Understanding COPD Across Populations, Exposures, and Biological Scales

Our COPD research investigates how environmental exposures, social determinants, biological susceptibility, and access to healthcare influence disease risk, onset, and progression. In Arkansas where COPD is currently the 3^rd leading cause of death, we are developing a rural lung health program focused on understanding the burden and determinants of COPD, particularly among rural and underserved communities. Our global public health research in Mysuru, India, in collaboration with the Mysuru Study on Determinants of Health in Rural Adults (MUDHRA), JSS Medical College and Hospital, investigates the respiratory health effects of household biomass-smoke exposure. This study is focused among non-smoking women where exposure is closely linked to social and gender disparities. A well-characterized cohort of approximately 1,400 participants is being followed longitudinally, with population and clinical observations integrated with biomarker discovery. Complementary mechanistic studies use human bronchial and alveolar mucosa models developed at the air-liquid interface to investigate the molecular toxicity of wood smoke and identify mechanisms relevant to COPD development, onset, and progression. This study is supported by the Swedish Heart Lung Foundation since 2018.