Federal Grant Award Summary

Seattle Children's Research Institute received a $893,522 Project Grant from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) under the Cardiovascular Diseases Research program (CFDA 93.837), awarded May 1, 2026, with completion targeted for April 30, 2031. The award funds the HOME AIR POLLUTION IN CHILDREN WITH CYSTIC FIBROSIS (HEROIC-CF) project, which investigates the relationship between ambient air pollution exposure and lung disease severity in children with cystic fibrosis (CF), with particular focus on health disparities affecting Hispanic children with CF.

The research deliverables include epidemiological analysis utilizing two major datasets—the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation Patient Registry and the University of Washington Spatiotemporal Air Pollution Exposure Model—to determine whether neighborhood-level air pollution exposure differs between Hispanic and non-Hispanic white children with CF and how such exposure correlates with pulmonary disease progression. The multidisciplinary research team will examine non-genetic environmental factors that account for approximately 50 percent of lung disease severity variability in CF populations. Research outputs are expected to generate critical evidence regarding environmental drivers of health disparities in Hispanic children with CF and inform understanding of air pollution's influence on lung disease severity across the broader pediatric CF population.