The city of Santiago, Chile, ranks as one of the most polluted cities in the world. Epidemiologic studies have demonstrated a consistent link between sudden cardiac deaths and particulate air pollution in the United  States. A recent examination of cause-of-death data from a long-term study tying particle pollution to mortality revealed that more deaths are attributed to cardiovascular disease than pulmonary disease.  With DRCLAS support from a Workshop Grant,  Professor Parker along with Professor Jorge Jalil in Santiago are working in an initiative that began with a successfully placed undergraduate Harvard researcher during summer 2007,   in the lab of Dr. Jalil. In the past year, Dr. Parker have traveled to give a lecture at Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile in Santiago, and  hosted a delegation of scientists from Dr. Jalil’s lab.

These exchanges resulted in learning about each others research, Dr. Jalil’s  in vivo models of vasospasm and vascular disease, and Dr. Parker’s research with in vitro models of vasospasm and vascular disease. Discussions during these meetings led to the conclusion that the research programs both suggested that coronary vasospasm may contribute to the incidence of sudden cardiac death during periods of sustained air pollution.  In the summer 2008 will the first exchange of a SEAS graduate student to Dr. Jalil’s lab. The aim is to promote an exchange of trainees between the laboratories while seeking funding by global health agencies, as  well  transfer lessons learned in the future from the studies in Cambridge and Santiago to other Latin American countries.

Participating Harvard faculty: Kit Parker, Ph.D. Assistant Professor of Biomedical Engineering on the Gordon McKay Endowment, Division of Engineering and Applied Sciences

Collaborator: Jorge Jalil, M.D., Department of Cardiovascular Diseases, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile

Collaborative Institution:  Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile