Thursday, Sep 11, 2025 • Brian Lopez : Contact

Airborne pollutants inside urban homes—such as particulate matter, mold, volatile organic compounds, and harmful gasses like nitrogen dioxide and carbon monoxide—can quietly trigger coughing, asthma flare-ups and other respiratory problems.

To tackle these hidden health hazards and help families breathe easier, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development has awarded the University of Texas at Arlington an $860,147 research grant to investigate the effects of residential interventions—changes or improvements made within homes to reduce indoor air pollutants and improve health outcomes—in urban homes across Dallas-Fort Worth.

Insung Kang, assistant professor of civil engineering and director of the Built Environment and Health Research Group at UTA, will lead the study.

“This grant will allow us to take a comprehensive approach to testing different residential interventions to improve air quality and health in homes,” Dr. Kang said. “We will evaluate how energy recovery ventilators, which provide filtered outdoor air for the whole home, and portable High-Efficiency Particulate Air (HEPA) cleaners, which remove airborne particles in targeted rooms, differ in their effectiveness at reducing exposure to indoor pollutants and helping to improve asthma-related health outcomes.”

The Environmental Protection Agency says the air inside homes can be two to five times more polluted than the air outside. In cities, the problem is even worse. Homes may be close to heavy traffic areas or other outdoor pollution that can seep inside, while also dealing with indoor sources like cooking and cleaning products. Together, these create a harmful mix of indoor air contaminants.

The study brings together a team of leading experts in engineering and environmental health, including June Young Park, assistant professor of civil engineering at UTA; Yike Shen, assistant professor of earth and environmental sciences at UTA; and local community partner Tia LaFavor, the executive director of Rebuilding Together North Texas, a nonprofit organization dedicated to repairing and improving homes for low-income families.

“Rebuilding Together North Texas is proud to partner on this important study to address the hidden hazards inside homes that directly impact families’ health,” LaFavor said. “By connecting research with the realities our neighbors face, we can ensure healthier, safer homes and stronger communities. As executive director, I see how critical it is to tackle these issues head-on so that families don’t have to choose between their health and their home.”

The study is recruiting participants diagnosed with asthma who live in a non-smoking home they own. Those interested should email insung.kang@uta.edu.

Kang’s research supports UTA’s broader mission to advance health and sustainability. Findings from the study will be shared with policymakers and housing authorities to help guide future regulations and initiatives that promote healthier indoor environments.

“As engineers, we can create solutions that make a difference in the quality of life for our communities,” said Peter Crouch, dean of the College of Engineering. “This grant will help Dr. Kang pursue this important research, which could be a major step toward improving the health and well-being of a large segment of the population.”

About The University of Texas at Arlington (UTA)

Celebrating its 130^th anniversary in 2025, The University of Texas at Arlington is a growing public research university in the heart of the thriving Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex. With a student body of over 41,000, UTA is the second-largest institution in the University of Texas System, offering more than 180 undergraduate and graduate degree programs. Recognized as a Carnegie R-1 university, UTA stands among the nation’s top 5% of institutions for research activity. UTA and its 280,000 alumni generate an annual economic impact of $28.8 billion for the state. The University has received the Innovation and Economic Prosperity designation from the Association of Public and Land Grant Universities and has earned recognition for its focus on student access and success, considered key drivers to economic growth and social progress for North Texas and beyond.