BOARD MEETING DATE: November 7, 2003
AGENDA NO. 3

Execute Contract to Conduct Research Projects Under Asthma and Outdoor Air Quality Consortium

SYNOPSIS:

At the February 2003 meeting, the Board committed 10 percent of FY 2002-03 penalty revenue to fund the Asthma and Outdoor Air Quality Consortium. In August, the Board approved a workplan for the Consortium and authorized a contract with UCLA to manage the Consortium and solicit research proposals. The Consortium, through UCLA, has submitted several research proposals from universities in Southern California for review by staff. This action is to request the approval of a contract with UCLA to administer executing contracts for six research projects at a total cost not to exceed $588,636.

COMMITTEE:

Technology, October 24, 2003, Recommended for Approval

RECOMMENDED ACTION:

Authorize the Chairman to execute an agreement with UCLA to administer the execution of six research projects for the Asthma and Outdoor Air Quality Consortium, in a sum not to exceed $588,636 from Fund 42.

Barry R. Wallerstein, D.Env.
Executive Officer

Background

At the February 2003 meeting, the Board approved the establishment of the Asthma and Outdoor Air Quality Consortium and directed 10 percent of FY 2002-03 penalty revenue—approximately $723,000—to fund such consortium for research projects relating to asthma and outdoor air quality.

In August, the Board approved a workplan for the Consortium and authorized a contract with UCLA to manage the Consortium and solicit research proposals. The Consortium, through UCLA, has submitted several research proposals from universities in Southern California to staff for review and potential funding.

Proposal Evaluation

The goal of the Asthma and Outdoor Air Quality Consortium is to conduct research to better understand the relation between air pollution and asthma and to ensure protection of public health. The Consortium solicited research proposals from leading asthma and air-quality investigators at universities within the SCAQMD boundaries.

Following the Board-approved workplan, the process followed for submitting research projects is briefly described as follows.

• Individual investigators from various universities submitted research projects to the Consortium.
• Each proposal was sent by the Consortium to a leading researcher in the field for outside technical review and was found worthy of support.
• The Consortium forwarded the proposals with the outside reviews to staff for independent evaluation.

Nine proposals were received, with a total estimated budget of $928,000. Funds remaining in the Asthma & Brain Cancer Research Fund that are available to fund research projects for the Asthma and Outdoor Air Quality Consortium total approximately $680,000.

In addition to the outside review, AQMD Health Effects Officer Dr. Jean Ospital and CARB Health Advisor Dr. Shankar Prasad have reviewed the proposals. Based on these reviews, staff recommends that the Board approve a contract with UCLA to administer the execution of six proposed projects through the specified research organizations for a total amount not to exceed $588,636. These projects are listed in the following table.

The research qualifies for a sole-source award under Section VIII B. 2. d. (8) of the AQMD Procurement Policy and Procedures: Research and development efforts with education institutions or nonprofit organizations.

Table 1: Proposals Submitted from the Asthma and Outdoor Air Quality Consortium Recommended for Funding

Brief summaries of the proposed projects follow.

Mechanisms of Particulate Toxicity: Use of the Proteomics to Develop Markers for Oxidative Stress in Asthma by Using Ozone and Artificial PM Exposures

• Principal Investigator: Andre Nel, M.D.
• Duration of Grant: 1 Year
• Costs: $119,792

There is evidence that particulate matter and ozone play a role in inciting airway inflammation and airway hyper-reactivity in asthmatics. Evidence shows that oxidative stress plays a role in these events. Proteome Analysis will be used to identify biomarkers that can be used to detect PM and ozone-induced oxidative stress in humans.

Relationships Between PM, Traffic, and Asthma

• Principal Investigator: Rob McConnell, M.D.
• Duration of Grant: 2 Years
• Costs: $106,616

This project will test the hypothesis whether variations in fine particle concentrations and traffic patterns are associated with asthma in school children. Levels of fine PM and measures of traffic density will be conducted at the home of children with asthma and compared with those at homes of controls.

Exhaled NO in Asthmatic Children and Personal Particulate Matter Exposures

• Principal Investigator: Ralph J. Delfino, M.D., Ph.D.
• Duration of Grant: 2 Years
• Costs: $100,001

Exhaled nitric oxide is a noninvasive marker of lung inflammation and is among the most feasible approaches to measuring the magnitude of airway inflammation. Results of this study are expected to improve the understanding of air pollutant exposure-response relationships in asthmatic children, and the pro-inflammatory role of air pollutants in asthma.

An Automated Aerosol Concentration System for the Collection of Suspended Particulate Matter in Aqueous Solutions Suitable for Toxicological Assays

• Principal Investigator: Constantinos Sioutas, Sc.D.
• Duration of Grant: 2 Years
• Costs: $143,127

A new concentrator system allowing for fully automated operation will be designed, built, and tested under both laboratory and field conditions. Automated, unattended operation will allow for much longer and continuous sampling than the current VACES (versatile aerosol concentration enrichment systems) technology that is available. This allows for larger samples that can be used in toxicity testing of pollutants.

Traffic-related Air Pollution and Acute Respiratory Diseases and Asthma in Children Ages 0-5 in the SoCAB from 1990-2000

• Principal Investigator: Beate Ritz, M.D., Ph.D.
• Duration of Grant: 1 Year
• Total Direct Costs: $61,124

This study will estimate the transient effects of traffic-related and background air pollution in the South Coast Air Basin (SoCAB) on the risk for hospitalization for acute respiratory illness and asthma in children ages 0-5 who were born in the SoCAB between 1990 and 2002. The long-term effects of pre- and postnatal air pollution exposure on the risk for hospitalization for acute respiratory illness and asthma in children will also be estimated.

Interaction of Reactive Organic Compounds with the Capsaicin Receptor

• Principal Investigator: Arthur K. Cho, Ph.D.
• Duration of Grant: 1 Year
• Total Direct Costs: $57,976

This project looks at the biochemical mechanism of how pollutants exacerbate asthma. This study will address the hypothesis that some of the inflammatory actions of PM (particulate matter) that lead to the exacerbation of asthma in susceptible individuals are the result of the interaction between reactive compounds in PM with the capsaicin or vanillin receptor. This receptor is found in bronchial smooth muscle, and is related to the inflammatory process activation.

Resource Impacts

Funding is available from the 10 percent of FY 2002-03 penalty fees directed by the Governing Board to the Asthma & Brain Cancer Research Fund for the Asthma and Outdoor Air Quality Consortium (Fund 42).

/ / /