A Flexible and Responsive Remote Study Design to Assess Gene Expression Changes During Wildfire Smoke Exposure with homeRNA, an At-home Blood Sampling Kit.

ABSTRACT: Transcriptomic responses to wildfire smoke are difficult to study given the unpredictability of wildfires and the challenges of collecting blood during active disasters. To overcome these challenges, we developed a flexible study design leveraging homeRNA, our at-home blood collection and RNA stabilization kit. Between June 2021 and April 2022, 58 participants across 10 U.S. states collected 635 blood samples before, during, and after wildfire events. This responsive approach captured three exposure groups: high exposure in Okanogan County, Washington, medium exposure from transported smoke, and low exposure. During the 10-month study, 93% of participants (n=54/58) returned at least 6 samples. In a preliminary exploratory analysis, we analyzed 770 genes with a Nanostring panel from nine pa

SUBMITTER: Haack AJ 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12633109 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature