Research on Environmental and Genetic Drivers of Asthma Risk
Asthma is a chronic and often debilitating condition that affects millions of children worldwide. Its progression is influenced by a complex interplay of genetic, environmental, and clinical factors. This heterogeneity of asthma progression highlights the need to uncover the specific mechanisms that determine individual susceptibility to asthma and related allergic diseases, which thus far remain unclear. Thus, our research focuses on understanding the epidemiology of asthma, with an emphasis on how environmental exposures and genetic factors interact to drive asthma risk.
A key area of investigation for our lab is how race and ethnicity influence the progression of allergic diseases, particularly in the context of the atopic march. We have found differences in how allergic diseases progress across different populations, emphasizing the need for tailored approaches for prevention and management of these diseases. Further, our design and direction of the Mechanisms of Progression of Atopic Dermatitis to Asthma in Children (MPAACH) cohort – the first U.S.-based cohort of pediatric atopic dermatitis – has allowed us to track the early-life progression of allergic diseases in diverse child populations. Using data generated by MPAACH, and other clinical cohorts, we can investigate how genetic predispositions, and environmental exposures impact the risk of developing asthma.
Through these integrative approaches, we are working to uncover new insights into asthma pathogenesis and ultimately improve prevention and treatment strategies for children at risk. As such, our research has led to the development of the Pediatric Asthma Risk Score (PARS), a continuous risk score that improves existing asthma prediction methods. PARS provides a simple, effective, and personalized screening tool to estimate asthma risk in children, which can be easily implemented in the clinical setting for better risk assessment.
