The NHALES Study: Natural History of Asthma with Longitudinal Environmental Sampling

Open for Recruitment

The goal of the NHALES Study is to help scientists understand how bacteria and other factors in the environment affect people who have moderate to severe asthma. Individuals who are unable to receive adequate asthma treatment currently are encouraged to join NHALES, which also offers free doctor visits and asthma medications to study participants.

All NHALES visits will take place at the NIEHS Clinical Research Unit (CRU) in Research Triangle Park, North Carolina, and volunteers will be compensated for their time. Participants will have approximately 12 CRU visits over the course of the 5-year study.

During the visits, NHALES team members will talk to you about your medical history, collect samples from you (blood, sputum, house dust, saliva, urine, stool), ask you to complete questionnaires about your asthma, and conduct breathing tests and a physical exam. A small group of eligible participants will be invited to take part in a small sub-study that will examine the inside of the lungs using a procedure called bronchoscopy.

NHALES participants who experience asthma difficulties may come to the CRU and receive health care and medications at no cost.

For more information on this study, please visit the Clinical Trials Study page.