Systems Science Approaches for Assessing Cumulative Impacts of Air Pollution and Psychosocial Stressors onNeurocognitive Outcomes Among Children

标题：评估空气污染累积影响的系统科学方法和 心理社会应激源对儿童神经认知结果的影响 摘要：本次TIEHR职业生涯奖(K01)的研究目的是评估环境空气的影响 污染暴露和心理社会应激源对儿童神经认知功能差异的影响 流行病学和系统科学建模方法。中心假设是，暴露于 多种环境污染物/污染物和非化学应激源造成差异并增强 儿童神经发育不良。新兴科学正在显示出增强的毒性效应 儿童和成人对化学和社会应激源的累积暴露对认知结果的影响，表明 这些不同的应激源会影响常见的生物底物。然而，当前的环境政策 管制在没有任何社会/物理背景的情况下确定的单一污染物/污染物暴露， 可能低估了真正的健康风险。这项研究围绕三个具体目标展开。目标1涉及 评估早期累积暴露于PM2.5和心理社会应激源与 使用来自ECLS出生队列(n=5800)的数据并测试儿童的认知功能 种族/民族和性别改变了这些联系。对于目标2，将开发一个系统因果循环图 研究环境神经毒物和社会应激源对 采用参与式系统模型构建方法研究儿童神经发育障碍的差异。 目标1和目标2的结果将为目标3中的仿真建模提供信息。目标3涉及构建一个初步的 评估累积空气污染和社会压力源的定量系统动力学模拟模型 暴露对儿童认知结果的总体水平趋势产生影响。K01 TIEHR职业生涯奖 候选人是马里兰应用环境健康研究所的终身教职助理教授 马里兰大学公共卫生学院流行病学和生物统计学系。她 长期的职业目标是在研究中培养科学领导力，解决社会和社会问题的累积影响 环境神经毒物暴露会对儿童的认知能力产生负面影响，学术研究 表现和随之而来的教育轨迹、成人健康、财富和社会地位。本K01大奖 将支持她在1)儿童神经生物学机制方面的授课和体验式培训 认知结果，2)使用大数据集进行环境流行病学研究的新技能，以及3) 系统建模在健康差异研究中的应用。她所在的机构在环境方面有专业知识 流行病学、生物统计学和健康差距研究。这项研究将对 开发系统模型，以检查累积暴露的潜在增强影响 对大脑发育产生不利影响，这是NIEHS使命的战略利益领域。

Title: Systems Science Approaches for Assessing Cumulative Impacts of Air Pollution and Psychosocial Stressors on Neurocognitive Outcomes Among Children Abstract: The research objective of this TIEHR Career Award (K01) is to evaluate the effects of ambient air pollution exposures and psychosocial stressors on disparities in children’s neurocognitive functioning using epidemiological and systems science modeling approaches. The central hypothesis is that exposures to multiple environmental contaminant/pollutant and nonchemical stressors create disparities in and enhance adverse neurodevelopment among children. Emerging science is demonstrating enhanced toxic effects of cumulative exposures to chemical and social stressors on cognitive outcomes in children and adults, indicating that these disparate stressors affect common biological substrates. However, current environmental policies regulate single contaminant /pollutant exposures determined in the absence of any social/physical context, likely underestimating true health risks. The research is structured around three Specific Aims. Aim 1 involves assessing the association of cumulative early life exposures to PM2.5 and psychosocial stressors with children’s cognitive function using data from the ECLS Birth Cohort (n=5,800) and testing whether race/ethnicity and sex modify these associations. For Aim 2, a systems causal loop diagram will be developed to examine the pathways for cumulative effects of environmental neurotoxicants and social stressors on children’s neurodevelopmental disorder disparities using a participatory systems model building approach. Results from Aims 1 and 2 will inform simulation modeling in Aim 3. Aim 3 involves constructing a preliminary quantitative system dynamics simulation model for assessing cumulative air pollution and social stressor exposure impacts on population level trends in children’s cognitive outcomes. The K01 TIEHR Career Award Candidate is a tenure-track Assistant Professor with the Maryland Institute for Applied Environmental Health in the Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics at the University of Maryland School of Public Health. Her long-term career goal is to develop scientific leadership in research addressing cumulative effects of social and environmental neurotoxicant exposures that can negatively affect children’s cognitive abilities, academic performance and consequent educational trajectories, adult health, wealth and social status. This K01 award will support her didactic and experiential training in 1) neurobiological mechanisms involved in children’s cognitive outcomes, 2) new skills in environmental epidemiology research using large datasets, and 3) application of systems modeling to health disparities. Her home institution has expertise in environmental epidemiology, biostatistics and health disparities research. This research will contribute significantly to the development of systems models to examine the potential heightened impact of cumulative exposures that adversely impact brain development, an area of strategic interest to the mission of NIEHS.