My major research goal is to elucidate the epigenetic regulation of chronic diseases such as childhood asthma and understand how epigenetic mechanisms mediate the impact of environmental exposures during critical developmental windows (e.g., in utero, infancy) on increased disease susceptibility. We utilizes an integrative approach combining molecular and bioinformatic analysis of methylome, chromatin, gene expression and gene network analysis with immunologic and physiologic characterization of disease models to understand genes and pathways that may contribute to disease etiology and pathogenesis. The goal of the wildfire epigenetic project is to understand the long-term epigenetic effects of exposure to wildfire during infancy on respiratory epithelium in non-human primates.