ARPA-H Launches $144 Million STOMP Program to Measure and Remove Microplastics from Human Tissue
The Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health announced a $144 million initiative to develop tools for measuring and removing microplastics from human organs, marking a major federal investment in addressing this emerging environmental health threat.
Key Points
- ARPA-H announced $144 million STOMP program to measure and remove microplastics from human tissue
- Microplastics have been found in human lungs, arterial plaques, and brains, but no standardized measurement tools exist
- Program will first develop measurement tools, then work on removal interventions
- Represents major federal investment in emerging environmental health threat
Full Details
The Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health (ARPA-H) unveiled the STOMP (Systematic Targeting Of MicroPlastics) program on April 2, 2026, a $144 million nationwide initiative to address the growing concern over microplastics in human bodies. While microplastics and nanoplastics have been detected in human lungs, arterial plaques, and brains, the medical community currently lacks precise, standardized tools to measure the burden or fully understand the biological harm of specific plastic types. According to ARPA-H Director Alicia Jackson, researchers need to understand how microplastics are distributed throughout the body and what harm they are causing before designing interventions to safely remove them. The program will proceed in phases, with Phase One focused on measurement tools and subsequent phases developing removal interventions using pharmaceutical biology and bioremediation science approaches.
Why It Matters
This represents the first major federal research initiative targeting microplastic contamination in humans, acknowledging this as a significant public health concern. The research could lead to breakthrough treatments for what scientists increasingly believe is a widespread but poorly understood health threat.
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