Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

Spheroid Toxicity Assay Utilizing Magnetic 3d Bioprinting, Anore Pedalino, Ka Bian, Phd

Journal of Health Disparities Research and Practice

Analysis of cell cultures utilizing two-dimensional (2D) spheroid assays has been the standard to analyze toxicity screenings for decades, however the high cost and inefficiencies in producing in-vitro assays using this technique creates the need for more productive and cost-efficient methods. The newly introduced Magnetic 3D Bioprinting system addresses the shortcomings of the 2D systems. This method relies on magnetizing cells and rapidly printing them in a more organized formation, mimicking in-vitro environments and interaction. This study assesses the effectiveness of Magnetic 3D Bioprinting system in analyzing spheroid toxicity assays when compared to the 2D methods, we hypothesize that …

Assessing Indications Of Riskiness In Adolescents, Niral Patel, Roland Alexander Blackwood, Md, Phd

Journal of Health Disparities Research and Practice

Adolescents are often likely to engage in perilous behaviors during their transitional years from youth to adulthood. Nearly 75% of the primary causes of death in the adolescent population are of preventable causes. In order to address the harmful issues facing this young population today, researchers at the University of Michigan developed the Rapid Assessment for Adolescent Preventive Services (RAAPS), a 21-question risk screening examination that identifies the behaviors contributing the most to adolescent morbidity, mortality, and social problems.

Over the course of this study, beginning in 2015, researchers utilized the RAAPS to gather data from University of Michigan Health …

Missed Treatments Of Hemodialysis Patients After Hurricane Maria In Puerto Rico, Mercedes Harford, Keith Norris, Md, Phd, Ylene Rodriguez, Rn, Mph

Journal of Health Disparities Research and Practice

The consequences of a natural event such as a hurricane can especially have a negative impact on vulnerable patients such as hemodialysis patients. In former incidences such as Hurricane Katrina, factors such as living relocations disrupted hemodialysis patients’ ability to adhere to their thrice-weekly treatments (Anderson et al, 2009). In this study, 44% of the 386 hemodialysis patients who experienced Hurricane Katrina reported missing one or more dialysis sessions. Thus, the hurricane had significant negative influence on patients’ attendance at the dialysis clinic. In the aftermath of Hurricane Maria, Puerto Rico suffered extensive road blockages, electricity shortages, and lacking …

Investigating The Aggregation Of Α-Synuclein Variants And Their Interactions With A Molecular Tweezer, Leslie Gonzalez, Karl Biggs, B.S, Gal Bitan, Ph.D.

Journal of Health Disparities Research and Practice

The protein α-synuclein (α-syn) self-assembles under abnormal conditions into toxic aggregates thought to be a central cause of pathology in neurodegenerative diseases such as Parkinson’s Disease (PD). A promising approach for treating PD is to inhibit the abnormal self-assembly of α-syn in the brain by using small molecules called “molecular tweezers” that the Bitan laboratory has been developing. Molecular tweezers bind to lysine (Lys) residues and prevent both hydrophobic and electrostatic interactions that are key to abnormal self-assembly. The molecular tweezer CLR01 inhibits the self-assembly of α-syn in vitro and in vivo by preferentially binding to Lys at positions 10 …

The Effects Of Trunk Fat On Endothelial Function In African American Women, Kayla A. Braggs, Priscilla E. Pemu, M.D. Mscr Facp, Connie Jones, Lpn

Journal of Health Disparities Research and Practice

African Americans (AA), both adults and adolescents, have increased mortality from most of the diseases associated with metabolic syndrome and Endothelial Dysfunction including: myocardial infraction, stroke, and hypertension. Recent research has shown that there is a close link between endothelial function and insulin sensitivity in both normotensive and hypertensive subjects. This is important because African Americans are more frequently insulin resistant and display less mediated brachial artery vasodilation compared to Caucasians.

The study took healthy, AA women ages 18-45 and grouped them into two main categories based on their Body Mass Index (BMI): lean/ insulin dependent (BMI<25) and obese/insulin resistant (BMI>30). There were …

Training Underrepresented High School Students As A Strategy To Increase Diversity In The Biomedical Research And Health Professions Workforce, Dolores E. Caffey-Fleming, Ms, Mph, Lourdes Guerrero, Edd, Msw, Keith C. Norris, M.D., Phd

Journal of Health Disparities Research and Practice

This manuscript introduces the abstracts from the University of California, Los Angeles Coordinating Center.

Effects Of Par1a Deletion On Tubulointerstitial Fibrosis In Folic Acid Mouse Models Of Renal Injury, Vellia Zhou, Kimberly J. Reidy, Md, Zhongfang Du, Md, Cara Ford, Miguel Cole

Journal of Health Disparities Research and Practice

Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD) affects 1 out of 7 adults in the United States and causes significant morbidity and mortality. Development of tubulointerstitial fibrosis, and the accompanying loss of functional tubular cells, leads to CKD progression. The Notch signaling pathway is required for renal development, however, sustained Notch activation in adult mice induces tubulointerstitial fibrosis. Dual deletion of Par1a and Par1b, serine threonine kinases, in developing mouse kidneys impaired Notch activation and resulted in the formation of abnormal glomeruli and proximal tubules. Deletion of either Par1a or 1b does not affect kidney development.We hypothesize that Par1a or 1b deletion …

Dental Emergencies In The Current Health Care System, David Singleton, Nawar Shara, Phd

Journal of Health Disparities Research and Practice

A huge problem in the current health system is that Oral care is not currently integrated into the overall health system, given the lack of dental coverage for underserved adults, and the insufficient amount of dentists available for individuals with dental coverage.

The lack of education regarding the importance of oral health and shortage in the number of dentists and dental coverage leads to an influx of patients with mild to severe dental problems at the emergency departments (EDs) across the country. Many studies conclude that by integrating oral health into the overall health system, there would an increase in …

Epigenetic Factors Impacting Type 2 Diabetes In American Indians, Alejandra Salazar Gonzalez, Shelley Cole, Ph.D.

Journal of Health Disparities Research and Practice

American Indians have been found to be at higher risk of type 2 diabetes (T2D) than any other ethnic or racial groups in the United States, with an estimated prevalence rate of 33%. Given that T2D prevalence rates amongst the American Indian population are so high, studying the complex factors that contribute to T2D is crucial. Of particular importance to this study is identifying heritable effects involved in development of T2D. Epigenetic effects, heritable changes to DNA that affect gene expression such as DNA methylation (DNAm), have been shown to be associated with T2D phenotypes.

Studies in other subpopulations have …

What Are Normal Cortisol Values For Young Children?, Aidan Rubio, Kanwaljeet Anand, Mbbs, D.Phil., Cynthia Rovnaghi, Ba, Bs, M.S

Journal of Health Disparities Research and Practice

Normative ranges for cortisol levels in children remain controversial, because of diurnal variations, effects of age, sex, stressful experiences before sampling (blood, saliva), intercurrent illnesses/immunizations, sample preparation and analytical methods. Measuring hair cortisol concentrations (HCC) is unaffected by diurnal variations or many of these factors, and presents a summative measure of chronic stress. Depending on hair growth rates, approximately 1 cm of hair represents cortisol release over the past month. HCC does not fluctuate frequently and therefore represents cumulative stress over time. It is vitally important to establish normative cortisol levels in children, so that both maladaptive and toxic stress …

Mapping The Arrangement Of Neural Ensembles Involved In Distinct Stages Of Spatial Memory Processing In Hippocampal Regions, Mikayla Hutchinson, Juan Marcos Alarcón, Phd, Adriana Melchiades, Phd

Journal of Health Disparities Research and Practice

Memory traces are believed to be supported by neural ensembles sculpted by learning activity. Reactivation of these ensembles would elicit memory recall. Although the recruitment of neural ensembles appears to be essential to memory formation and storage, not much is known of the exact arrangement of such ensembles during memory processes.

The goal of this project is to identify ensembles of neurons associated with distinct stages of the processing of a spatial memory in the hippocampus of mice. We hypothesize that as memory progresses, from early to late (more consolidated) stages, the majority of neurons constituting the ensemble will migrate …

Development Of The Family Poverty Index (Fpi): A Novel Index To Measure Socioeconomic Status, Ozi Amuzie, Joseph Rigdon, Phd, Feifei Qin, Mph, Cynthia R. Rovnaghi, M.S., Kanwaljeet S. Anand, M.D.

Journal of Health Disparities Research and Practice

The CANDLE Study aims to uncover factors experienced during pregnancy and early life that affect cognition, behavior, and health of children. External stressors and socioeconomic status (SES) influence the fetus through “prenatal programming”. However, comprehensive measures of SES do not exist, except those based on income and education.

We selected 53 variables from the CANDLE study including annual household income, headcount, marital status, health insurance, parental occupation and education. Singular value decomposition imputation (SVDI), a principal components analysis approach unaffected by the 24.4% missing data in our variables, was applied to all 53 variables (Troyanskaya, 2001).

All variables were distilled …

Internal Regulation Of Triglyceride Levels In The Liver Through Autophagy-Induced Protein Manipulation, Luis Alvarez, Benny Hung-Junn Chang, Ph.D, Sarah Lee, Ms

Journal of Health Disparities Research and Practice

Overnutrition in modern society has created many pathological conditions that have personal and social consequences. Fatty liver is one of such conditions that used to be considered transient and benign but is now known to be the beginning stage of more severe liver diseases. Excess lipids due to overnutrition are usually manifested in the liver by the appearance of subcellular structures known as lipid droplets (LD). LD are composed of a monolayer of phospholipids wrapping around a neutral lipid core mostly comprised of triglyceride (TG). TG is classically known to be catabolized by lipolytic-enzymes, such as Triglyceride lipase (ATGL), Hormone-sensitive …

Need For Advancing Underrepresented Minorities In The Health Sciences And Medicine, Bonnie Halpern-Felsher, Phd, Sheila Mclaughlin, Mfa

Journal of Health Disparities Research and Practice

This manuscript introduces the abstracts from the Stanford Coordinating Center.

Niddk’S Short-Term Research Experience For Underrepresented Persons (Step-Up) Program, Rob Rivers, Phd, Kelley Brinkley, M.S., Lawrence Agodoa, M.D

Journal of Health Disparities Research and Practice

This abstract provides an overview to this issue.

Factors Influencing Graduate Program Choice Among Undergraduate Women, Bryna J. Harrington, Halei C. Benefield, Brooke C. Matson, Rebecca E. Hamlin, Jennifer E. L. Diaz, Grace E. Mosley, Rushina Cholera, Audrey R. Verde

Cooper Rowan Medical Journal

Context: Despite equal enrollment proportions in MD and PhD programs, there are fewer women than men in MD-PhD programs and academic medicine. Factors important in degree program selection, including the perception of gender disparities, among undergraduate students were characterized.

Methods: In 2017, pre-health students at four public North Carolina universities were invited to participate in an online survey regarding career plans, decision factors, and perceptions of gender disparities in MD, PhD and MD-PhD pathways. The authors characterized factors important to program selection, and evaluated the association of intended graduate program with perceived gender disparities using Fisher’s exact tests.

Results: …

Interdisciplinary Lens On Indigenous Health Iniquities: Planning, Nursing, Anthropology, Geography, Education, Chantal Francouer, Alana Kehoe, Ivy Tran, Steven Vanloffeld, Lillian Woroniuk, Jacob Renaud

Head and Heart Posters 2019

Indigenous peoples experience poorer health outcomes on almost every measure of health and wellbeing, when compared to the rest of Canada. For decades researchers have been working independently on addressing health inequalities, yet little progress has been made on closing the gap. This Discipline-specific way of thinking is too narrow and neglects indigenous ideologies of holistic approaches to health. An interdisciplinary approach to indigenous health research provides a more collaborative and integrated opportunity to address the multidimensional aspects of health. This paper has the goals to contribute to the limited research on interdisciplinary indigenous health research.

The Application Of Community-Based Participatory Research (Cbpr), Riley Kennedy

Head and Heart Posters 2019

Community-based participatory research is a contemporary research methodology used largely in health research. Community-based participatory research works to balance power and control in research. Indigenous people around the world have had an continue to have an uncomfortable research. Community-based participatory research is viewed as a way to do ethical research with Indigenous people. This project seeks to understand factors that influence community-based participatory research on Indigenous health using a narrative literature review approach.

Examining Indigenous Learner Recruitment And Retention Strategies Through An Environmental Scan Of Canadian Medical Schools, Sebastian Deagle

Head and Heart Posters 2019

The 2015 Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) of Canada’s Calls to Action Report outlined the need to better resolve the disparities in health status between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Canadian population. IN response, several Canadian medical schools began implementing recruitment and retention strategies to increase Indigenous matriculation. This is crucial, as Indigenous physicians are more likely to practice – and provide culturally-competent and comprehensive primary care – in Indigenous communities than physicians of other ethnicities. Therefore, enhancing Indigenous medical workforce development programs will have a strong return on investment in terms of improving the health status of Indigenous populations. However, while …

Interdisciplinary Lens On Indigenous Health Iniquities: Planning, Nursing, Anthropology, Geography, Education, Chantal Francouer, Alana Kehoe, Ivy Tran, Steven Vanloffeld, Lillian Woroniuk, Jacob Renaud

Learning with your Head & Heart

Indigenous peoples experience poorer health outcomes on almost every measure of health and wellbeing, when compared to the rest of Canada. For decades researchers have been working independently on addressing health inequalities, yet little progress has been made on closing the gap. This Discipline-specific way of thinking is too narrow and neglects indigenous ideologies of holistic approaches to health. An interdisciplinary approach to indigenous health research provides a more collaborative and integrated opportunity to address the multidimensional aspects of health. This paper has the goals to contribute to the limited research on interdisciplinary indigenous health research.

The Application Of Community-Based Participatory Research (Cbpr), Riley Kennedy

Learning with your Head & Heart

Community-based participatory research is a contemporary research methodology used largely in health research. Community-based participatory research works to balance power and control in research. Indigenous people around the world have had an continue to have an uncomfortable research. Community-based participatory research is viewed as a way to do ethical research with Indigenous people. This project seeks to understand factors that influence community-based participatory research on Indigenous health using a narrative literature review approach.

Examining Indigenous Learner Recruitment And Retention Strategies Through An Environmental Scan Of Canadian Medical Schools, Sebastian Deagle

Learning with your Head & Heart

The 2015 Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) of Canada’s Calls to Action Report outlined the need to better resolve the disparities in health status between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Canadian population. IN response, several Canadian medical schools began implementing recruitment and retention strategies to increase Indigenous matriculation. This is crucial, as Indigenous physicians are more likely to practice – and provide culturally-competent and comprehensive primary care – in Indigenous communities than physicians of other ethnicities. Therefore, enhancing Indigenous medical workforce development programs will have a strong return on investment in terms of improving the health status of Indigenous populations. However, while …

Sharing Of Injection Drug Preparation Equipment Is Associated With Hiv Infection: A Cross-Sectional Study, Laura J. Ball, Klajdi Puka, Mark Speechley, Ryan Wong, Brian Hallam, Joshua C. Weiner, Sharon Koivu, Michael S. Silverman

Epidemiology and Biostatistics Publications

Background: Sharing needles/syringes and sexual transmission are widely appreciated as means of HIV transmission among persons who inject drugs (PWIDs). London, Canada, is experiencing an outbreak of HIV among PWIDs, despite a large needle/syringe distribution program and low rates of needle/syringe sharing.

Objective: To determine whether sharing of injection drug preparation equipment (IDPE) is associated with HIV infection.

Methods: Between August 2016 and June 2017, individuals with a history of injection drug use and residence in London were recruited to complete a comprehensive questionnaire and HIV testing.

Results: A total of 127 participants were recruited; 8 were excluded because of …

Interdisciplinary Lens On Indigenous Health Iniquities: Planning, Nursing, Anthropology, Geography, Education, Chantal Francouer, Alana Kehoe, Ivy Tran, Steven Vanloffeld, Lillian Woroniuk, Jacob Renaud

2019 Cohort

Indigenous peoples experience poorer health outcomes on almost every measure of health and wellbeing, when compared to the rest of Canada. For decades researchers have been working independently on addressing health inequalities, yet little progress has been made on closing the gap. This Discipline-specific way of thinking is too narrow and neglects indigenous ideologies of holistic approaches to health. An interdisciplinary approach to indigenous health research provides a more collaborative and integrated opportunity to address the multidimensional aspects of health. This paper has the goals to contribute to the limited research on interdisciplinary indigenous health research.

The Application Of Community-Based Participatory Research (Cbpr), Riley Kennedy

2019 Cohort

Community-based participatory research is a contemporary research methodology used largely in health research. Community-based participatory research works to balance power and control in research. Indigenous people around the world have had an continue to have an uncomfortable research. Community-based participatory research is viewed as a way to do ethical research with Indigenous people. This project seeks to understand factors that influence community-based participatory research on Indigenous health using a narrative literature review approach.

Examining Indigenous Learner Recruitment And Retention Strategies Through An Environmental Scan Of Canadian Medical Schools, Sebastian Deagle

2019 Cohort

The 2015 Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) of Canada’s Calls to Action Report outlined the need to better resolve the disparities in health status between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Canadian population. IN response, several Canadian medical schools began implementing recruitment and retention strategies to increase Indigenous matriculation. This is crucial, as Indigenous physicians are more likely to practice – and provide culturally-competent and comprehensive primary care – in Indigenous communities than physicians of other ethnicities. Therefore, enhancing Indigenous medical workforce development programs will have a strong return on investment in terms of improving the health status of Indigenous populations. However, while …

Endothelial Iqgap1 Regulates Leukocyte Transmigration By Directing The Lbrc To The Site Of Diapedesis, David P. Sullivan, Prarthana J. Dalal, Fanny Jaulin, David B. Sacks, Geri Kreitzer, William A. Muller

Publications and Research

Transendothelial migration (TEM) of leukocytes across the endothelium is critical for inflammation. In the endothelium, TEM requires the coordination of membrane movements and cytoskeletal interactions, including, prominently, recruitment of the lateral border recycling compartment (LBRC). The scaffold protein IQGAP1 was recently identified in a screen for LBRC-interacting proteins. Knockdown of endothelial IQGAP1 disrupted the directed movement of the LBRC and substantially reduced leukocyte TEM. Expression of truncated IQGAP1 constructs demonstrated that the calponin homology domain is required for IQGAP1 localization to endothelial borders and that the IQ domain, on the same IQGAP1 polypeptide, is required for its function in TEM. …

Doxorubicin-Induced Cardiotoxicity In Collaborative Cross (Cc) Mice Recapitulates Individual Cardiotoxicity In Humans., Caroline J Zeiss, Daniel M Gatti, Olga Toro-Salazar, Crystal Davis, Cathleen M Lutz, Francis Spinale, Timothy M Stearns, Milena B Furtado, Gary A Churchill

Faculty Research 2019

Anthracyclines cause progressive cardiotoxicity whose ultimate severity is individual to the patient. Genetic determinants contributing to this variation are difficult to study using current mouse models. Our objective was to determine whether a spectrum of anthracycline induced cardiac disease can be elicited across 10 Collaborative Cross mouse strains given the same dose of doxorubicin. Mice from ten distinct strains were given 5 mg/kg of doxorubicin intravenously once weekly for 5 weeks (total 25 mg/kg). Mice were killed at acute or chronic timepoints. Body weight was assessed weekly, followed by terminal complete blood count, pathology and a panel of biomarkers. Linear …

Inspiration For The Future: The Role Of Inspiratory Muscle Training In Cystic Fibrosis., Ren-Jay Shei, Robert L Dekerlegand, Kelly A Mackintosh, John D Lowman, Melitta A Mcnarry

Department of Physical Therapy Faculty Papers

Cystic fibrosis (CF) is an inherited, multi-system, life-limiting disease characterized by a progressive decline in lung function, which accounts for the majority of CF-related morbidity and mortality. Inspiratory muscle training (IMT) has been proposed as a rehabilitative strategy to treat respiratory impairments associated with CF. However, despite evidence of therapeutic benefits in healthy and other clinical populations, the routine application of IMT in CF can neither be supported nor refuted due to the paucity of methodologically rigorous research. Specifically, the interpretation of available studies regarding the efficacy of IMT in CF is hampered by methodological threats to internal and external …

New Vaccines In The Pipeline 2019, Michael Phan, Luma Munjy, Nicole Benipayo, Jeff Goad, Sun Yang

Pharmacy Faculty Articles and Research

"Before clinicians can administer a vaccine in the United States, the FDA must approve and license it. Investigators conduct extensive research leading up to this process, typically testing a vaccine in thousands of patients over 6 to 7 years or longer. Even with large sample sizes and rigorous study designs, rare adverse effects may be missed. For example, RotaShield, the first vaccine for rotavirus, was withdrawn from the market in 1999, despite being tested in more than 10,000 patients. Postmarketing surveillance demonstrated that a rare, yet serious, risk of intussusception was linked to the vaccine, and the FDA determined that …