# Core E Research Support

> **NIH NIH P42** · UNIVERSITY OF ALABAMA AT BIRMINGHAM · 2020 · $90,649

## Abstract

ABSTRACT
 Due to decades of heavy industrial activity, the North Birmingham area has been severely polluted with
toxic chemicals including heavy metals such as cadmium, arsenic, and manganese. The population in the
proposed North Birmingham National Priorities List (NPL) site (Affected Areas; zip codes 35207 and 35217) is
predominantly African American and has higher rates of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), lower
respiratory tract infection (LRTI), and asthma compared to less industrialized areas (Control Area) of Jefferson
County (zip code 35214). Considering the high prevalence of lung disease in the United States, particularly
COPD, asthma, and respiratory tract infections, the proposed research is relevant to public health. The Clinical
Biorepository and Animal Exposure Core (Core E) has two specific aims: Specific Aim 1: Manage the
identification, recruitment, informed consent process, enrollment, clinical data collection, and biological specimen
collection from subjects living in the Affected and Control Areas; Specific Aim 2: Expose adult mice (C57BL/6)
of both sexes to arsenic, manganese, cadmium or real-life filtered dust from Affected and Control Areas for 4-6
hrs per day for three weeks; mice will be transferred to various projects so they can complete their proposed
specific aims. The activities of the Clinical Biorepository and Animal Exposure Core will be essential to the overall
success of this Superfund Program. The comprehensive biorepository of human specimens would constitute a
unique resource that would further the NIEHS/Superfund mission. Furthermore, exposing mice to heavy metals
in concentrations that are present in ambient air will create a model that mirrors and recapitulates the
environmental exposures at the NPL site. The Core will be comprised of a pulmonologist with ample experience
in clinical research, a toxicologist with extensive experience in mouse inhalation and lung injury study, a research
coordinator, and a research associate. Core activities will be closely integrated and supported by the Data
Management and Analysis Core (DMAC), Community Engagement Core (CEC), the biorepository infrastructure
of the UAB Center for Clinical Translational Science (CCTS), and the Inhalation Exposure Facility within the UAB
Animal Facility. All research personnel will be required to fulfill and maintain the training requirements of the UAB
IRB and the IACUC. The IRB and the IACUC will review and provide oversight of all research-related activities.
Procedures will be in place to ensure safety of human subjects and humane handling of vertebrate animals. The
UAB CCTS Biorepository follows best practices defined by international societies to ensure that validated and
reliable procedures and protocols are in place for specimen handling and sample integrity. The centralized,
standardized and comprehensive expertise and organization of this Core represents a value-based, economy of
effort for the overall proposed cente...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 9840804
- **Project number:** 1P42ES027723-01A1
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF ALABAMA AT BIRMINGHAM
- **Principal Investigator:** RUI-MING LIU
- **Activity code:** P42 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $90,649
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** — → —

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/9840804

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 9840804, Core E Research Support (1P42ES027723-01A1). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-22 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/9840804. Licensed CC0.

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