HELIX
Novel tools for integrating early-life environmental exposures and child health across Europe
- Duración
- 2013-2017
- Coordinador
- Martine Vrijheid (ISGlobal)
- Financiadores
- Comisión Europea. Seventh Framework Programme
- Página web
- http://www.projecthelix.eu
Due to our ever changing environment and habits, exposure to environmental contaminants is growing increasingly complex. The totality of environmental (non-genetic) exposures from conception until old age is defined as the ‘exposome’. The HELIX ‘early-life exposome’ approach involves combining all environmental hazards that mothers and children are exposed to, and linking this to the health, growth and development of children.
Pregnancy and the early years of life are well recognized to be periods of high susceptibility to environmental damage with lifetime consequences. Characterisation of the exposome in early life can provide very effective tools for disease prevention, given that interventions at that time can reshape biological programming and shift the body’s developmental track to the normal function. This makes early life an important starting point for development of the exposome.
The results of the project will help us to better understand how various types of exposures combine to influence our risk of disease.
The project will develop a comprehensive set of high-tech tools, methods and prospective data to measure and integrate the chemical, physical and molecular environment and link this to health of children. Smart phones are used to measure air pollution, UV radiation, physical activity and noise exposure. The latest laboratory techniques is used to measure biological indicators of many chemical exposures including contaminants in food, consumer products and water. In all, HELIX will collect full exposome data from 1,200 mothers and their children, the largest study to do this.
To achieve this, HELIX uses six existing, prospective birth cohort studies in Europe (BiB, EDEN, INMA, KANC, MoBa, Rhea). These cohorts have already collected large amounts of data as part of national and EU-funded projects. Results will be integrated with Europe-wide data to estimate health impacts at the larger European scale.
HELIX is funded by the EU and will receive €8.6 million over the course of five years. The project comprises of thirteen European partners, including two SMEs.
Related blog posts
Endocrine Disruptors—What Do They Disrupt?
The Exposome: Understanding the Effect of the Environment on Our Health
Nuestro equipo
Investigador principal (IP)
- Martine Vrijheid Jefa del programa de Infancia y medio ambiente, Research Professor
Equipo ISGlobal
- Jose Barrera Gomez
- Xavier Basagaña Associate Research Professor
- Mariona Bustamante Staff Scientist
- Maria Isabel Casas Sanahuja
- Montserrat De Castro Técnica GIS
- Diana Clemente Investigadora predoctoral
Otros proyectos
Ver proyectos pasadosATHLETE
Advancing Tools for Human Early Lifecourse Exposome Research and Translation
Proyecto INMA - Infancia y Medio Ambiente
Born in Bradford
EGG/EAGLE
Early Genetics Growth/Early Genetics and Lifecourse Epidemiology
HBM4EU
APACHE
Air Pollution, Autism spectrum disorders, and brain imaging in CHildren amongst Europe
ELFES
LIFECYCLE
Early-life stressors and LifeCycle health
STOP - Childhood Obesity
Science and Technology in childhood Obesity Policy
BiSC (Barcelona Life Study Cohort)
HERA
Integrating Environment and Health Research: a Vision for the EU
MOOD-COVID
Pre- and post-natal Maternal mental health and newbOrn neurOdevelopment during the COVID-19 panDemic
EUCAN-Connect
A federated FAIR platform enabling large-scale analysis of high-value cohort data connecting Europe and Canada in personalized health
OBERON
An integrative strategy of testing systems for identification of EDs related to metabolic disorders