R44ES033586
Project Grant
Overview
Grant Description
Development of a route of exposure model using silicone wristbands as personal samplers - project summary. The major goal of this SBIR is to overcome critical barriers to wide-spread adoption and market expansion of silicone wristbands (SWBs) as a tool for highly personalized environmental monitoring. SWBs represent a recent research-based sampling approach in over 70 publications representing 1000s of participants and 100s of detected chemicals but is not available to the consumer market.
Using SWBs is appealing because they are easy to wear, have a wide range of potential capture, and do not require training, energy, or maintenance. However, there are several key problems that need to be addressed: 1. The cost of analysis is currently too high to expand to the consumer market. One way to reduce costs and lower prices is to focus chemical analyses on high impact compounds that are detected frequently and of high interest (toxicologically and topically). 2. The effect and magnitude of skin and air exposures when reporting chemical data from SWBs is not well understood.
This makes SWB data communication challenging, and back-calculations to compare against published benchmarks (OSHA/EPA/ETC.) or other published data difficult. The complexity of wristband data poses novel challenges for reporting results back to researchers, let alone people with less exposure science experience in the consumer market. The range and complexity of chemical exposures that can be measured represent challenges that must be addressed to provide meaningful information for all potential users of the technology.
The proposed application describes using real-world SWB data to validate chemical lists of high interest compounds as well as models developed in Phase I to help predict dominant routes of exposure. Additionally for Phase II, we will gather real-world feedback to finalize chemical exposure reports suitable to a wide audience. SWBs will be used in paired configurations (“traditional” and “air-only”) that will distinguish routes of exposure and be analyzed for over 1500 chemical compounds including volatiles, pesticides, flame retardants, phthalates, fragrances, and food-related chemicals.
There are four aims to this proposal: 1) validate a focused chemical list from internal data and Phase I to simplify a new and cheaper chemical analysis, 2) determine if dermal contact is a significant proportion of chemical exposure through a field demonstration among 300 individuals, 3) optimize and validate predictive exposure models, and 4) create a new chemical exposure report with the help of expert partners like ICF and Silent Spring. With up to 600 samples screened for over 1500 organic chemicals and report feedback from 300 individuals, these datasets will address critical research goals and create new markets and opportunities.
Using SWBs is appealing because they are easy to wear, have a wide range of potential capture, and do not require training, energy, or maintenance. However, there are several key problems that need to be addressed: 1. The cost of analysis is currently too high to expand to the consumer market. One way to reduce costs and lower prices is to focus chemical analyses on high impact compounds that are detected frequently and of high interest (toxicologically and topically). 2. The effect and magnitude of skin and air exposures when reporting chemical data from SWBs is not well understood.
This makes SWB data communication challenging, and back-calculations to compare against published benchmarks (OSHA/EPA/ETC.) or other published data difficult. The complexity of wristband data poses novel challenges for reporting results back to researchers, let alone people with less exposure science experience in the consumer market. The range and complexity of chemical exposures that can be measured represent challenges that must be addressed to provide meaningful information for all potential users of the technology.
The proposed application describes using real-world SWB data to validate chemical lists of high interest compounds as well as models developed in Phase I to help predict dominant routes of exposure. Additionally for Phase II, we will gather real-world feedback to finalize chemical exposure reports suitable to a wide audience. SWBs will be used in paired configurations (“traditional” and “air-only”) that will distinguish routes of exposure and be analyzed for over 1500 chemical compounds including volatiles, pesticides, flame retardants, phthalates, fragrances, and food-related chemicals.
There are four aims to this proposal: 1) validate a focused chemical list from internal data and Phase I to simplify a new and cheaper chemical analysis, 2) determine if dermal contact is a significant proportion of chemical exposure through a field demonstration among 300 individuals, 3) optimize and validate predictive exposure models, and 4) create a new chemical exposure report with the help of expert partners like ICF and Silent Spring. With up to 600 samples screened for over 1500 organic chemicals and report feedback from 300 individuals, these datasets will address critical research goals and create new markets and opportunities.
Awardee
Funding Goals
TO FOSTER UNDERSTANDING OF HUMAN HEALTH EFFECTS OF EXPOSURE TO ENVIRONMENTAL AGENTS IN THE HOPE THAT THESE STUDIES WILL LEAD TO: THE IDENTIFICATION OF AGENTS THAT POSE A HAZARD AND THREAT OF DISEASE, DISORDERS AND DEFECTS IN HUMANS, THE DEVELOPMENT OF EFFECTIVE PUBLIC HEALTH OR DISEASE PREVENTION STRATEGIES, THE OVERALL IMPROVEMENT OF HUMAN HEALTH EFFECTS DUE TO ENVIRONMENTAL AGENTS, THE DEVELOPMENT OF PRODUCTS AND TECHNOLOGIES DESIGNED TO BETTER STUDY OR AMELIORATE THE EFFECTS OF ENVIRONMENTAL AGENTS, AND THE SUCCESSFUL TRAINING OF RESEARCH SCIENTISTS IN ALL AREAS OF ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH RESEARCH. SUPPORTED GRANT PROGRAMS FOCUS ON THE FOLLOWING AREAS: (1) UNDERSTANDING BIOLOGICAL RESPONSES TO ENVIRONMENTAL AGENTS BY DETERMINING HOW CHEMICAL AND PHYSICAL AGENTS CAUSE PATHOLOGICAL CHANGES IN MOLECULES, CELLS, TISSUES, AND ORGANS, AND BECOME MANIFESTED AS RESPIRATORY DISEASE, NEUROLOGICAL, BEHAVIORAL AND DEVELOPMENTAL ABNORMALITIES, CANCER, AND OTHER DISORDERS, (2) DETERMINING THE MECHANISMS OF TOXICITY OF UBIQUITOUS AGENTS LIKE METALS, NATURAL AND SYNTHETIC CHEMICALS, PESTICIDES, AND MATERIALS SUCH AS NANOPARTICLES, AND NATURAL TOXIC SUBSTANCES, AND THEIR EFFECTS OF ON VARIOUS HUMAN ORGAN SYSTEMS, ON METABOLISM, ON THE ENDOCRINE AND IMMUNE SYSTEMS, AND ON OTHER BIOLOGICAL FUNCTIONS, (3) DEVELOPING AND INTEGRATING SCIENTIFIC KNOWLEDGE ABOUT POTENTIALLY TOXIC AND HAZARDOUS CHEMICALS BY CONCENTRATING ON TOXICOLOGICAL RESEARCH, TESTING, TEST DEVELOPMENT, VALIDATION AND RISK ESTIMATION, (4) IDENTIFYING INTERACTIONS BETWEEN ENVIRONMENTAL STRESSORS AND GENETIC SUSCEPTIBILITY AND UNDERSTANDING BIOLOGIC MECHANISMS UNDERLYING THESE INTERACTIONS, INCLUDING THE STUDY OF ENVIRONMENTAL INFLUENCES ON EPIGENOMICS AND TRANSCRIPTIONAL REGULATION, (5) CONDUCTING ENVIRONMENTAL PUBLIC HEALTH RESEARCH, INCLUDING IN AREAS OF ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE AND HEALTH DISPARITIES, THAT REQUIRES COMMUNITIES AS ACTIVE PARTICIPANTS IN ALL STAGES OF RESEARCH, DISSEMINATION, AND EVALUATION TO ADVANCE BOTH THE SCIENCE AND THE DEVELOPMENT OF PRACTICAL MATERIALS FOR USE IN COMMUNITIES, WITH A FOCUS ON TRANSLATING RESEARCH FINDINGS INTO TOOLS, MATERIALS, AND RESOURCES THAT CAN BE USED TO PREVENT, REDUCE, OR ELIMINATE ADVERSE HEALTH OUTCOMES CAUSED BY ENVIRONMENTAL EXPOSURES, (6) EXPANDING AND IMPROVING THE SBIR PROGRAM, TO INCREASE PRIVATE SECTOR COMMERCIALIZATION OF INNOVATIONS DERIVED FROM FEDERAL RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT, TO INCREASE SMALL BUSINESS PARTICIPATION IN FEDERAL RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT, AND TO FOSTER AND ENCOURAGE PARTICIPATION OF SOCIALLY AND ECONOMICALLY DISADVANTAGED SMALL BUSINESS CONCERNS AND WOMEN-OWNED SMALL BUSINESS CONCERNS IN TECHNOLOGICAL INNOVATION, (7) EXPANDING AND IMPROVING THE STTR PROGRAM TO STIMULATE AND FOSTER SCIENTIFIC AND TECHNOLOGICAL INNOVATION THROUGH COOPERATIVE RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT CARRIED OUT BETWEEN SMALL BUSINESS CONCERNS AND RESEARCH INSTITUTIONS, TO FOSTER TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER BETWEEN SMALL BUSINESS CONCERNS AND RESEARCH INSTITUTIONS, TO INCREASE PRIVATE SECTOR COMMERCIALIZATION OF INNOVATIONS DERIVED FROM FEDERAL RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT, AND TO FOSTER AND ENCOURAGE PARTICIPATION OF SOCIALLY AND ECONOMICALLY DISADVANTAGED SMALL BUSINESS CONCERNS AND WOMEN-OWNED SMALL BUSINESS CONCERNS IN TECHNOLOGICAL INNOVATION, (8) PROVIDING SUPPORT FOR BROADLY BASED MULTI-DISCIPLINARY RESEARCH AND TRAINING PROGRAMS IN ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH .THESE PROGRAMS INCLUDE THE ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH SCIENCES CORE CENTERS , WHICH SERVE AS NATIONAL FOCAL POINTS AND RESOURCES FOR RESEARCH AND MANPOWER DEVELOPMENT. THROUGH THESE PROGRAMS, NIEHS EXPECTS TO ACHIEVE THE LONG-RANGE GOAL OF DEVELOPING NEW CLINICAL AND PUBLIC HEALTH APPLICATIONS TO IMPROVE DISEASE PREVENTION, DIAGNOSIS, AND THERAPY. ADDITIONAL CENTERS PROGRAMS DEVELOPED IN RECENT YEARS, INCLUDE THE CENTERS FOR OCEANS AND HUMAN HEALTH (CO-FUNDED WITH NSF), CHILDREN'S ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH CENTERS (CO-FUNDED WITH US EPA) AND THE AUTISM CENTERS OF EXCELLENCE (CO-FUNDED WITH OTHER NIH INSTITUTES), AND THE HUMAN HEALTH EXPOSURE ANALYSIS RESOURCE (HHEAR) PROGRAM, (9) SUPPORTING RESEARCH TRAINING PROGRAMS WHICH SERVE TO INCREASE THE POOL OF TRAINED RESEARCH MANPOWER WITH NEEDED EXPERTISE IN THE ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH SCIENCES THROUGH SUPPORT OF INDIVIDUAL AND INSTITUTIONAL NATIONAL RESEARCH SERVICE AWARDS (NRSAS), (10) THE OUTSTANDING NEW ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENTIST PROGRAM WHICH PROVIDES FIRST TIME RESEARCH GRANT FUNDING TO OUTSTANDING JUNIOR SCIENTISTS IN THE FORMATIVE STAGES OF THEIR CAREER WHO ARE PROPOSING TO MAKE A LONG TERM COMMITMENT TO ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH SCIENCES RESEARCH AND TO ADDRESS THE ADVERSE EFFECTS ON ENVIRONMENTAL EXPOSURES ON HUMAN BIOLOGY, HUMAN PATHOPHYSIOLOGY AND HUMAN DISEASE.
Grant Program (CFDA)
Awarding / Funding Agency
Place of Performance
Corvallis,
Oregon
973331044
United States
Geographic Scope
Single Zip Code
Related Opportunity
Analysis Notes
Amendment Since initial award the total obligations have increased 116% from $896,020 to $1,932,617.
Myexposome was awarded
Project Grant R44ES033586
worth $1,932,617
from the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences in March 2024 with work to be completed primarily in Corvallis Oregon United States.
The grant
has a duration of 2 years and
was awarded through assistance program 93.113 Environmental Health.
The Project Grant was awarded through grant opportunity PHS 2022-2 Omnibus Solicitation of the NIH, CDC and FDA for Small Business Innovation Research Grant Applications (Parent SBIR [R43/R44] Clinical Trial Not Allowed).
SBIR Details
Research Type
SBIR Phase II
Title
Development of a Route of Exposure Model Using Silicone Wristbands as Personal Samplers
Abstract
Project Summary The major goal of this SBIR is to overcome critical barriers to wide-spread adoption and market expansion of Silicone Wristbands (SWBs) as a tool for highly personalized environmental monitoring. SWBs represent a recent research-based sampling approach in over 70 publications representing 1000s of participants and 100s of detected chemicals but is not available to the consumer market. Using SWBs is appealing because they are easy to wear, have a wide range of potential capture, and do not require training, energy, or maintenance. However, there are several key problems that need to be addressed: 1. The cost of analysis is currently too high to expand to the consumer market. One way to reduce costs and lower prices is to focus chemical analyses on high impact compounds that are detected frequently and of high interest (toxicologically and topically). 2. The effect and magnitude of skin and air exposures when reporting chemical data from SWBs is not well understood. This makes SWB data communication challenging, and back-calculations to compare against published benchmarks (OSHA/EPA/etc.) or other published data difficult. 3. The complexity of wristband data poses novel challenges for reporting results back to researchers, let alone people with less exposure science experience in the consumer market. The range and complexity of chemical exposures that can be measured represent challenges that must be addressed to provide meaningful information for all potential users of the technology. The proposed application describes using real-world SWB data to validate chemical lists of high interest compounds as well as models developed in Phase I to help predict dominant routes of exposure. Additionally for Phase II, we will gather real-world feedback to finalize chemical exposure reports suitable to a wide audience. SWBs will be used in paired configurations (“traditional” and “air-only”) that will distinguish routes of exposure and be analyzed for over 1500 chemical compounds including volatiles, pesticides, flame retardants, phthalates, fragrances, and food-related chemicals. There are four Aims to this proposal: 1) validate a focused chemical list from internal data and Phase I to simplify a new and cheaper chemical analysis, 2) determine if dermal contact is a significant proportion of chemical exposure through a field demonstration among 300 individuals , 3) optimize and validate predictive exposure models, and 4) create a new chemical exposure report with the help of expert partners like ICF and Silent Spring. With up to 600 samples screened for over 1500 organic chemicals and report feedback from 300 individuals, these datasets will address critical research goals and create new markets and opportunities.
Topic Code
R
Solicitation Number
PA22-176
Status
(Ongoing)
Last Modified 3/5/25
Period of Performance
3/1/24
Start Date
2/28/26
End Date
Funding Split
$1.9M
Federal Obligation
$0.0
Non-Federal Obligation
$1.9M
Total Obligated
Activity Timeline
Transaction History
Modifications to R44ES033586
Additional Detail
Award ID FAIN
R44ES033586
SAI Number
R44ES033586-1344098751
Award ID URI
SAI UNAVAILABLE
Awardee Classifications
Small Business
Awarding Office
75NV00 NIH National Institute of Enviromental Health Sciences
Funding Office
75NV00 NIH National Institute of Enviromental Health Sciences
Awardee UEI
CA4JAALGFMU3
Awardee CAGE
78F49
Performance District
OR-04
Senators
Jeff Merkley
Ron Wyden
Ron Wyden
Modified: 3/5/25