The National Institutes of Health (NIH) has selected a project from Sima Ramratnam, MD, MPH, associate professor in the Division of Allergy, Immunology and Rheumatology, for ECHO Opportunities and Innovation Fund (OIF) funding in the amount of $199,045. Ramratnam’s project is entitled, “Genes, Air Pollution, and Early-onset Asthma.” It will begin December 1, 2024, and continue through November 30, 2026.
Asthma is the most common chronic disease among children in the United States, influenced by both genetic and environmental factors. A key finding from an ECHO-1 study demonstrated that compared with white children, self-identified Black and Caribbean Hispanic children are up to three times more likely to develop childhood asthma before the age of four years. Early-onset asthma is associated with the highest hospitalization risk, reduced lung growth, and airflow obstruction and is a risk factor for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) in adulthood.
This project will evaluate genetic interactions with air pollution to identify one of the root causes for increased early-onset childhood asthma incidence rates. The two main goals of the project are 1) To conduct a candidate gene association study for early-onset childhood asthma, and 2) To identify genetic variants of early-onset childhood asthma genes that interact with air pollution in early life to increase asthma risk.