available data sources and
biomarkers that can assist clinicians in predicting high risk pediatric patients with asthma and potentially
tailoring environmental and therapeutic interventions. At the end of this project, Dr. Hauptman will be well-
positioned to apply for an R01 to further test whether implementation of this clinical decision support
intervention improves asthma morbidity by more comprehensively identifying and addressing environmental air
pollutants in children with chronic health conditions. The successful completion of this project will position Dr.
Hauptman for the next stage of her career as an independent investigator addressing envir...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10216007
- **Project number:** 1K23ES031663-01A1
- **Recipient organization:** BOSTON CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL
- **Principal Investigator:** Marissa Hauptman
- **Activity code:** K23 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2021
- **Award amount:** $197,123
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2021-05-01 → 2026-04-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10216007

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10216007, Air Pollution, Stress and Asthma Morbidity Risk: Role of Biological and Geospatial Markers (1K23ES031663-01A1). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10216007. Licensed CC0.

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