# Climate Change and Lung Health Training Program

> **NIH NIH T32** · UNIVERSITY OF IOWA · 2024 · $436,679

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT
Climate change is one of the most important global problems of our time. The consequences for human health
are already being felt, and pulmonary morbidity and mortality are increasingly impacted by wildfires, urban and
rural air pollution, altered aero-allergen exposures, the repercussions of severe storms and flooding, the
changing patterns and severity of pulmonary infections, and other factors. The harms disproportionately affect
children, older people, the socioeconomically disadvantaged, and people with underlying lung disease. Although
we have known this for some time, efforts to understand the diverse pulmonary responses and injuries from
climate change and to alter their course have been woefully inadequate. There are multiple explanations for
why we have not made more progress, but one contributor is that we have not been training the next generation
to tackle the lung health consequences of climate change. Thus, our goal is to train students and
postdoctoral fellows for cutting edge research in the pulmonary impact of climate change and strategies
to mitigate the effects. We have outstanding leadership with complementary and synergistic skills; Dr. David
Stoltz in the College of Medicine in basic and translational lung biology, and Dr. Peter Thorne in the College of
Public Health in pulmonary toxicology and environmental epidemiology. We have creative and innovative
mentors in four areas of emphasis: air pollution; allergens, airway biology, and environmental challenges;
extreme weather, disasters, and global warming; and lung infections. In addition to accepting post-doctoral
fellows, we take a forward-looking approach by accepting predoctoral graduate students and offering a summer
program for medical students. We strive to recruit, train, and retain a racially, gender, geographically (including
rural), and socioeconomically diverse group of trainees who are prepared to tackle the health consequences of
climate change, especially because those are the groups most vulnerable. Our existing expertise, programs and
interests position us exceedingly well for this direction, and our trainees will benefit from multidisciplinary
research teams and programs including the Environmental Health Sciences Research Center, Iowa Superfund
Research Program, Center for Emerging Infectious Diseases, Center for Global & Regional Environmental
Research, and a Collaboratory on Illuminating the Nexus Between Climate Change and Public Health. Our
program is focused on comprehensive training in research to understand and mitigate the impact of climate
change on lung health via multiple modalities that include active mentored research, didactic courses, activities
that enhance writing and presentation skills, community engagement, and endeavors that facilitate career
development. We encourage collaboration, networking, and creative partnerships with multiple scientists,
healthcare providers, and community members to advance solutions t...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10764205
- **Project number:** 5T32HL166134-02
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF IOWA
- **Principal Investigator:** DAVID A STOLTZ
- **Activity code:** T32 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2024
- **Award amount:** $436,679
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2023-02-01 → 2028-01-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10764205

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10764205, Climate Change and Lung Health Training Program (5T32HL166134-02). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-25 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10764205. Licensed CC0.

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