About
Dr. Koenig's main research interest is the respiratory and cardiac health effects of air pollution and especially the responses of individuals judged to be susceptible, such as persons with asthma or other chronic respiratory diseases. She has studied associations between wood smoke and lung function in young children and associations between emergency room visits for asthma and particulate matter air pollution in Seattle. Dr. Koenig is the director of a new EPA Northwest Research Center for Particulate Air Pollution and Health as of June 1999. The objective for the Center is to evaluate unique components of particulate matter in Western States and to test for association with health outcomes. Dr. Koenig's current research activities fall into three general areas which are designed to address the respiratory risks of air pollutants: Controlled laboratory studies using human subjects. Field or epidemiological studies evaluating respiratory health in populations exposed to fine particulate matter from wood smoke or other sources in their neighborhoods. Assessment of physiologic, biochemical or morphological changes in cultured human epithelial cells after air pollutant exposure.
