HEAL is one of the largest public-private partnerships established to investigate the impact of environmental disparities on human health. Launched in 2006, the program is designed to identify risks associated with developing and exacerbating airway disease, especially asthma, in post-Hurricane Katrina, New Orleans.

The results of this effort will inform and improve medical and environmental interventions, including the development of asthma education programs. 

The objectives of this study are to:

• determine the degree to which severity of the response to mold microbial toxins varies according to extent of baseline airway disease, the  degree of exposure to contaminated air, and differences in genetic susceptibility
• enhance knowledge about environmental exposures, genetic factors, and exposure-gene interactions in the development and exacerbation of inflammatory airway disease
• identify risk factors and health disparities in human airway disease that can be prevented or reduced by evidence-based interventions
• foster sustainable clinical and public health capacities to enhance access to quality health care and to manage asthma and other chronic human illness

The Foundation for NIH raised $1.6 million from the private sector to support this $6.4 million project.  The multi-year study is overseen by the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) with support from the National Center for Minority Health and Health Disparities (NCMHD).

Partners
Merck Childhood Asthma Network, Inc.