Friday, March 14, 2025 3/14/2025

Taking a Breath after the Disaster: Homes, Mold and Health in Puerto Rico after Hurricane Maria

Award Number: R21ES029762
ORGANIZATION: NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH SCIENCES
OPDIV: NIH
AWARD CLASS: DISCRETIONARY
AWARD ACTIVITY TYPE: SCIENTIFIC/HEALTH RESEARCH (INCLUDES SURVEYS)

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PROJECT SUMMARY This study will focus on the ongoing disaster affecting the people of Puerto Rico in the aftermath of Hurricane Maria. The extremely slow pace of recovery and lack of alternative housing options have forced residents to continue to live in water-damaged homes affected by fungal contamination. The impact of these conditions on human health is of great concern, particularly for respiratory conditions such as asthma. To protect the health of residents in water-damaged buildings, we must understand the fungal communities that proliferate in damaged homes as well as the health concerns associated with these conditions and their relationship to the built environment. We hypothesize that long-term water damage to houses in Puerto Rico will result in flood-related indoor fungal communities that can activate inflammatory immune mechanisms associated with respiratory diseases. We propose to collect indoor and outdoor samples from 50 homes split between water-damaged and non-flooded (control) homes in San Juan, Puerto Rico. We will couple molecular and immunological analytical techniques to simultaneously identify indoor fungal microbiota associated with flood damage and airborne pro- inflammatory microbial compounds that contribute to poor respiratory health. We will also survey residents and assess conditions within the study homes to identify relationships between occupant respiratory health and home characteristics including flood damage, indoor fungi and pro-inflammatory potential of indoor dust. Our results will inform homeowners as well as stakeholders at the city, state and federal levels about the human health and infrastructure consequences associated with extensive and protracted water damage in homes following an extreme climatic event such as a hurricane. Understanding these consequences is essential for developing effective mitigation strategies to protect 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: 2022 ( Subtotal = -$1,703 )
2022	2019	UNIVERSITY OF PUERTO RICO	39 PONCE DE LEON AVE	SAN JUAN	PR	00931	SAN JUAN	USA	Environmental Health	000	2	8/23/2022	NON-COMPETING CONTINUATION	-$1,703
														Subtotal = -$1,703

Issue Date FY: 2021 ( Subtotal = $0 )
2021	2019	UNIVERSITY OF PUERTO RICO	39 PONCE DE LEON AVE	SAN JUAN	PR	00931	SAN JUAN	USA	Environmental Health	000	2	3/18/2021	NON-COMPETING CONTINUATION	$0
														Subtotal = $0

Issue Date FY: 2019 ( Subtotal = $218,836 )
2019	2019	UNIVERSITY OF PUERTO RICO	39 PONCE DE LEON AVE	SAN JUAN	PR	00931	SAN JUAN	USA	Environmental Health	001	2	5/28/2019	NON-COMPETING CONTINUATION	$0
2019	2019	UNIVERSITY OF PUERTO RICO	39 PONCE DE LEON AVE	SAN JUAN	PR	00931	SAN JUAN	USA	Environmental Health	000	2	3/14/2019	NON-COMPETING CONTINUATION	$218,836
														Subtotal = $218,836

Issue Date FY: 2018 ( Subtotal = $189,480 )
2018	2018	UNIVERSITY OF PUERTO RICO	39 PONCE DE LEON AVE	SAN JUAN	PR	00931	SAN JUAN	USA	Environmental Health	000	1	3/7/2018	NEW	$189,480
														Subtotal = $189,480

Grand Total All Awards = $406,613

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Taking a Breath after the Disaster: Homes, Mold and Health in Puerto Rico after Hurricane Maria

Award Number: R21ES029762

ORGANIZATION: NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH SCIENCES

OPDIV: NIH

AWARD CLASS: DISCRETIONARY

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

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