Professor Xiangdong Li of the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering has recently been awarded RMB15 million from the Major Research Plan of National Natural Science Foundation of China for a two-year (2021-2022) integrated project entitled “Joint toxicity mechanisms and contributions of key bioactive components in airborne fine particulate matters (PM_2.5) from typical urban areas of China”.

In collaboration with the Research Center for Eco-Environmental Sciences of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Peking University, and Tongji University, Professor Li and his research team will adopt advanced approaches from computational toxicology to machine learning, live-cell imaging, multi-omics, and genome editing to find out what key toxic constituents and their mixtures are responsible for PM_2.5-related health effects. More importantly, the research study will help provide scientific evidence and technical support for precise mitigation of high-risk bioactive components, which is essential in formulating strategies to address the low-to-medium PM_2.5 pollution issues in China.