College Level Course: Air Pollution — A Global Threat To Our Health, University of Copenhagen

I completed this three week college level course today, taught in part by Steffen Loft (Head of Department, Doctor of Medical Science), Peter Moller PhD (Professor), and Zorana Jovanovic Andersen PhD (Associate Professor), of the University of Copenhagen on Coursera.  This course addressed sources of air pollution, composition of air pollution, and the health effects of air pollution.  It discussed epidemiological principles of air pollution, vulnerable groups, the global burden, and suggestions regarding what to do about this looming crisis.  Millions of people die from air pollution, both indoor and outdoor.  Particulate matter and other chemicals gets into the body, and these chemicals affect our health.  I was stunned to learn how many people around the world are impacted by unclean air.  This course piggybacked with my recent observations at the University of Southern California.

At the University of Southern California, I have recently met with Dr. Caleb Finch, PhD, of the Leonard Davis School of Gerontology, and graduate students of Drs.  Constantinos Sioutas, PhD, of the Viterbi School of Engineering, and those of Dr. Finch.  They are performing inhalation exposure studies in which they expose mice to traffic emitted nano-particles and determine neuro-inflammation in their brains.  It has been fascinating and a privilege to observe their ongoing experiments, which let me to take this course to learn more about the health affects of air pollution.  I recommend it to all those interested in this subject area.