Traviss Receives COBRE Funding for Biodiesel Fuel Exposure Study

Dr. Nora Traviss (TDS) is one of three New Hampshire scientists who recently received $10.5 million from the National Institutes of Health to extend a Dartmouth-led collaboration for research and training to prevent and cure respiratory illnesses. The five-year award renews support through the Centers of Biomedical Research Excellence (COBRE), a federal program established by NIH to augment and strengthen the biomedical research capabilities of small or rural states.

In 2003 Keene State researchers, led by Dr. Melinda Treadwell, received $1 million of a $12 million, five-year grant from the National Institutes of Health to identify and characterize the metallic components of pollutants present in occupational and environmental settings across the Northeast and the effects these metals have on exposed individuals.

The renewed funding supports projects that focus on cystic fibrosis, lung inflammation, lung cancer, and the effect of biodiesel fuel on air quality and human health. Dartmouth researchers will collaborate with Dr. Traviss, who will determine if the use of biodiesel fuel compared to petroleum diesel reduces the harmful exposures and health effects associated with emissions of diesel vehicles.

“This project will enhance our active collaboration with colleagues at Dartmouth Medical School, the University of Vermont, and the National Renewable Energy Laboratories in Colorado,” said Dean Treadwell. “Nora’s research, and our collaboration with BBR and the City of Keene, will help to identify the blend of petroleum and biodiesel fuel that will provide the most significant public health and environmental benefit.”