# Mentoring in Patient-Oriented Research on Asthma and the Indoor Environment

> **NIH NIH K24** · UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT AUSTIN · 2020 · $189,003

## Abstract

Emerging data suggest that a significant proportion of racial and ethnic asthma disparities may be attributable
to non-biologic factors. Importantly, racial and ethnic asthma disparities are explained to a significant extent by
socioeconomic disparities. Because of longstanding housing discrimination, racial and ethnic minorities are
concentrated in poor neighborhoods, and asthma-associated indoor and outdoor exposures likely vary by
neighborhood poverty. These exposure differences could lead to phenotypic differences in asthma among
residents of high- vs low-poverty neighborhoods. We therefore hypothesize that both environmental
exposures and asthma phenotypes covary with neighborhood poverty, and that differences in
exposure profiles between high- and low-poverty neighborhoods explain, at least in part, differences in
asthma phenotypes. To test this hypothesis, we will (1) examine changes in environmental exposures and
asthma phenotypes among an established prospective cohort study of low-income, Black children with asthma
who move from high- to low-poverty neighborhoods in the Baltimore metropolitan area (Mobility Asthma Project
(MAP)); and (2) conduct a cross-sectional study of 300 ethnically diverse children with asthma who live in high-
and low-poverty neighborhoods in Austin-Travis County, TX. Our specific aims are: (1) To determine the
effects of (1) moving from a high- to a low-poverty neighborhood and (2) changes in indoor and outdoor
exposures on asthma phenotypes in MAP, and (2) To determine whether (1) indoor and outdoor exposures
and (2) asthma phenotypes vary by neighborhood poverty in Central Texas. We will enroll 300 children with
asthma sampled from high- and low-poverty neighborhoods across Austin-Travis County in the Austin-Travis
County Asthma Study (ATX-AS). Establishing neighborhood differences in exposures and asthma phenotypes
would support the pursuit of population-level strategies to reduce exposures, potentially resulting in long-term
benefits at the population level and reductions in asthma disparities. At the individual level, should
improvements in environmental exposures result in a shift to a less severe asthma phenotype, then targeting
indoor and outdoor exposures could mitigate the long-term risks of fixed obstruction and chronic obstructive
pulmonary disease. These proposed studies will offer outstanding training opportunities for junior clinician
investigators as well as an opportunity for the PI to expand her expertise to include outdoor pollution exposure
and health disparities science.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 9969949
- **Project number:** 2K24AI114769-07
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT AUSTIN
- **Principal Investigator:** Elizabeth C. Matsui
- **Activity code:** K24 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $189,003
- **Award type:** 2
- **Project period:** 2015-02-01 → 2025-02-28

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/9969949

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 9969949, Mentoring in Patient-Oriented Research on Asthma and the Indoor Environment (2K24AI114769-07). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-24 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/9969949. Licensed CC0.

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