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Researchers continue to study the physical and mental health effects of the WTC disaster. In addition to identifying 9/11-related health conditions and treatment options, these studies can offer preventive measures and help improve responses to future disasters.
Here is a list of current 9/11-related health studies. To list a 9/11 health study, fill out an application (word) and email it to wtchr@health.nyc.gov.
WTC Health Registry Studies
Studies Affiliated with the WTC Health Registry
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United Kingdom WTC Evacuation Study/High-rise Evacuation and Evaluation Database (HEED) 
(completed July 2008)
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| Principal Investigator: |
Ed Galea, PHD
University of Greenwich, Fire Safety Engineering Group, United Kingdom
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| Description: |
A team of British academics conducted interviews with nearly 300 WTC evacuees recruited mainly through WTC Health Registry mailings. The interviews have been transcribed and deposited in a HEED database that is fully indexed and coded in a way to facilitate analysis by qualified researchers of survivor experiences, human factors and physical factors relevant to evacuation from high-rise buildings. A number of scientific papers have been published based on the data collected.
Listen to an interview with the principal investigator.
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| Functional Neuroimaging of Post-Traumatic Stress Responses to 9/11 |
| Principal Investigator: |
David Silbersweig, MD and James Root, MD
Weill Cornell Medical College |
| Description: |
Researchers at Weill Medical College are studying the behavioral and neurological responses of exposure to the WTC disaster. The study uses functional magnetic resonance testing (fMRI) to understand how stress may affect brain activity. Participants include people who were in damaged or destroyed buildings (including the WTC towers) or below Chambers Street on 9/11. |
| Combination Treatment for 9/11-Related Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) |
| Principal Investigator: |
Frank Schneier, MD
Columbia University, New York State Psychiatric Institute |
| Description: |
Columbia University researchers are studying the effectiveness of exposure therapy and medication in people who suffer from 9/11-related PTSD.
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Note: Columbia University and the New York State Psychiatric Institute are providing grief treatment for people who lost a family member or close friend in 9/11. Free treatment is available to eligible participants between 18 and 70 years of age.
For more information, call (212) 543-6747.
| WTC Evacuation Study |
| Principal Investigator: |
Robyn R. Gershon, DrPH
Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health |
| Description: |
Through interviews with Registry enrollees, other evacuees, emergency responders and planners, this study examines how training and fire drills, communications systems, group behavior and human dynamics affected the WTC evacuation and related injuries. Understanding these factors can help reduce injury and death rates in other high-rise building emergencies requiring mass evacuation. |
| Violence and Mental Health: Children of First Responders |
| Principal Investigator: |
Christina Hoven, DrPH
Columbia University, New York State Psychiatric Institute |
| Description: |
Researchers are studying the children of first responders to learn how “indirect” exposure to violence, such as the WTC attacks, may affect their mental health. Findings will help determine public health interventions for children following terrorist acts. |
For more information or to participate, call (212) 543-5688 or (800) 774-8448 or email ch42@columbia.edu.
| Post-Traumatic Stress Symptoms and Self-Reported Physical Health in the Aftermath of a Mass Trauma |
| Principal Investigator: |
Sandro Galea, MD, DrPH
University of Michigan School of Public Health |
| Description: |
Dr. Sandro Galea is collaborating with the Registry to study post-traumatic stress disorder, in conjunction with physical illnesses, such as asthma and heart disease, associated with 9/11. |
| WTC Responders Fatality Investigation Program |
| Principal Investigator: |
Kitty Gelberg, PhD, MPH
New York State Department of Health, Bureau of Occupational Health |
| Description: |
The New York State Department of Health is coordinating a federally funded study to identify all deaths among rescue and recovery workers who responded to the WTC disaster between September 11, 2001, and June 30, 2002. Workers include police, firefighters, construction and demolition workers, EMS and other health professionals and volunteers who worked at the WTC site, on the barges or at the Staten Island landfill. Data are from newspapers, medical examiners and county coroners, unions, police, EMS, family members and WTC health programs, including the WTC Health Registry. An attempt is made to gather information on each casualty’s demographics, cause of death, health status before and after 9/11, kinds of exposure, and autopsy results, if available. |
For more information or to participate, call (518) 402-7900 or email khg01@health.state.ny.us.
| Headaches Among WTC Health Registry Enrollees |
| Principal Investigator: |
Katherine Henry, MD, MEd
NYU School of Medicine, Bellevue Hospital Center |
| Description: |
Dr. Katherine Henry of New York University and Dr. James Cone, Medical Director of the WTC Health Registry are analyzing the headache reports of Registry enrollees. By determining the relationship between headaches, depression and post-traumatic stress disorder, this study may lead to more accurate diagnoses of 9/11-related health conditions. |
| The Relationship Between WTC Exposure and Physical and Mental Health Among Police Responders |
| Principal Investigator: |
Rosemarie Bowler, PhD, MPH
San Francisco State University |
| Description: |
Dr. Rosemarie Bowler, a psychologist at San Francisco State University, and Dr. James Cone, the WTC Health Registry’s Medical Director, are studying depression, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and substance use among police first responders. This study will help determine the prevalence of 9/11-related PTSD and its risk factors. |
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