# Integrative chemical-biological profiling to determine primary drivers of wildfire smoke-induced toxicity

> **NIH NIH R21** · UNIV OF NORTH CAROLINA CHAPEL HILL · 2020 · $227,277

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY
 Wildfire occurrence, duration, and intensity have heightened in recent decades and continue to impact the
health of millions of individuals worldwide. Smoke that is emitted from wildfires consists of a complex mixture of
particulate matter and toxic gases. The chemical composition of wildfire smoke is dependent upon the type of
biomass burn conditions and fuel type, which are heavily influenced by geographical region. The chemical
mixtures within wildfire smoke that humans are exposed to can consequently cause variable health outcomes
through potentially different biological mechanisms. Human exposure to wildfire smoke represents a growing
concern in public health, and adequately characterizing health risks associated with biomass smoke across
varying burn conditions and geographic areas is not possible with the data currently available.
 The variabilities in toxicological responses across wildfire smoke exposure conditions have yet to be fully
established and evaluated in the context of chemical composition. The growing threat of wildfires necessitates
the elucidation of individual and/or co-occurring components of wildfire smoke that act as the primary drivers of
toxicity. To address this important research issue, we expand upon a foundational study that has previously
characterized the chemical constituents in various biomass burn scenarios and evaluated, in part, toxicological
responses to these exposures in the mouse lung. Here, we leverage this extensive database and banked
samples to: 1. characterize in vivo transcriptomic responses and pathway alterations associated with biomass
smoke in the mouse lung; 2. integrate chemical-toxicity profiles using computational approaches to prioritize
chemicals that are likely driving toxicity responses; and 3. further evaluate chemical drivers of biomass smoke
toxicity responses using in vitro approaches.
 This research will be carried out through a collaboration with laboratories at the University of North Carolina
at Chapel Hill and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, allowing for a unique combination of expertise
for studying the primary drivers of wildfire smoke-induced toxicity. This expertise includes skills in
computational toxicology, exposure science, and molecular biology, coupled with experience studying adverse
health effects and immune responses induced by exposure to air pollutants.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 9956440
- **Project number:** 1R21ES031740-01
- **Recipient organization:** UNIV OF NORTH CAROLINA CHAPEL HILL
- **Principal Investigator:** ILONA JASPERS
- **Activity code:** R21 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $227,277
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2020-04-17 → 2022-03-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/9956440

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 9956440, Integrative chemical-biological profiling to determine primary drivers of wildfire smoke-induced toxicity (1R21ES031740-01). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-22 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/9956440. Licensed CC0.

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