NCSU researchers win $1.8M in grants to explore pollution, health links

Raleigh, N.C. — Researchers at North Carolina State University have won $1.8 million in federal grants in an attempt to establish more definitive statistical links between pollution and diseases such as asthma and heart disease.

Montserrat Fuentes, an associate professor of statistics, landed the grants for the statistical analysis from the National Institutes of Health and the Environmental Protection Agency.

"We know that atmospheric pollutants are harmful to human health," Fuentes said in a statement, "and more precise information about the connection between particular pollutants and specific diseases will help us set air-quality standards to decrease human exposure and improve the health of people and the environment."

The NIH grant, worth $1,086,133, covers three years. The EPA grant is $839,439 over three years.

Working with Fuentes are Chris Fey, a professor of civil construction and environmental engineering, and yang Zhang, assistant professor of marine, earth and atmospheric sciences.