Hosted by the U. S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Air and Energy National Research Program
Thursday, May 28, 2020
2:00 p.m. – 3:30 p.m. EDT
To register click here!
The U. S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Air and Energy National Research Program is working to assess the impact and improve our understanding of air pollution morbidity and mortality in vulnerable populations, including individuals with cardiovascular disease. Exposure to airborne fine particulate matter (PM2.5) is associated with adverse cardiovascular health events including heart attacks, stroke, and death―particularly among those with pre-existing conditions. However, a better understanding of the relationship between air pollution and cardiovascular health is needed to develop strategies to protect vulnerable people with heart and vascular disease.
This webinar provides an overview of newly published research by EPA scientists and their colleagues that helps fill key knowledge gaps. The findings, published in leading scientific journals, offer new insights into the progress made to protect at-risk individuals with chronic health problems. The research also identifies remaining environmental health challenges, such as determining risks faced from sustained exposure to elevated PM2.5 from wildfire smoke, which is being observed due to more frequent and larger wildland fires in the United States.
Speakers include:
- Wayne Cascio, M.D., FACC – Dr. Wayne Cascio is a board-certified cardiologist and Director of EPA’s Center for Public Health and Environmental Assessment, where he leads efforts to address contemporary environmental public health issues and translate data into tools for public health action. Prior to joining EPA in 2011, Wayne spent more than 25 years at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and East Carolina University where he engaged in clinical, research, teaching, and administrative activities.
- Ana Rappold, Ph.D. – Dr. Ana Rappold is a statistician with EPA’S Center for Public Health and Environmental Assessment. She is leading a project aimed at integrating public health messaging with environmental models and understanding their effectiveness in reducing the burden of environmental impacts on public health. Ana has conducted clinical and epidemiological research studies of health effects from air pollution and has authored studies specific to smoke impacts on health.
- Cavin Ward-Caviness, Ph.D. – Dr. Cavin Ward-Caviness is a computational biologist with EPA’s Center for Public Health and Environmental Assessment. He is the Principal Investigator of EPA’s CARES, a resource of electronic health records and environmental data that assists researchers with environmental risk studies in vulnerable patient populations using novel approaches. Cavin also leads investigations that use molecular data to identify susceptible populations and early indicators of health risks from the chemical and built environment.
