Public Health Commons^™

Development Of An Age-Appropriate Household Dysfunction Measure And Its Concurrent Validity With Multiple Outcomes Among Middle School Adolescents In Southeast Texas, Sumaita Choudhury, Timothy J Walker, Emily T Hébert, Christine M Markham, Ross Shegog, Robert C Addy, Melissa F Peskin

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Existing adverse childhood experience (ACE) measures include a limited number of household dysfunction (HD) items and the use of adult-oriented language that is not always appropriate for middle schoolers. We developed an age-appropriate 10-item HD measure informed by previously validated ACE measures and tested its concurrent validity with dating violence (DV) perpetration, lifetime substance use, and mental health outcomes among middle schoolers in Southeast Texas. This cross-sectional study used the baseline data from a DV prevention intervention program for sixth graders (N = 126), Me & You Tech. Baseline data were collected from March 2023 to April 2023. To …

The Perk/Atf4 Pathway Is Required For Metabolic Reprogramming And Progressive Lung Fibrosis, Jyotsana Pandey, Jennifer L Larson-Casey, Mallikarjun H Patil, Chao He, Nisarat Pinthong, A Brent Carter

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Asbestosis is a prototypical type of fibrosis that is progressive and does not resolve. ER stress is increased in multiple cell types that contribute to fibrosis; however, the mechanism(s) by which ER stress in lung macrophages contributes to fibrosis is poorly understood. Here, we show that ER stress resulted in protein kinase RNA-like ER kinase (PERK; Eif2ak3) activation in humans with asbestosis. Similar results were seen in asbestos-injured mice. Mice harboring a conditional deletion of Eif2ak3 were protected from fibrosis. Lung macrophages from asbestosis individuals had evidence of metabolic reprogramming to fatty acid oxidation (FAO). Eif2ak3fl/fl mice had increased oxygen …

A Review Of Mirvetuximab Soravtansine-Gynx In Folate Receptor Alpha-Expressing Platinum-Resistant Ovarian Cancer, Judith A Smith, Patrick Medina, Mary Miao, Kathleen N Moore

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Purpose: To evaluate the pharmacology, efficacy, safety, and dosing and administration considerations (including adjusted ideal body weight [AIBW] dosing) for mirvetuximab soravtansine-gynx, a first-in-class folate receptor alpha (FRα)-directed antibody-drug conjugate for platinum-resistant ovarian cancer (PROC).

Summary: A literature search was conducted in PubMed using the terms "ovarian cancer" and "mirvetuximab soravtansine" of articles published from inception to April 16, 2024. Relevant publications, abstracts, and clinical trials were reviewed. Mirvetuximab soravtansine-gynx is dosed at 6 mg/kg AIBW every 3 weeks and comprises an FRα-binding antibody, a hydrophilic disulfide linker, and a maytansinoid DM4 payload. Mirvetuximab soravtansine-gynx binds to FRα, which induces …

Dietary Intake Of Protein By Food Source And Incident Hypertension Among Diverse Us Adults: The Mesa Study, Ji Yun Tark, Ruosha Li, Bing Yu, Alexis C Wood, Nikhil S Padhye, Marcia C De Oliveira Otto

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Background: Dietary guidelines recommend adequate protein intake from diverse sources for optimal blood pressure; however, its role in hypertension risk remains unclear. We examined prospective associations of protein intake and diversity, overall and by source, with hypertension risk in the MESA (Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis) study.

Methods and results: Among 2294 participants aged 45 to 84 years without hypertension at baseline, total, animal, and plant protein intake was assessed using a 120-item food frequency questionnaire. Protein diversity was evaluated using count and the dissimilarity index. Over a 9-year median follow-up, 1356 hypertension cases were identified through blood pressure measurements and …

Evaluation Of Knowledge, Attitudes And Vaccine Hesitancy Towards Mmr Vaccine Among Parents In The United Arab Emirates, Kamel A. Samara, Hiba Jawdat Barqawi, Deema M. Alhayali, Samah Mohamed Kannas, Rim M. Elmorsy, Eman Abu-Gharbieh

Abington Jefferson Health Papers

BACKGROUND: The Measles, Mumps, and Rubella (MMR) vaccine is highly effective, but vaccine hesitancy (VH) is a key barrier to achieving herd immunity. This study aims to assess the general attitudes and knowledge of UAE parents regarding measles and the MMR vaccine while identifying determinants of VH.

METHODOLOGY: A cross-sectional study was done from 15th April 2024 and 5th June 2024. This study recruited 462 parents residing in the UAE using convenience sampling. Recruitment occurred through various social media platforms including WhatsApp, X, and Instagram, as well as in public by approaching parents in parks and malls. Information collected included …

Narratives Or Not? Examining The Roles Of Message Format And Individuals' Stages Of Change In The Context Of Hpv Vaccination Promotion, Mengfei Guan, Shawn C. Chiang, Regan M. Murray, Wen-Juo Lo, Larry T. Hill, Ann C. Klassen, Jennifer A. Manganello, Amy E. Leader, Philip M. Massey

Department of Medical Oncology Faculty Papers

Narrative persuasion has been widely used in health communication campaigns and persuasive message design. However, several meta-analyses showed that the relative effectiveness of narratives in promoting behavior change was not consistently observed in the existing literature. With the goal of exploring boundary conditions of narrative effects, this study investigates the interaction effects of narrative persuasion and stages of change on promoting behavior change in the context of encouraging parents to vaccinate their children against human papillomavirus (HPV). Findings from an online experiment (N = 593) showed that non-narrative messages were more effective in bolstering behavioral intention than narrative messages among …

Development Of A Risk Score To Aid With The Diagnosis Of Infections After Spinal Cord Injury: Protocol For A Retrospective Cohort Study, Felicia Skelton, Larissa Grigoryan, Joann Pan, Ashley Collazo, Barbara Trautner

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Background: Patients with spinal cord injury (SCI) who develop urinary tract infection (UTI) present differently than the non-SCI population. UTIs can cause loss of quality of life and even lead to life-threatening complications including urosepsis. Challenges in SCI management include distinguishing symptomatic UTI from asymptomatic bacteriuria (ASB), which occurs often in patients with SCI, and the lack of standardization in UTI diagnosis in SCI.

Objective: This study aims to set the foundation for the development of a risk score to improve diagnostic accuracy of UTI after SCI.

Methods: This study will use data from the Veterans Health Administration Corporate Data …

Investigating Social Network Peer Effects On Hiv Care Engagement Using A Fuzzy-Like Matching Approach: Cross-Sectional Secondary Analysis Of The N2 Cohort Study, Cho-Hee Shrader, Dustin T Duncan, Redd Driver, Juan G Arroyo-Flores, Makella S Coudray, Raymond Moody, Yen-Tyng Chen, Britt Skaathun, Lindsay Young, Natascha Del Vecchio, Kayo Fujimoto, Justin R Knox, Mariano Kanamori, John A Schneider

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

BACKGROUND: Social network data are essential and informative for public health research and implementation as they provide details on individuals and their social context. For example, health information and behaviors, such as HIV-related prevention and care, may disseminate within a network or across society. By harmonizing egocentric and digital networks, researchers may construct a sociocentric-like "fuzzy" network based on a subgroup of the population.

OBJECTIVE: We aimed to generate a more complete sociocentric-like "fuzzy" network by harmonizing alternative sources of egocentric and digital network data to examine relationships between participants in the Neighborhoods and Networks (N2) cohort study. Further, we …

Relationship Between Maternal Iron Indices In The Second Trimester With Cord Blood Iron Indices And Pregnancy Outcomes: A Prospective Cohort Study, J.P. Akshaykirthan, Manjunath S. Somannavar, M.S. Deepthy, Umesh Charantimath, S. Yogeshkumar, Amaresh Patil, Mrutyunjaya B. Bellad, Richard Derman, Shivaprasad S. Goudar

Global Health Articles

Background/Objectives: Iron deficiency anemia in pregnancy poses risks to mothers and infants. This study aimed to correlate maternal iron indices in the second trimester with cord blood indices and pregnancy outcomes.

Methods: This prospective cohort study was nested within the RAPIDIRON Trial (Reducing Anaemia in Pregnancy in India) at Jawaharlal Nehru Medical College, Karnataka, India. A total of 292 pregnant women with moderate anemia who received oral iron supplementation were enrolled from April 2021 to May 2023. Maternal iron indices were measured at multiple time points and correlated with cord blood indices and pregnancy outcomes.

Results: Increased hemoglobin levels were …

Examining Demographic, Geographic, And Temporal Patterns Of Melanoma Incidence In Texas From 2000 To 2018: Retrospective Study, Kehe Zhang, Madison M Taylor, Jocelyn Hunyadi, Hung Q Doan, Adewole S Adamson, Paige Miller, Kelly C Nelson, Cici Bauer

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Background: Melanoma currently ranks as the fifth leading cancer diagnosis and is projected to become the second most common cancer in the United States by 2040. Melanoma detected at earlier stages may be treated with less-risky and less-costly therapeutic options.

Objective: This study aims to analyze temporal and spatial trends in melanoma incidence by stage at diagnosis (overall, early, and late) in Texas from 2000 to 2018, focusing on demographic and geographic variations to identify high-risk populations and regions for targeted prevention efforts.

Methods: We used melanoma incidence data from all 254 Texas counties from the Texas Cancer Registry (TCR) …

Sports Injury Prevention - Epidemiological Analysis Of Concussion Mechanisms In Female Soccer Players: A Review Of Neiss Data (2020–2023), Caroline A. Bertalotto

Health, Human Performance and Recreation Undergraduate Honors Theses

Concussions are a significant concern in women’s soccer, with many studies showing that women have a higher rate of having them than compared to men. The number of concussions in athletes have raised concerns about long-term health and calls for a deeper look into ways to prevent them from occurring. The purpose of this study is to review the epidemiological data related to the mechanisms of concussions as a result of soccer, specifically within female participants. The data was obtained from the National Electronic Injury Surveillance System (NEISS) from the years 2020 through 2023. Specifically, the narrative was used to …

Repeat Ascaris Challenge Reduces Worm Intensity Through Gastric Cellular Reprograming, Yifan Wu, Charlie Suarez-Reyes, Nina L Tang, Alexander R Kneubehl, Jill E Weatherhead

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Ascariasis (roundworm) is the most prevalent parasitic nematode infection worldwide, impacting approximately 500 million people predominantly in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). While people of all ages are infected with Ascaris, infection intensity (defined by worm burden) paradoxically peaks in pre-school and school-aged children but then declines with age. The cause of age-dependent Ascaris worm intensity is not well understood but may be dependent on cellular changes in mucosal barrier sites. We have previously found that the gastric mucosa is a critical barrier site for Ascaris infection as ingested Ascaris larvae use acidic mammalian chitinase (AMCase) secreted by gastric chief …

Survival In Patients With Rheumatoid Arthritis And Recently Diagnosed Early-Stage Colorectal, Lung, Or Prostate Cancer Receiving Tumour Necrosis Factor Inhibitors: A Retrospective Cohort Study, Juan I Ruiz, Xiudong Lei, Sharon H Giordano, Hui Zhao, Suja S Rajan, Heather Lin, Maria E Suarez-Almazor

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Background: Tumor necrosis factor (TNF) inhibitors could impair tumoural immunity in patients with rheumatoid arthritis and cancer. We aimed to investigate the association between survival and TNF inhibitor treatment during the first 3 years after a diagnosis of colorectal, lung, or prostate cancer in patients with rheumatoid arthritis.

Methods: In this cohort study, we conducted a secondary data analysis of the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results Medicare-linked dataset. We included patients aged 66 years and older with rheumatoid arthritis diagnosed with colorectal, lung, or prostate cancer between Jan 1, 2008, and Dec 31, 2019, using ICD-O-3 site and histology codes. …

Associations Between The Timing Of 24 H Physical Activity And Diabetes Mellitus: Results From A Nationally Representative Sample Of The Us Population, Qian Xiao, Qiuyu Feng, Martin K Rutter, Gali Albalak, Heming Wang, Raymond Noordam

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Aims/hypothesis: Growing evidence suggests that timing may be an important aspect of physical activity that influences cardiometabolic health. However, the current literature is inconclusive regarding the time of day that physical activity offers the greatest metabolic advantages. We investigated associations between hourly physical activity levels and diabetes mellitus and glycaemic biomarkers in a cross-sectional and nationally representative sample of US adults.

Methods: We studied 7074 adults (mean age 48 years; 52% women) from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (2011-2014). Physical activity was measured by actigraphy. A monitor-independent movement summary (MIMS) unit was used to derive the total activity …

Comparison Of Risk Assessment Tools' Prediction Of Outcomes For Penetrating Trauma, Jeffrey Santos, Catherine M Kuza, Xi Luo, Tiffany Moon, Thomas Shoultz, Anne Feeler, Roman Dudaryk, Jose Navas, Georgia Vasileiou, Kazuhide Matsushima, Matthew Forestiere, Tiffany Lian, Areg Grigorian, Joni Ricks-Oddie, Jeffry Nahmias

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Introduction: The Trauma and Injury Severity Score (TRISS) uses anatomic and/or physiologic variables to predict mortality; however, Injury Severity Score is less reliable for penetrating trauma. National Surgical Quality Improvement Program Surgical Risk Calculator (NSQIP-SRC) and American Society of Anesthesiologists Physical Status (ASA-PS) include functional status and comorbidities. This study evaluates the accuracy of these tools in predicting mortality, length of stay (LOS), and complications for operative penetrating trauma.

Methods: Adult penetrating trauma patients (≥18 y) who underwent surgery within 24 h of admission were included in this subgroup analysis of a prospective observational study at four trauma centers. The …

The Contribution Of De Novo Coding Mutations To Meningomyelocele, Yoo-Jin Jiny Ha, Ashna Nisal, Isaac Tang, Chanjae Lee, Ishani Jhamb, Cassidy Wallace, Robyn Howarth, Sarah Schroeder, Keng Ioi Vong, Naomi Meave, Fiza Jiwani, Chelsea Barrows, Sangmoon Lee, Nan Jiang, Arzoo Patel, Krisha Bagga, Niyati Banka, Liana Friedman, Francisco A Blanco, Seyoung Yu, Soeun Rhee, Hui Su Jeong, Isaac Plutzer, Michael B Major, Béatrice Benoit, Christian Poüs, Caleb Heffner, Zoha Kibar, Gyang Markus Bot, Hope Northrup, Kit Sing Au, Madison Strain, Allison E Ashley-Koch, Richard H Finnell, Joan T Le, Hal S Meltzer, Camila Araujo, Helio R Machado, Roger E Stevenson, Anna Yurrita, Sara Mumtaz, Awais Ahmed, Mulazim Hussain Khara, Osvaldo M Mutchinick, José Ramón Medina-Bereciartu, Friedhelm Hildebrandt, Gia Melikishvili, Ahmed I Marwan, Valeria Capra, Mahmoud M Noureldeen, Aida M S Salem, Mahmoud Y Issa, Maha S Zaki, Libin Xu, Ji Eun Lee, Donghyuk Shin, Anna Alkelai, Alan R Shuldiner, Stephen F Kingsmore, Stephen A Murray, Heon Yung Gee, W Todd Miller, Kimberley F Tolias, John B Wallingford, Spina Bifida Sequencing Consortium, Sangwoo Kim, Joseph G Gleeson

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Meningomyelocele (also known as spina bifida) is considered to be a genetically complex disease resulting from a failure of the neural tube to close. Individuals with meningomyelocele display neuromotor disability and frequent hydrocephalus, requiring ventricular shunting. A few genes have been proposed to contribute to disease susceptibility, but beyond that it remains unexplained1. We postulated that de novo mutations under purifying selection contribute to the risk of developing meningomyelocele2. Here we recruited a cohort of 851 meningomyelocele trios who required shunting at birth and 732 control trios, and found that de novo likely gene disruption or …

T2-Weighted Imaging Of Rectal Cancer Using A 3d Fast Spin Echo Sequence With And Without Deep Learning Reconstruction: A Reader Study, Dan Nguyen, Sarah Palmquist, Ken-Pin Hwang, Jingfei Ma, Usama Salem, Jia Sun, Xinzeng Wang, Jong Bum Son, Randy Ernst, Peng Wei, Harmeet Kaur, Nir Stanietzky

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Purpose: To compare image quality and clinical utility of a T2-weighted (T2W) 3-dimensional (3D) fast spin echo (FSE) sequence using deep learning reconstruction (DLR) versus conventional reconstruction for rectal magnetic resonance imaging (MRI).

Methods: The study included 50 patients with rectal cancer who underwent rectal MRI consecutively between July 7, 2020 and January 20, 2021 using a T2W 3D FSE sequence with DLR and conventional reconstruction. Three radiologists reviewed the two sets of images, scoring overall SNR, motion artifacts, and overall image quality on a 3-point scale and indicating clinical preference for DLR or conventional reconstruction based on those three …

Antibiotic Prophylaxis With Urodynamic Studies In Spinal Cord Injury: Assessing Practice Patterns And Outcomes To Guide Future Practice In A Single Center, Du Pham, Bradley Chi, Felicia Skelton, Donna Huang

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Context/objective: Despite urinary tract infections (UTIs) being a common problem in patients with spinal cord injuries (SCIs), and a well-known complication of invasive urologic procedures, little consensus exists regarding the standard of care for peri-procedural antibiotic use for SCI patients undergoing urodynamics studies (UDS). Our research seeks to evaluate local antibiotic prophylaxis pattern in SCI patients undergoing UDS, assess incidence of post-procedural UTI, describe local antibiotic resistance trends, and provide antibiotic stewardship considerations to guide future practice.

Design/setting/participants: Retrospective cohort study of SCI patients undergoing UDS from January 2010 to January 2020 at a Veterans Affairs SCI Center. Data on …

Testing For Bleeding Disorders In Child Abuse: Aap Recommendation Adherence And Testing Results, Lyndsey Hultman, Angela Doswell, Henry T Puls, Shannon L Carpenter, Angela Bachim, Caitlin R Mcnamara, Farah W Brink, Lori D Frasier, Nancy S Harper, Natalie Laub, Kristine A Campbell, Daniel M Lindberg, Joanne N Wood, James Anderst

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Objectives: Using a multicenter child abuse pediatrics research network (CAPNET), the study objectives were to characterize the adherence to American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) recommendations for bleeding disorder testing and the frequency of bleeding disorder identification.

Methods: We performed a descriptive study of bleeding disorder evaluations among children younger than 10 years of age who presented with bruising and/or intracranial hemorrhage (ICH) concerning for abuse from February 2021-May 2022 utilizing CAPNET. Cases were classified as bruising without ICH or ICH with or without bruising. Based on AAP guidance, testing was not recommended in cases with concomitant suspicious injuries, inflicted injury …

#Genderaffirminghormonetherapy And Health Information On Tiktok: Thematic Content Analysis, Julia Beatini, Nora Yanyi Sun, Julianna K. Coleman, Maetal E. Haas-Kogan, Andrea Pelletier, Deborah Bartz, Alex Sogomon Keuroghlian

Student Papers, Posters & Projects

BACKGROUND: Transgender and gender diverse people often turn to online platforms for information and support regarding gender-affirming hormone therapy (GAHT); however, analysis of this social media content remains scarce.

OBJECTIVE: We characterized GAHT-related videos on TikTok to highlight the implications relevant to GAHT prescribers.

METHODS: We used a web scraper to identify TikTok videos posted under the hashtags #genderaffirminghormonetherapy and #genderaffirminghormones as of November 2023. We identified recurrent themes via qualitative content analysis and assessed health education videos with the Patient Education Materials Assessment Tool for Audiovisual Materials (PEMAT-A/V) scale and a modified Currency, Relevance, Authority, Accuracy, and Purpose (CRAAP) …

A Pioneering Artificial Intelligence Tool To Predict Treatment Outcomes In Ovarian Cancer Via Diagnostic Laparoscopy, Xiaotian Ma, Yu-Chun Hsu, Amma Asare, Kai Zhang, Deanna Glassman, Katelyn F Handley, Katherine Foster, Khwahish Sharma, Shannon Westin, Amir Jazaeri, Nicole D Fleming, Pratip K Bhattacharya, Xiaoqian Jiang, Anil K Sood, Shayan Shams

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Ovarian cancer is associated with high rates of patient mortality and morbidity. Laparoscopic assessment of tumor localization can be used for treatment planning in newly diagnosed high-grade serous ovarian carcinoma (HGSOC). While spread to multiple intra-abdominal areas is correlated with worse outcomes, whether other morphological tumor differences are also associated with patient outcomes is unknown. Given the large volume of visual information in laparoscopic videos, we investigated whether deep-learning models can capture implicit features and predict treatment outcomes. We developed a novel deep-learning framework using pre-treatment laparoscopic images to assess clinical outcomes following upfront standard treatment, defined as short progression-free …

The Havcr1-Centric Host Factor Network Drives Zika Virus Vertical Transmission, Wenzhe Yu, Jun Tao, Hongmin Cao, Wanshan Zheng, Beiang Zhang, Yue Zhang, Peiqun Xu, Yiwei Zhang, Xuan Liu, Yinan Wang, Han Cai, Gang Liu, Fan Liu, Haibin Wang, Haiyan Zhao, Indira U Mysorekar, Xiaoqian Hu, Bin Cao

Center on Aging Staff Publications

Zika virus (ZIKV) vertical transmission results in devastating congenital malformations and pregnancy complications; however, the specific receptor and host factors facilitating ZIKV maternal-fetal transmission remain elusive. Here, we employ a genome-wide CRISPR screening and identify multiple placenta-intrinsic factors modulating ZIKV infection. Our study unveils that hepatitis A virus cellular receptor 1 (HAVCR1) serves as a primary receptor governing ZIKV entry in placental trophoblasts. The GATA3-HAVCR1 axis regulates heterogeneous cell tropism in the placenta. Notably, placenta-specific Havcr1 deletion in mice significantly impairs ZIKV transplacental transmission and associated adverse pregnancy outcomes. Mechanistically, the immunoglobulin variable-like domain of HAVCR1 binds to ZIKV via …

Progesterone Signaling In Oviductal Epithelial Cells Modulates The Immune Response To Support Preimplantation Embryonic Development, Emily A Mcglade, Jiude Mao, Kalli K Stephens, Ryan M Marquardt, Feyza Nur Arguc, Peter F Lais, San-Pin Wu, Sarayut Winuthayanon, Haval Shirwan, Esma S Yolcu, Mark I Hunter, James K Pru, John P Lydon, Francesco J Demayo, Wipawee Winuthayanon

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

More than 60% of pregnancy losses occur during the first trimester, highlighting the need to understand the role of the oviduct in early pregnancy. In this study, we conditionally ablated the classical progesterone receptor (Pgr) in oviductal epithelial cells, called the Pgrd/d mouse model. We found that 40% of embryos collected from Pgrd/d females were nonviable or developmentally delayed, indicating that epithelial PGR expression is crucial for embryonic development. Single-cell RNA sequencing revealed up-regulation of proinflammatory genes, including interleukin-22 (IL-22), in the epithelial cells of Pgrd/d females. Pharmacological inhibition of inflammation using nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs …

Developing An Online Community Advisory Board (Cab) Of Parents From Social Media To Co-Design An Human Papillomavirus Vaccine Intervention: Participatory Research Study, Regan M. Murray, Shawn C. Chiang, Ann C. Klassen, Jennifer A. Manganello, Amy E. Leader, Wen-Juo Lo, Philip M. Massey

Department of Medical Oncology Faculty Papers

BACKGROUND: Social media health interventions have grown significantly in recent years. However, researchers are still developing innovative methods to meaningfully engage online communities to inform research activities. Little has been documented describing this approach of using online community advisory boards (CABs) to co-create health communication interventions on social media.

OBJECTIVE: This study describes the formation, engagement, and maintenance of an online CAB focused on co-creating a health education intervention for parents regarding the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine. The study provides guiding principles for public health researchers implementing such CABs in future digital health interventions.

METHODS: In May 2020, Twitter was …

Using The Healthy Native Youth Implementation Toolbox To Provide Web-Based Adolescent Health Promotion Decision Support To American Indian And Alaska Native Communities: Implementation Study, Amrita Sidhu, Ross Shegog, Stephanie Craig-Rushing, Nicole Trevino, Michelle Singer, Cornelia Jessen, Gwenda Gorman, Sean Simpson, Melissa Peskin, Belinda Hernandez, Christine Markham

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Background: American Indian and Alaska Native (AI/AN) youth experience numerous health inequities, including those in sexual, reproductive, and mental health. Implementation of culturally relevant, age-appropriate evidence-based programs may mitigate these inequities. However, numerous barriers limit the adoption and implementation of evidence-based adolescent health promotion programs in AI/AN communities.

Objective: This study examines user reach and engagement from 2022 to 2024 of web-based decision support (the Healthy Native Youth [HNY] website and the embedded HNY Implementation Toolbox), designed to increase the implementation of evidence-based adolescent health promotion programming in AI/AN communities.

Methods: Promotional strategies were designed for optimal geographic reach to …

Lineage Tracing And Single-Cell Rna Sequencing Reveal A Common Transcriptional State In Breast Cancer Tumor-Initiating Cells Characterized By Ifn/Stat1 Activity, Eric P Souto, Ping Gong, John D Landua, Ramakrishnan Rajaram Srinivasan, Abhinaya Ganesan, Lacey E Dobrolecki, Stephen C Purdy, Xingxin Pan, Michael Zeosky, Anna Chung, S Stephen Yi, Heide L Ford, Michael T Lewis

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

A tumor cell subpopulation of tumor-initiating cells (TIC) or "cancer stem cells" is associated with therapeutic resistance, as well as both local and distant recurrences. Signal transducer and activator of transcription (STAT) activity is elevated in TICs in claudin-low models of human triple-negative breast cancer, which enables enrichment of TICs using a STAT-responsive reporter. Lineage tracing of TICs as they undergo cell state changes could enable a better understanding of the molecular phenotypes of TIC and uncover strategies to selectively target TICs. In this study, we developed a STAT-responsive lineage-tracing system and used it in conjunction with the original reporter …

Large-Scale Multi-Omics Analyses In Hispanic/Latino Populations Identify Genes For Cardiometabolic Traits, Lauren E Petty, Hung-Hsin Chen, Elizabeth G Frankel, Wanying Zhu, Carolina G Downie, Mariaelisa Graff, Phillip Lin, Priya Sharma, Xinruo Zhang, Alyssa C Scartozzi, Rashedeh Roshani, Joshua M Landman, Michael Boehnke, Donald W Bowden, John C Chambers, Anubha Mahajan, Mark I Mccarthy, Maggie C Y Ng, Xueling Sim, Cassandra N Spracklen, Weihua Zhang, Michael Preuss, Erwin P Bottinger, Girish N Nadkarni, Ruth J F Loos, Yii-Der Ida Chen, Jingyi Tan, Eli Ipp, Pauline Genter, Leslie S Emery, Tin Louie, Tamar Sofer, Adrienne M Stilp, Kent D Taylor, Anny H Xiang, Thomas A Buchanan, Kathryn Roll, Chuan Gao, Nicholette D Palmer, Jill M Norris, Lynne E Wagenknecht, Darryl Nousome, Rohit Varma, Roberta Mckean-Cowdin, Xiuqing Guo, Yang Hai, Willa Hsueh, Kevin Sandow, Esteban J Parra, Miguel Cruz, Adan Valladares-Salgado, Niels Wacher-Rodarte, Jerome I Rotter, Mark O Goodarzi, Stephen S Rich, Alain Bertoni, Leslie J Raffel, Jerry L Nadler, Fouad R Kandeel, Ravindranath Duggirala, John Blangero, Donna M Lehman, Ralph A Defronzo, Farook Thameem, Yujie Wang, Sheila Gahagan, Estela Blanco, Raquel Burrows, Alicia Huerta-Chagoya, Jose C Florez, Teresa Tusie-Luna, Clicerio González-Villalpando, Lorena Orozco, Christopher A Haiman, Craig L Hanis, Rebecca Rohde, Eric A Whitsel, Alexander P Reiner, Charles Kooperberg, Yun Li, Qing Duan, Miryoung Lee, Paulina Correa-Burrows, Susan K Fried, Kari E North, Joseph B Mccormick, Susan P Fisher-Hoch, Eric R Gamazon, Andrew P Morris, Josep M Mercader, Heather M Highland, Jennifer E Below

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Here, we present a multi-omics study of type 2 diabetes and quantitative blood lipid and lipoprotein traits conducted to date in Hispanic/Latino populations (nmax = 63,184). We conduct a meta-analysis of 16 type 2 diabetes and 19 lipid trait GWAS, identifying 20 genome-wide significant loci for type 2 diabetes, including one novel locus and novel signals at two known loci, based on fine-mapping. We also identify sixty-one genome-wide significant loci across the lipid/lipoprotein traits, including nine novel loci, and novel signals at 19 known loci through fine-mapping. Next, we analyze genetically regulated expression, perform Mendelian randomization, and analyze association with …

Whole Genome Sequencing Analysis Of Body Mass Index Identifies Novel African Ancestry-Specific Risk Allele, Xinruo Zhang, Jennifer A Brody, Mariaelisa Graff, Heather M Highland, Nathalie Chami, Hanfei Xu, Zhe Wang, Kendra R Ferrier, Geetha Chittoor, Navya Shilpa Josyula, Mariah Meyer, Shreyash Gupta, Xihao Li, Zilin Li, Matthew A Allison, Diane M Becker, Lawrence F Bielak, Joshua C Bis, Meher Preethi Boorgula, Donald W Bowden, Jai G Broome, Erin J Buth, Christopher S Carlson, Kyong-Mi Chang, Sameer Chavan, Yen-Feng Chiu, Lee-Ming Chuang, Matthew P Conomos, Dawn L Demeo, Mengmeng Du, Ravindranath Duggirala, Celeste Eng, Alison E Fohner, Barry I Freedman, Melanie E Garrett, Xiuqing Guo, Chris Haiman, Benjamin D Heavner, Bertha Hidalgo, James E Hixson, Yuk-Lam Ho, Brian D Hobbs, Donglei Hu, Qin Hui, Chii-Min Hwu, Rebecca D Jackson, Deepti Jain, Rita R Kalyani, Sharon L R Kardia, Tanika N Kelly, Ethan M Lange, Michael Lenoir, Changwei Li, Loic Le Marchand, Merry-Lynn N Mcdonald, Caitlin P Mchugh, Alanna C Morrison, Take Naseri, Jeffrey O'Connell, Christopher J O'Donnell, Nicholette D Palmer, James S Pankow, James A Perry, Ulrike Peters, Michael H Preuss, D C Rao, Elizabeth A Regan, Sefuiva M Reupena, Dan M Roden, Jose Rodriguez-Santana, Colleen M Sitlani, Jennifer A Smith, Hemant K Tiwari, Ramachandran S Vasan, Zeyuan Wang, Daniel E Weeks, Jennifer Wessel, Kerri L Wiggins, Lynne R Wilkens, Peter W F Wilson, Lisa R Yanek, Zachary T Yoneda, Wei Zhao, Sebastian Zöllner, Donna K Arnett, Allison E Ashley-Koch, Kathleen C Barnes, John Blangero, Eric Boerwinkle, Esteban G Burchard, April P Carson, Daniel I Chasman, Yii-Der Ida Chen, Joanne E Curran, Myriam Fornage, Victor R Gordeuk, Jiang He, Susan R Heckbert, Lifang Hou, Marguerite R Irvin, Charles Kooperberg, Ryan L Minster, Braxton D Mitchell, Mehdi Nouraie, Bruce M Psaty, Laura M Raffield, Alexander P Reiner, Stephen S Rich, Jerome I Rotter, M Benjamin Shoemaker, Nicholas L Smith, Kent D Taylor, Marilyn J Telen, Scott T Weiss, Yingze Zhang, Nancy Heard-Costa, Yan V Sun, Xihong Lin, L Adrienne Cupples, Leslie A Lange, Ching-Ti Liu, Ruth J F Loos, Kari E North, Anne E Justice

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Obesity is a major public health crisis associated with high mortality rates. Previous genome-wide association studies (GWAS) investigating body mass index (BMI) have largely relied on imputed data from European individuals. This study leveraged whole-genome sequencing (WGS) data from 88,873 participants from the Trans-Omics for Precision Medicine (TOPMed) Program, of which 51% were of non-European population groups. We discovered 18 BMI-associated signals (P <  5 × 10

Early Nintedanib Deployment In Covid-19 Interstitial Lung Disease (Endcov-I): Study Protocol Of A Randomised, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Trial, Valeria Santibanez, Aditi Mathur, Jigna Zatakia, Nicole Ng, Michele Cohen, Emilia Bagiella, Stacey-Ann Brown, Ivan O Rosas, Nina M Patel, Amy Olson, Peide Li, Maria Padilla

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Introduction: In December 2019, the novel SARS-CoV-2 triggered a global pneumonia outbreak, leading to millions of deaths worldwide. A subset of survivors faces increased morbidity and mortality, particularly due to subacute lung injury evolving to chronic fibrosing interstitial lung disease. While nintedanib, a tyrosine-kinase inhibitor, shows promise in treating progressive fibrotic lung disease, limited randomised trial data exists for post-COVID-19-induced lung injury. We hypothesise that treatment with nintedanib may attenuate advancement to the fibrotic stages, offering a potential avenue for improving outcomes in this specific patient subset.

Methods and analysis: We describe the design of a multicentre, randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled …

Findings From A Qualitative Analysis: Social Media Influencers Of Color As Trusted Messengers Of Hpv Vaccination Messages, Amelia Burke-Garcia, Erin Cutroneo, Dasha Afanaseva, Kayla Madden, Angela Sustaita-Ruiz, Preethi Selvan, Estefany Rivera Sanchez, Amy Leader

Department of Medical Oncology Faculty Papers

BACKGROUND: Despite HPV vaccination reducing the prevalence of cervical cancer by 90%, vaccination rates remain lower among communities of color due to vaccine hesitancy and mistrust in traditional public health messengers. The emergence of social media influencers, a newer kind of messenger, presents a unique opportunity to share immunization messages in new ways with a variety of communities. This paper reviews the qualitative findings from a study aimed at assessing influencers' perceptions of and approaches to sharing messaging about the HPV vaccine.

METHODS: Guided by several theories (Theory of Planned Behavior, Narrative Theory, and Opinion Leader Theory), the study team …