EPSCoR Research Fellows: NSF: Understanding Lung Exposures & Toxicity of E-cigarettes & Cannabis Aerosols with Unregulated Synthetic Cooling Agents & a Novel In Vitro Lung System

This project aims to investigate the health risks of e-cigarettes and cannabis aerosols, especially new products mixed with synthetic cooling agents, whose health effects are under-researched. These inhalable aerosols are popular among youth and Native American communities in Oklahoma, where vaping rates exceed the state average. The project will utilize an advanced, physiologically realistic artificial lung system to quantify how these aerosols affect the human respiratory system.

This fellowship offers the lead researcher training in lung exposure and toxicity quantification while building a sustainable partnership with world-renowned environmental health scientists at the University of Los Angeles (UCLA). The research will provide insightful data and methodology to guide public health policies to mitigate the risks of emerging underregulated vaping products.

By developing a similar experimental lung system at Oklahoma State University (OSU), this fellowship will help the lead researcher establish a state-of-the-art multidisciplinary research program, enhancing OSU’s infrastructure and fostering new collaborations in public health. The project also offers outreach activities and courses by integrating cutting-edge aerosol exposure research into K-12, undergraduate, and graduate STEM education, particularly benefiting underserved Native American communities.

These efforts will foster diversity in STEM and prepare the next-generation scientists to address public health challenges. Aligned with the NSF's mission, this project will advance environmental health knowledge and support public welfare.

This Research Infrastructure Improvement EPSCoR Research Fellows project will provide a fellowship to an Associate Professor and training for a graduate student at OSU. The proposed fellowship aims to leverage a cutting-edge in vitro artificial lung system to study pulmonary health risks associated with vaping aerosols from e-cigarettes and cannabis, particularly those containing unregulated additives like synthetic cooling agents (e.g., Wilkinson Sword (WS)-3 and WS-23).

The project will address critical gaps in understanding the health impacts of these emerging aerosols, especially among youth and Native American populations in Oklahoma. Specifically, the fellowship supports a collaborative effort between OSU and UCLA, under the guidance of Professor Yifang Zhu, focusing on advanced exposure and toxicity risk assessment using UCLA’s state-of-the-art in vitro artificial lung system.

The research objectives include quantifying the exposure and toxicity levels of e-cigarette and cannabis aerosols, analyzing subject-specific lung responses, and developing a next-generation artificial lung system at OSU. Three specific aims will guide this project: (1) Quantify exposure and toxicity levels of various vaping aerosol components, (2) Assess variability in lung responses using the in vitro artificial lung system, and (3) Build and validate a next-generation in vitro artificial lung system at OSU.

These efforts will lead to new research capabilities in Oklahoma, improve public health policy development, and enhance OSU’s respiratory and environmental health research infrastructure. The project will address vaping-related health risks, particularly in underserved communities, and foster future interdisciplinary collaborations and education in pulmonary health research.

This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.