Hi, I'm Ryan Smith.
Eight years ago, mold in our Alaska home made my wife extremely sick. Her body simply stopped functioning the way it should. We didn't know why. She didn't look sick on paper, but she felt horrible in real life — and nobody could explain it.
Doctor after doctor ran test after test, and every result came back "normal." But nothing about our life felt normal.
That experience drew our family closer, and it opened my eyes to something far bigger than our own story: countless Alaskans are struggling with the same unexplained health issues — fatigue, brain fog, headaches, insomnia, anxiety, breathing problems — and they're being told it's nothing. Or worse, that it's all in their head.
It isn't.
That journey is what pushed me into this work. I became licensed, launched Pure Maintenance of Alaska, and since then I've walked into hundreds of homes where families were living the same nightmare we did. Some didn't know mold was involved. Some suspected it but couldn't prove it. All of them wanted answers.
But here's the truth: Even after helping hundreds of families, we still don't have statewide data. No one has measured how Alaska's unique environment — our winters, our moisture, our tight homes — is affecting our bodies.
So I'm doing something about it.
The Alaska Environmental Health Study is the first large-scale effort to finally measure the connection between indoor mold and chronic illness in our state. We'll be offering free 45-minute InstaScope scans to households across Anchorage and the Mat-Su. High-risk homes will get deeper testing and continuous monitoring. And for the most symptomatic residents, we'll run inflammation-marker bloodwork that shows what mold is doing inside the body.
All of this data will feed into Alaska's first public mold-health dashboard — a map every family, doctor, contractor, and policymaker can use.
We're raising $450,000 to make this possible. That's what it takes to build a study strong enough, precise enough, and honest enough to finally give Alaska the answers it deserves.
If you've ever been sick without knowing why… If your kids have struggled and no one could explain it… If you've felt ignored or dismissed… Or if you simply want Alaska families to have the truth…
I invite you to join the Founding Circle. Together, we're building something historic.
100% Transparent: Every dollar goes to scans, blood tests, monitoring devices, the public dashboard, and the small team making it happen. All expenses are public. Nothing hidden. No profit taken. My remediation business stays completely separate—that's a promise.
Why This Study Matters
Alaska has some of the highest mold-risk environmental conditions in the country — long winters, tight homes, trapped moisture, and limited ventilation. But despite thousands of sick families, no one has ever measured how indoor mold affects Alaskans at a biological level.
- 40–50% of U.S. buildings are water-damaged; Alaska's rate may be higher due to climate
- There has never been a statewide dataset linking home mold levels to chronic symptoms
- No study has combined real-time air scans, DNA dust testing, and physiologic monitoring in a cold-climate region
- Doctors currently have no Alaska-specific reference data — everything is guesswork
This study fills the gap by creating the first-ever mold and health map of Alaska, giving families and clinicians objective data they've never had before.
Why I'm Leading This Study
I'm not approaching this as a distant academic — I'm doing it as someone who has lived it, studied it, and spent years helping Alaskans uncover hidden mold in their homes. This project brings together everything I've learned on the ground.
- Eight years of firsthand experience helping Alaskans identify and remediate mold-related illness
- Licensed owner of Pure Maintenance of Alaska, with hundreds of complex investigations
- Author of You're Not Crazy, You're Contaminated, documenting real Alaska mold cases and recovery stories
- Trusted relationships with families, clinicians, and communities impacted by environmental illness
I'm leading this study because families deserve answers, doctors deserve real data, and Alaska deserves to lead the nation in environmental health research.
What Makes This Study Groundbreaking
This isn't just another mold study. We're using real-time wearable technology to measure what happens to your body when you're exposed to mold—moment by moment, day by day.
Traditional Mold Studies:
❌ Take a blood sample once
❌ Ask you how you feel (subjective)
❌ Can't prove cause-and-effect
❌ Easy for doctors to dismiss
The Alaska Environmental Health Study:
✅ Continuous HRV monitoring with medical-grade wearables
✅ Tracks autonomic nervous system stress 24/7
✅ Correlates your body's stress response with air quality sensors in your home
✅ Provides objective data doctors can't ignore
Example: When mold spore levels spike in your bedroom at night, we'll see if your HRV collapses, your resting heart rate increases, or your autonomic nervous system goes into fight-or-flight mode—in real time.
This has never been done in Alaska. In fact, it's rarely been done anywhere. We're combining three technologies:
- InstaScope scanning - Shows mold presence in 45 minutes
- Continuous air quality sensors - Track spore levels, VOCs, humidity 24/7
- Wearable HRV monitoring - Measures your body's real-time physiologic response
This is digital health meets environmental science. And it's happening in Alaska first.
Conflict-of-Interest & Independence Statement
The Alaska Environmental Health Study is completely independent. It is funded only by book sales, individual donations, and foundation grants. No remediation revenue of any kind is used for testing, salaries, data analysis, or operations.
Ryan Smith, the study's founder, also owns Pure Maintenance of Alaska. To eliminate any perception of conflict:
- Participants whose homes show elevated mold levels receive an automated certificate for a 15–25% discount if they choose Pure Maintenance of Alaska
- Participants are completely free to use any remediation company (or none at all)
- Ryan's salary and all study expenses are paid exclusively from study funds held and overseen by our 501(c)(3) fiscal sponsor, Players Philanthropy Fund
This structure has been reviewed and accepted by our fiscal sponsor and will be disclosed in all publications.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why not just apply for NIH or CDC grants?
Federal grants take 18-36 months to secure and come with restrictions that would delay this study until 2028 or later. Alaska families need answers now. Plus, most federal funding requires preliminary data—which is exactly what we're creating.
How is this different from other mold studies?
This is the first study to combine real-time bioaerosol scanning with validated blood biomarkers in a cold-climate population. Most mold research happens in humid southern states. Alaska's unique climate, housing stock, and demographic makeup means existing data doesn't apply to us.
How does the wearable technology work?
If you're selected for physiologic monitoring, you'll wear a medical-grade device (like a Whoop band, Oura ring, or chest strap) that continuously tracks your heart rate variability (HRV), resting heart rate, and autonomic nervous system activity. You'll wear it 24/7 for 3-6 months while air quality sensors simultaneously monitor mold spore levels, VOCs, and humidity in your home. This lets us see exactly when your body goes into stress mode—and whether it correlates with spikes in indoor air contamination. It's completely non-invasive, and you can live your normal life while the data collects automatically.
What if you don't reach the full $450,000?
We've designed a phased approach. At $300K we can conduct a smaller but still meaningful study of 300 homes with 30 biomarker participants. At $450K we hit our full target of 500 homes and 50 biomarker participants with continuous physiologic monitoring. Either way, the data will be published and publicly accessible.
Isn't there a conflict of interest since you own Pure Maintenance of Alaska?
This is addressed in detail in our Conflict-of-Interest Statement above. In summary: The study is funded exclusively by book sales, philanthropy, and grants—zero remediation revenue. Participants whose homes show elevated mold receive an automated 15-25% discount certificate if they choose Pure Maintenance, but are completely free to use any provider. All study funds are held by our 501(c)(3) fiscal sponsor, Players Philanthropy Fund, which provides third-party oversight.
When will the results be published?
Preliminary findings will be available on the public dashboard in real-time throughout 2026. We expect to submit our first peer-reviewed paper in Q1 2027, with publication likely by mid-2027. All data will be publicly accessible regardless of publication status.
Can I participate in the study if I donate?
Absolutely! Donors at the $497+ level receive priority enrollment when the study launches in January 2026. We're testing 500 homes—if you live in Anchorage or Mat-Su, you're eligible. The study is open to all Alaskans regardless of donation status, but donors get first access.
