Funded Research and Training

(Listed by PI)

Kelly Glazer Baron, PhD, MPH, DBSM

CHARMS: DYADIC SLEEP, BIOBEHAVIORAL RHYTHMS AND COGNITIVE FUNCTION IN OLDER ADULTS: IMPLICATIONS FOR ALZHEIMER’S DISEASE
Sponsor: NIH National Institute on Aging (NIA) R01
Dates: 04/01/2023 - 03/31/2027
Project Description: Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias (ADRD), including mild cognitive impairment (MCI), are becoming among the most prevalent causes of disability, death and healthcare costs worldwide. Sleep and circadian rhythm disturbances are common among individuals with MCI as well as their spouses/ partners and may increase risk of the development of ADRD in both patients and partners. This is the first study to systematically investigate sleep as a shared health behavior within couples in which one member has MCI, and the degree to which sleep and circadian disturbances impact both partners health and well-being, including cognitive decline and risk for ADRD.

EFFECTS OF A BEHAVIORAL SLEEP EXTENSION INTERVENTION ON CARDIOMETABOLIC RISK FACTORS AMONG PATIENTS WITH ELEVATED BP/HYPERTENSION
Sponsor: National Institute of Nursing Research (NINR)
Dates: 09/25/2020 - 06/30/2025
Project Description: One in two adults in the U.S. have at least one cardiometabolic disease (CMD) including hypertension, heart disease diabetes or stroke. Despite links between short sleep duration and cardiometabolic health, few studies have sought to improve CMD risk by extending sleep. This study aims to evaluate the efficacy of a behavioral sleep extension intervention on sleep and CMD risk factors among patients with elevated blood pressure or hypertension. Successful completion of this study will advance the possibility of increasing sleep duration for improving cardiometabolic health.

SLEEP OPTIMIZATION & DIABETES
Sponsor: University of Illinois Chicago (Prime: NIH/NIDDK)
Dates: 07/01/2020 - 06/30/2025
Project Description: The purpose of this study is to determine the efficacy of a T1D specific sleep optimization intervention (Sleep-Optimize) on the primary outcome of glycemic control (A1C). My role on this study will be overseeing the intervention protocol, setting up training, scoring and quality control for actigraphy and self-report sleep measures.

Susan Cochella, MD, MPH

DEVELOPMENT AND ENHANCEMENT OF MENTAL AND BEHAVIORAL HEALTH TRAINING IN FAMILY MEDICINE RESIDENCY
Sponsor: Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA)
Dates: 12/31/2022 - 09/29/2027
Project Description: Increase the number of primary care physicians who are trained in the prevention, identification, diagnosis, treatment, and referral of services for mental and behavioral health conditions. Also develop or expand partnerships with integrated behavioral health and primary care settings and community-based organizations to provide clinical rotations for at least one month in duration for primary care residents.

Lisa Gren, PhD

COVID-19: U-POWER IWISH
Sponsor: CDC Natl Inst Occupational SAF
Dates: 09/01/2021 – 08/31/2026
Project Description: Approximately 10% of US workers (14.4 million) are thought to be exposed to infectious diseases at least once per week, and 18.5% (26.7 million) at least once per month. Workers deemed essential to sustaining the well-being of others have had to continue working during the COVID-19 pandemic, often at great risk of infection. This burden has disproportionately affected racialized groups, foreign-born workers, and other vulnerable groups. While COVID-19 continues to disrupt businesses and cause psychosocial stress, illness, and mortality among workers, we must also anticipate future pandemics of respiratory infectious diseases. The aims of this study are to 1) assess a worker-engaged process to implement controls to decrease exposure to respiratory pathogens in the workplace and 2) synthesize mixed methods data to develop guidelines and training to support translation of worker-engaged solutions to mitigate workplace exposure to respiratory pathogens. The process will use a community-based participatory research approach to engage workers, employers, and subject matter experts to identify and implement environmental controls using the Burden-Need-Impact framework and Evidence Integration Triangle at five manufacturing businesses in Utah. The long-term goal of this study is to improve workers’ safety, health, and well-being through the development and dissemination of guidelines for responding to respiratory infectious disease epidemics.

CDCC/PLCO Trial
Sponsor: Westat
Dates: 02/2021 - 02/2026
Project Description: The major goal of this project is to ascertain cancer and vital status of individuals enrolled in the PLCO Cancer Screening Trial through the Utah site.

Mia Hashibe, PhD

LONG-TERM ADVERSE OUTCOMES AMONG RURAL CANCER SURVIVORS IN A POPULATION-BASED COHORT
Sponsor: National Cancer Institute (NCI) R01
Dates: 07/16/2020 - 06/30/2025
Project Description: There are an estimated 2.8 million rural cancer survivors today, and they experience lower survival rates than cancer patients living in urban areas. We propose to conduct a study of rural prostate, rural breast, rural colorectal cancer patients and comparison groups of urban cancer patients in Utah and in elderly patients across the US, to investigate whether rural cancer survivors experience higher rates of adverse outcomes such as cardiovascular disease, diabetes, opioid use disorders and mental illness than urban cancer survivors. We will also assess why rural cancer survivors may experience higher adverse outcome rates, with possible reasons including differences in the cancer treatment they receive or the distance to care.

IDENTIFYING CANCER RECURRENCE WITH NOVEL DATA LINKAGES WITH A CANCER REGISTRY
Sponsor: National Cancer Institute (NCI) R01
Dates: 08/2022 - 07/2027
Project Description: The major goals of the project are to estimate predictive performance to identify recurrence using cancer registry data and novel administrative data linkages for prostate and breast cancer patients, and to evaluate the scalability and transportability of algorithms.

CORE INFRASTRUCTURE SUPPORT FOR SURVEILLANCE, EPIDEMIOLOGY AND END RESULTS (SEER; UTAH CANCER REGISTRY)
Sponsor: University of California (Prime: NIH)
Dates: 03/2021 - 02/2026
Project Description: The SEER Program was initiated in 1972 in response to requirements of the National Cancer Program for assessing the magnitude of the cancer burden in the United States, and for identifying factors related to cancer risk and/or patient survival.

Amy Locke, MD, FAAFP

PROMOTING RESILIENCE AND MENTAL HEALTH AMONG HEALTH PROFESSIONAL WORKERS
Sponsor: Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA)
Dates: 01/01/2022 – 12/31/2024
Project Description: The goal of this project is to promote resilience and mental health amongst professional health workers.

Ivette A. López, PhD, MPH

AREA HEALTH EDUCATION CENTERS POINT OF SERVICE MAINTENANCE AND ENHANCEMENT
Sponsor: Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA)
Dates: 09/2022 - 08/2027
Project Description: The purpose of the AHEC program is to enhance access to quality health care, particularly primary and preventive care, by improving the supply and distribution of healthcare professionals via strategic partnerships with academic programs, communities, and professional organizations.

UTAH CENTER FOR PROMOTION OF WORK EQUITY (U-POWER)
Sponsor: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Dates: 09/2021 - 08/2026
Project Description: The long-term goal of this study is to improve workers’ safety, health, and well-being through the development and dissemination of guidelines for responding to respiratory infectious disease epidemics.

José E. Rodríguez, MD

Christy A. Porucznik, PhD, MSPH

Susan Saffel-Shrier, MS, RD

Advancing Health Equity Among Congregate Meal Program Participants through Utilizing Appropriate Malnutrition, Frailty and Social Determinants of Health Screenings, Assessments, and Interventions
Sponsor: Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) / Administration for Community Living
Dates: 08/01/2022 - 07/31/2027
Project Description: The goal of this innovative project is to elucidate effective screenings, assessments and interventions for malnutrition and physical frailty through quantifying the intersection with the SDoH. Currently, there are numerous malnutrition screening and assessment tools available but there is a significant void of validated tools for community-living older adults. In addition, a frailty component is rarely included. The utilization of a combined malnutrition and frailty screening along with a SDoH-based assessment and intervention at multiple SNP-CM sites will provide a model to assess effective treatment and outcomes.

Karen C. Schliep, PhD, MSPH

HYPERTENSIVE DISORDERS OF PREGNANCY AND SUBSEQUENT RISK OF VASCULAR DEMENTIA, ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE, OR RELATED DEMENTIA: A RETROSPECTIVE COHORT STUDY TAKING INTO ACCOUNT MID-LIFE MEDIATING FACTORS
Sponsor: NIH National Institute on Aging (NIA) K01
Dates: 09/01/2020 - 04/30/2025
Project Description: Women have a two-fold higher lifetime risk for Alzheimer Disease (AD), vascular dementia, and related dementias (RD) compared to men. Hypertensive disorders of pregnancy, including preeclampsia, eclampsia, and gestational hypertension, may contribute to sex differences in ADRD, with midlife experiences such as depression influencing the magnitude of risk. We propose to 1) create a model that can identify AD and related dementias in a large health administrative database; and 2) test the link (and mediating factors) between hypertensive disorders of pregnancy and ADRD, which will serve as the first step towards creating women’s tailored intervention that can mitigate ADRD risk for women.

Kimberley Shoaf, MPH, DrPH

Joseph B. Stanford, MD, MSPH

Sharon L. Talboys, PhD, MPH

James Vanderslice, PhD

THE INFLUENCE OF MULTIPLE ENVIRONMENTAL EXPOSURES ON SUICIDE RISK
Sponsor: NIH/NIEHS
Dates: 05/2021 - 04/2026
Project Description: The major goal of this project is to determine the independent, additive, and synergistic effects of ambient air pollution and weather exposures on suicide risk in the context of individual-level characteristics and genotype.

Carl Whittaker, MD

MATERNAL HEALTH CAPACITY BUILDING FOR THE MEDICALLY UNDERSERVED IN RURAL AND URBAN UTAH
Sponsor: Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA)
Dates: 07/01/2021 - 06/30/2026
Project Description: This project is designed to allow the Family Medicine Residency program greater resources for preparing their residents via education such as UDOH Title V opioid training, and instruction on telehealth and care delivery. Additionally, residents will have expanded rotations opportunities in rural Utah facilities. The grant will also fund two additional HRSA fellows, increasing the total number of fellows in the program to four.