The purpose of the award is to fund EPA's contribution to the health effects institute (HEI), a public-private partnership established by EPA and the american automotive industry to conduct…

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), through its Office of Air and Radiation, awarded the Health Effects Institute $15 million on September 1, 2025, under the Surveys, Studies, Research, Investigations, Demonstrations, and Special Purpose Activities Relating to the Clean Air Act program (CFDA 66.034). This five-year project grant, extending through August 31, 2030, funds EPA's contribution to the Health Effects Institute's 2025-2030 Strategic Plan, specifically supporting the Environment and Health Theme. The Institute will conduct independent, peer-reviewed research on the health impacts of motor vehicle emissions, fuels, and air pollution sources, with emphasis on exposures to complex mixtures of criteria and hazardous air pollutants from evolving transportation technologies and their heterogeneous effects on urban and rural communities across the United States.

Under this award, the Health Effects Institute will develop competitive research solicitations through expert committees, establish a research committee to select and oversee funded studies, and conduct rigorous peer reviews through its review committee to synthesize findings. Research activities will encompass measurement and modeling studies of air pollution emissions and exposures, toxicological studies of health impact mechanisms, and epidemiological studies of health outcomes. All study results will be subject to quality assurance audits and made freely available to the public, providing decision-makers in both the public and private sectors with impartial, high-quality science on air pollution's health effects.

The purpose of the award is to fund EPA's contribution to the health effects institute (HEI), a public-private partnership established by EPA and the american automotive industry to conduct independent research on the health impacts of motor vehicle emissions, fuels, and other sources of air pollution. HEI's mission is to provide public and private decision makers with independent, impartial, timely, and high-quality science on the health effects of air pollution. EPA's funding will contribute to the implementation of the environment and health theme of HEI's 2025-2030 strategic plan, which encompasses research on exposures to complex mixtures of criteria and hazardous air pollutants, from a rapidly evolving mix of technologies in the transportation sector, in the context of a changing background of pollution sources and meteorological drivers, with heterogeneous impacts on urban and rural communities across the united states. Activities:the health effects institute, working through expert committees under the oversight of an independent board of directors, will develop research solicitations to address the research needs that have been identified in its strategic plan through consultation with EPA, industry sponsors, and other stakeholders. The HEI research committee will solicit competitive proposals, select studies for funding, and oversee the research of funded studies. The HEI review committee will conduct expert peer reviews of funded study reports and provide summaries and commentaries to place the research findings of each study into a broader context. The research conducted may involve measurement and modeling studies of air pollution emissions and exposures, toxicological studies of the mechanisms of health impacts, and epidemiological studies of health outcomes. All studies will be subject to rigorous peer review and appropriate quality assurance audits, and all results will be made freely available to the fullest extent possible.subrecipient:the main objective of HEI is to fund competitively-selected, targeted research projects to address the research needs identified by HEI's public and private sponsors in its 5-year strategic plan (which is consistent with this grant application). The successful applicants for these subawards are limited to charging no more than 30% of their expenditures for indirect costs. During the period of this grant, HEI expects to issue 1 request for applications (RFA) per year based on the priority topics in the grant application. Based on prior experience, we estimate that each RFA will produce 4 - 8 research studies for a total of between 20 and 40 subawards. Applications are solicited through rfas, which are posted on the HEI website and communicated to a broad group of researchers. Applications are peer reviewed and evaluated by independent scientific experts. The evaluations are presented to the research committee, which conducts an additional review and selects applications for funding. Final funding approval is given by the HEI board of directors after reviewing the entire selection process. Outcomes:deliverables include annual progress and final reports. Deliverables will also include an HEI report for each study funded by HEI. Each study report will undergo extensive peer review and will be accompanied by a commentary by the HEI review committee that identifies the strengths and weaknesses of the study and describes the findings in the context of the larger research literature. These reports will provide a clear articulation of what is has been learned from the funded research and what questions remain. In addition, HEI staff have increasingly provided webinars and research briefs to highlight recent reports and communicate the results to interested audiences. Expected outcomes include advancement in understanding of air pollution exposures and health effects and a strong, unbiased foundation for decision-making. Direct beneficiaries include the auto