Dr. Howard Kipen is an environmental physician and epidemiologist who investigates the relationship between air pollution and acute health outcomes such as myocardial infarction (MI)  and congestive heart failure (CHF) exacerbations.  This work aims to elucidate mechanisms for the epidemiologic observations that hourly and even daily fluctuation in air pollution levels lead to increases in infarctions and CHF admissions.  He is working to identify biomarkers of the acute effects of pollution on the coagulation system, on vascular reactivity, and on systemic inflammation, all hypothesized mediators of the acute clinical effects. Current research projects include measurement of changes in platelet activation, vascular reactivity, and inflammation  in an EPA-funded  controlled inhalation study of diluted diesel exhaust in healthy subjects. A component of this study looks gene-environment interactions for snp’s in endothelial Nitric Oxide Synthase (eNOS).  Field studies include similar measurements in older diabetic patients before and after an exposure to rush hour traffic, and also correlation of right heart pressures in CHF patients with ambient air pollution levels.  He is a collaborator with David Rich on a case-crossover study of the onset of New Jersey myocardial infarctions with ambient air pollution levels.  Lastly, he is a collaborator on a Health Effects Institute study of hypothesized biomarker reductions expected from the reduction in Beijing air pollution levels during the 2008 Olympics.