Thursday, September 18, 2025 9/18/2025

Defining the Harmful Effects of Microplastics on Gastrointestinal Health

Award Number: R01ES032037
ORGANIZATION: NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH SCIENCES
OPDIV: NIH
AWARD CLASS: DISCRETIONARY
AWARD ACTIVITY TYPE: SCIENTIFIC/HEALTH RESEARCH (INCLUDES SURVEYS)
PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE START DATE: 09/22/2022
PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE END DATE: 06/30/2027

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Defining the Harmful Effects of Microplastics on Gastrointestinal Health - Program Director/Principal Investigator: Castillo, Eliseo, F PROJECT SUMMARY Plastic pollution and the breakdown of plastic materials primarily into micron-sized microplastic particles (MP) have contaminated our food and water sources, raising public health concerns. MP ingestion by humans is now an inevitable consequence of global plastic pollution and there is a critical gap in knowledge as to how MP impact human health (WHO). There is also an important gap in knowledge regarding how MP affect the major direct organ of contact, the gastrointestinal (GI) tract. The studies proposed in this grant application seek to bridge this gap in environmental health knowledge and provide insight into how MP pose a significant health risk to the general population as well as susceptible (i.e. Inflammatory Bowel Disease; IBD) individuals. Our preliminary data provides evidence chronic MP exposure affects the GI tract specifically causing gut dysbiosis, low-level intestinal inflammation, and alterations in cellular metabolism. Based on our preliminary studies, we advance a novel hypothesis that MP ingestion indeed pose a human health hazard by disrupting oxidative metabolism in epithelial cells subsequently causing intestinal permeability, dysbiosis, and an immunometabolic active state which could lead to intestinal inflammation. Additionally, we hypothesize MP ingestion pose a significant health risk to individuals that have an underlying condition such as intestinal inflammation as seen in IBD patients. The goals of this application are to investigate how MP induce cellular changes in intestinal epithelial cells and to determine how these MP-induced changes in cellular pathways can lead to intestinal permeability, dysbiosis and an inflammatory state. In aim 1, we will investigate the effects of varying doses and types of MP on intestinal permeability in a zebrafish model. In Aim 2, we will determine the mechanism behind MP induced dysbiosis and intestinal permeability. Aim 3 will delineate how an intact human intestinal tract responds to microplastics through the use of human colonoids derived from health patients as well as IBD patients. The information generated from this project would be a ground-breaking step with important long-term implications in understanding how MP can affect intestinal homeostasis through modulation of epithelial barrier function and overall human health.


Issue Date FY	Funding FY	Legal Entity Name	Legal Entity Address	Legal Entity City	Legal Entity State	Legal Entity Zip Code	Legal Entity COUNTY	Legal Entity COUNTRY	Assistance Listing	Award Code	Budget Year	Action Date	Action Type	Action Amount

Issue Date FY: 2025 ( Subtotal = $433,782 )
2025	2025	UNIVERSITY OF NEW MEXICO	1 UNIVERSITY OF NEW MEXICO	ALBUQUERQUE	NM	87131	BERNALILLO	USA	Environmental Health	001	4	8/7/2025	SUPPLEMENT FOR EXPANSION	$63,601
2025	2025	UNIVERSITY OF NEW MEXICO	1 UNIVERSITY OF NEW MEXICO	ALBUQUERQUE	NM	87131	BERNALILLO	USA	Environmental Health	000	4	8/4/2025	NON-COMPETING CONTINUATION	$370,181
														Subtotal = $433,782

Issue Date FY: 2024 ( Subtotal = $433,782 )
2024	2024	UNIVERSITY OF NEW MEXICO	1 UNIVERSITY OF NEW MEXICO	ALBUQUERQUE	NM	87131	BERNALILLO	USA	Environmental Health	000	3	6/3/2024	NON-COMPETING CONTINUATION	$370,181
2024	2024	UNIVERSITY OF NEW MEXICO	1 UNIVERSITY OF NEW MEXICO	ALBUQUERQUE	NM	87131	BERNALILLO	USA	Environmental Health	001	3	6/5/2024	SUPPLEMENT FOR EXPANSION	$63,601
														Subtotal = $433,782

Issue Date FY: 2023 ( Subtotal = $370,181 )
2023	2023	UNIVERSITY OF NEW MEXICO	1 UNIVERSITY OF NEW MEXICO	ALBUQUERQUE	NM	87131	BERNALILLO	USA	Environmental Health	000	2	6/27/2023	NON-COMPETING CONTINUATION	$370,181
														Subtotal = $370,181

Issue Date FY: 2022 ( Subtotal = $383,236 )
2022	2022	UNIVERSITY OF NEW MEXICO	2500 MARBLE DR NE	ALBUQUERQUE	NM	87131	BERNALILLO	USA	Environmental Health	000	1	9/21/2022	NEW	$383,236
														Subtotal = $383,236

Grand Total All Awards = $1,620,981

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Defining the Harmful Effects of Microplastics on Gastrointestinal Health

Award Number: R01ES032037

ORGANIZATION: NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH SCIENCES

OPDIV: NIH

AWARD CLASS: DISCRETIONARY

AWARD ACTIVITY TYPE: SCIENTIFIC/HEALTH RESEARCH (INCLUDES SURVEYS)

PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE START DATE: 09/22/2022

PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE END DATE: 06/30/2027

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