AirTox Lab

Air toxics (AirTox) are harmful chemicals found in the air we breathe—whether indoors at home, in offices, or outdoors. The AirTox Lab is dedicated to evaluating exposure levels and the health risks associated with these pollutants.

Our team employs both established and innovative methodologies to measure air toxic exposures, with a special focus on vulnerable populations living in real-world environments.

We also implement human biomonitoring techniques to assess internal doses. This is achieved by measuring candidate biomarkers that signal either exposure to air toxics or the onset of early biological effects.

Team

Current Members

  • Dr. Sneha Patil – NIH Global Health Fellow and PhD Candidate
    Research Focus: Exposure to environmental tobacco smoke and risk of early childhood caries
  • Mr. Sudhakar Rao – Lab Manager and PhD Candidate
    Research Focus: Exposure to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and risk of low-birth weight in HAPIN cohort
  • Ms. Divya Jaykumar – Research Fellow
    Research Focus: Exposure to air toxics and risk of low-birth weight in REACH cohort

Ongoing Projects

  • Project Title: Prenatal Exposures to Air Toxics and Its Effect on Birth Weight
    Funding Agency: National Institutes of Health (NIH), USA
    Duration: 2023 – 2028
  • Project Title: Association Between Exposures to Environmental Tobacco Smoke (ETS) and Early Childhood Caries (ECC) in HAPIN Children
    Funding Agency: Fogarty International Center (FIC), NIH, USA
    Duration: 2023 – 2025

For full list of publications click here

Admissions