Year1OverallCenterProgressReport-JohnsHopkinsBloomberg.doc

Johns Hopkins Particulate Matter Research Center Annual Center Progress Report Period: October 1, 2005 to September 30, 2006 This Progress Report covers the first year of funding of the Johns Hopkins Particulate Matter Research Center. The Center has the overall goal of identifying the characteristics of airborne particles that determine their toxicity and hence the risk posed to human health. This goal corresponds largely to Topic 5 of the ten research issues advanced by the National Research Council’s Committee on Research Priorities for Airborne Particles. To accomplish this goal, the Johns Hopkins Center brings together a multi-disciplinary team with expertise in epidemiology, biostatistics, exposure assessment and air pollution monitoring, cell biology, and toxicology. It includes three research projects: 1) Estimation of the Risk to Human Health of PM and PM Components; 2) Particulate Matter Characterization and Exposure Assessment; and 3) Toxicity of PM, along with supporting cores. During this first year of funding, administrative infrastructure needed for the Center has been put into place, the Scientific Advisory Committee has been appointed and held its first meeting, and the initial Quality Management Plan (QMP) has been developed and submitted to the Environmental Protection Agency for review and comment. The members of the Scientific Advisory Committee cover the broad set of scientific disciplines relevant to the goals of the Center (see Table 1). Each of the research projects has made substantial progress and two investigator retreats have been held to assure that the needed interdisciplinary interactions are taking place. Separate reports follow for each of the projects. In each section, we discuss 1) the research performed and results generated in this first year, and 2) challenges encountered in the research and proposed actions. Research Project 1: Estimation of the Risk to Human Health of PM and PM components Francesca Dominici, Ph.D.