The Respiratory, Environmental, and Genetic Epidemiology Research Group at the Channing Laboratory, Department of Medicine, Brigham and Women’s Hospital is a 27-investigator, 120-person Research Group involved in examining the origins and risk factors for the development of asthma and COPD. The Group’s research interests include environmental exposures and genetic risk factors for these diseases.

The Laboratory is funded by research grants, primarily from the National Institutes of Health which total $10 million in direct costs per year. The Laboratory has active research programs in asthma genetics, COPD genetics, the effects of the heavy metals on cognitive function and cardiovascular disease risk, early childhood asthma, with grants examining diet, allergens, stress, and bowel flora as they influence the development of asthma in early life. There is an active program in the pharmacogenetics of asthma treatment, an active program in asthma and COPD health policy, an active program in the health effects of particulate air pollution on cardiovascular disease and diabetes, a program examining diesel exhaust and its relationship to lung cancer risk, and a variety of other environmental and genetic research projects. The Laboratory is internationally recognized and has had international collaborations with investigators in China, Norway, Mexico, Costa Rica, Denmark, Poland, Korea, the United Kingdom, Puerto Rico, and the Netherlands. The Laboratory has two active T32 Training Programs: one in the Clinical and Genetic Epidemiology of Lung Diseases, and the second in Environmental Factors Influencing Cognitive Function. Fellows receive didactic course training at the Harvard School of Public Health and the Harvard Medical School, as well as the Harvard Faculty of Arts and Sciences. The Laboratory maintains a high throughput genotyping and sequencing laboratory with extensive bioinformatics infrastructure and support, including an active LIMS system for managing the over 50 projects that collect biologic samples. The computer system consists of over 12 SUN servers supported by two system administrators and two PC administrators and also provides important infrastructure for the Group. The Laboratory produces approximately 70-100 new manuscripts per year. A listing of last year’s manuscripts is provided on the website, as well as a list of all of the faculty with their CVs.