# Child Lung Development Following a Cookstove Intervention: Evidence from GRAPHS

> **NIH NIH R01** · COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY HEALTH SCIENCES · 2020 · $514,974

## Abstract

Project summary
Exposure to smoke from cooking fires is among the top five causes of DALYs and death globally, and in Africa
in particular. Our proposed study evaluates the impact of these exposures on lung development. To date,
most large-scale research on household air pollution (HAP) has focused on childhood pneumonia. Our
preliminary data shows, however, that lung function at age one month correlates with HAP exposures in utero.
These results are corroborated by a substantial literature that links ambient air pollution exposures to similar
outcomes. Decrements in lung function early in life increase risk of COPD and other chronic respiratory
diseases. We propose to build on an existing birth cohort in Ghana – the Ghana Randomized Air Pollution and
Health Study, or GRAPHS – to assess how early life exposures affect lung function ages 3 and 6. We will use
well-established, validated methods to assess these outcomes, and will also measure air pollution exposures
at each of these ages. To gain insight into the molecular mechanisms that link HAP exposure to health, we will
also study how exposure affects RNA expression in the placenta, and how these epigenetic changes relate to
lung function trajectories. In the long run, our research will help build the evidence base for cost effective
interventions to improve health by reducing HAP exposure.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 9969352
- **Project number:** 5R01ES026991-04
- **Recipient organization:** COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY HEALTH SCIENCES
- **Principal Investigator:** Darby Jack
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $514,974
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2017-07-01 → 2022-06-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/9969352

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 9969352, Child Lung Development Following a Cookstove Intervention: Evidence from GRAPHS (5R01ES026991-04). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/9969352. Licensed CC0.

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