Strategically Focused Research Network Awardees

Children’s National Health System

Center Director: Craig Sable, MD, FAHA
Training Director: Craig Sable, MD, FAHA

Basic
Project PI: James Dale, MD
Human Immunity to Potential Group A Streptococcal Vaccine Antigens in Subjects at High Risk for Rheumatic Heart Disease

Clinical
Project PI: Andrea Beaton, MD
Working Towards a Better Understanding of Acute Rheumatic Fever

Population
Project PI: David Watkins, MD, MPH
Building a Case to Invest in Rheumatic Heart Disease Prevention and Control in Limited Resource Settings

University of Utah

Center Director: Martin Tristani-Firouzi, MD
Training Director: H. Joseph Yost, PhD

Basic
Project PI: Mark Yandell, PhD
An integrated data-science, transcriptomics, and genomics approach to understanding Complex CHD

Clinical
Project PI: Robert Silver, MD
Maternal-fetal environment, epigenetics and complex congenital heart disease

Population
Project PI: Angela Fagerlin, PhD, MA
Improving Patient and Family Health Using Family-Centered Outcomes and Shared Decision-Making

Northwestern University

Center Directors: Bradley Marino, MD, MPP, MSCE, FAHA and Donald M Lloyd-Jones, MD, ScM, FAHA
Training Director: Matthew Davis, MD

Basic
Project PI: Lifang Hou, MD, MSc
Characterizing Dynamic Epigenomic Markers of CVH in Early Life

Clinical
Project PI: Linda Van Horn, PhD, RD, FAHA
Keeping Ideal Cardiovascular Health Family Intervention Trial: KIDFIT

Population
Project PI: Norrina Allen, PhD, MPH, FAHA
Cardiovascular Health Trajectories from Birth Through Adolescence

Duke University Medical School

Center Director: Jennifer Li, MD, MHSc
Training Director: Asheley Skinner, PhD

Basic
Project PI: Svati Shah, MD, MHS, FAHA
Microbiota Related Molecular Pathways in Pediatric Obesity

Clinical
Project PI: Sarah Armstrong, MD
A randomized trial of an integrated clinic-community intervention in children and adolescents with obesity

Population
Project PI: Asheley Skinner, PhD
Effectiveness and implementation of tertiary-care pediatric obesity treatment programs

Brigham and Women’s Hospital/Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center

Center Director: Marc Bonaca, MD, MPH and Mark Creager, MD, FAHA, FACC
Training Director: Marc Bonaca, MD, MPH and Philip Goodney, MD, MS

Basic
Project PI: Mark Feinberg, MD
Non-Coding RNAs in Diabetic Critical Limb Ischemia: Discovery, Pathobiology, and Therapeutic Intervention

Clinical
Project PI: Marc Bonaca, MD, MPH
Risk Prediction and Personalizing Therapy to Prevent Critical Limb Ischemia in Patients with PAD and Diabetes

Population
Project PIs: Philip Goodney, MD, MS and Mark Creager, MD, FAHA, FACC
Integrated Management Strategies to Reduce Amputation and Limit Disparities for Patients with Diabetes and CLI

Northwestern University

Center Director: Mary M. McDermott, MD, FAHA
Training Director: Mercedes Carnethon, PhD, FAHA

Basic
Project PI: Christiaan Leeuwenburgh, PhD
Calf Muscle Mitochondrial Dysfunction and Impaired Autophagy in Peripheral Artery Disease

Clinical
Project PI: Mary M. McDermott, MD, FAHA
NICotinamidE Riboside with and without Resveratrol to Improve Functioning in Peripheral Artery Disease: The NICE Trial

Population
Project PI: Philip Greenland, MD, FAHA Mitochondrial Dysfunction and Disability in Peripheral Artery Disease

University of Kentucky

Center Directors: Alan Daugherty, PhD, DSc
Training Director: Nancy Webb, PhD

Basic
Project PI: Alan Daugherty, PhD, DSC
Role of Sex Hormones on Elastin Stability in Formation of Thoracic Aortopathies

Basic Project PI: Lisa Cassis, PhD
Sexual Dimorphism of Aortopathies

Clinical
Project PI: Scott LeMaire, MD
Molecular Signature of Sex Chromosome Genes Associated with Sex-Dependent Susceptibility to Ascending Aortic Aneurysms

Vanderbilt University

Center Director: Joshua Beckman, MD, MS
Training Director: Joshua Beckman, MD, MS

Basic
Project PI: David Wasserman, PhD
The Link between Microcirculatory Dysfunction and Skeletal Muscle Insulin Resistance

Clinical
Project PI: Joshua Beckman, MD, MS
The Impact of Branched-Chain Amino Acids Metabolism on Limb Dysfunction in PAD

Population
Project PIs: Matthew Freiberg, MD and Quinn Wells, PharmD, MD
Clinical and Genetic Determinants of Peripheral Artery Disease, Microvascular Disease, and Major Adverse Limb Outcomes

Boston University (Mass.)

Research Focus: Advancing Atrial Fibrillation Precision Medicine
Center Director: Emelia Benjamin, MD, ScM, FAHA
Training Director: Emelia Benjamin, MD, ScM, FAHA

Basic
Patrick Ellinor, MD, PhD, FAHA
Genomics and Epigenetics of Atrial Fibrillation

Clinical
Steven Lubitz, MD, MPH, FAHA
Precision Medicine in Ischemic Stroke and Atrial Fibrillation (PreMISe-AF)

Population
Kathryn Lunetta, PhD, MS
Clinical and Genetic Prediction of Lifetime Risk of Atrial Fibrillation and its Complications

Cleveland Clinic (Ohio) 

Research Focus: Translational Strategies for the Prevention of Atrial Fibrillation Development and Progression
Center Director: Mina K. Chung, MD, FAHA, FACC, FHRS
Training Director: Christine Moravec, PhD

Basic
Jonathan Smith, PhD, FAHA
Gene-Aging-Metabolism Interaction in Atrial Fibrillation Pathogenesis

Clinical
Mina K. Chung, MD, FAHA, FACC, FHRS
Upstream Targeting for the Prevention of AF: Targeting Risk Interventions and Metformin for Atrial Fibrillation (TRIM-AF)

Population
David Van Wagoner, PhD, FAHA, FHRS
Multi-omic Analysis of Atrial Metabolism, Electrophysiology and Atrial Fibrillation Progression

Northwestern University (Ill.)

Research Focus: Atrial Myopathy in Atrial Fibrillation
Center Director: Rod Passman, MD, MSCE
Training Director: Philip Greenland, MD, FAHA

Basic
Rishi Arora, MD
The Role of Oxidative Stress in Creating a Vulnerable Substrate for Atrial Fibrillation in the Intact Atrium

Clinical
Rod Passman, MD, MSCE
Atrial Myopathy: Structure and Function in AF Ablation

Population
Philip Greenland, MD, FAHA
Atrial Substrate in Atrial Fibrillation and AF-Associated Brain Disease

Vanderbilt University (Tenn.)

Research Focus: A Novel Molecular Target in Atrial Fibrillation
Center Director: Dan Roden, MD, FAHA
Training Director: Bjorn Knollmann, MD, PhD, FAHA

Basic
Katherine Murray, MD, FAHA
Reactive Lipid Metabolites as Mediators of AF Susceptibility in Clinical and Genetic Risk Models

Clinical
Gregory Michaud, MD
A First-in-Atrial Fibrillation Trial of a Reactive Lipid Metabolite Scavenger

Population
Dan Roden, MD, FAHA
Identifying Atrial Fibrillation Subtypes Driven by Inflammation

The Joe and Linda Chlapaty DECIDE Center at Stanford University (Calif.)

Research Focus: Decision-Making Pathway for Atrial Fibrillation Stroke Prevention
Center Director: Paul Wang, MD, FAHA

Clinical
Randall Stafford, MD, PhD
Behavioral Science (Prevention/Intervention)

AHA-PCORI DECIDE Center at University of Utah

Research Focus: Studying Effectiveness in Patient-centered care
Center Director: Angie Fagerlin, PhD

Clinical
Victor Montori, MD, MSc
Scan & Optimization of Decision Aids for Atrial Fibrillation (SODA-AF)

Population
Elissa Ozanne, PhD
RED-AF: Randomized Evaluation of Decision Support Interventions for Atrial Fibrillation

University of Michigan

Center Director: Robert Neumar, MD, PhD, FAHA
Training Director: David Pinsky, MD

Basic
Project PI: Thomas Sanderson, PhD
Early Neuroprotective Therapies for Out-of-Hospital Cardiac Arrest

Clinical
Project PI: Robert Silbergleit, MD, FAHA
Bystander and First Responders Clinical Trials for Early Neuroprotective Therapies in Out-of-Hospital Cardiac Arrest

Population
Project PI: Brahmajee Nallamothu, MD, MPH, FAHA
Optimizing Bystander and First Responder Time to Treatment in Out-of-Hospital Cardiac Arrest

Northwestern University

Center Director: Elizabeth McNally, MD, PhD
Training Director: Rishi Arora, MD, FAHA

Basic
Project PI: Alfred “Al” George, MD
Correlating SCD Risk with Cell Autonomous Susceptibility

Clinical
Project PI: Elizabeth McNally, MD, PhD
Genomics of Arrhythmias and Sudden Death

Population
Project PI: Laura Rasmussen- Torvik, PhD, MPH, FAHA
Integration of Genomics into Clinical Care for SCD

Vanderbilt University

Center Director: Bjorn Knollman, MD, PhD
Training Director: Dan Roden, MD, FAHA

Basic
Project PI: Bjorn Knollman, MD, PhD
The Mechanistic Role of RyR2 Hyperactivity for Ventricular Arrhythmia in Animal Models of Structural Heart Disease

Basic
Project PI: Igor Efimov, PhD
Test the Mechanistic Role of RyR2 Hyperactivity for Ventricular Arrhythmia in the Ex Vivo Human Heart

Clinical
Project PI: William Stevenson, MD
Project Co-PIs: Scott Akers, PharmD, PhD and Benjamin Shoemaker, MD
A Clinical Trial of RyR2 Inhibition to Prevent Ventricular Arrhythmias in Patients with Structural Heart Disease

University of Washington

Center Director: Nona Sotoodehnia, MD, MPHD
Training Director: Francis Kim, MD and Michael Sayre, MD, FAHA

Clinical
Project PI: Ilan Goldenberg, MD
Project Co-PI: Wojciech Zareba, MD, PhD
Sex-Specific Risk for QTc Prolongation and Arrhythmic Events in Congenital Long QT Syndrome and Drug-Induced LQTS

Clinical
Project PI: Thomas Rea, MD, MPH
Project Co-PI: Peter Kudenchuk, MD
Precision Medicine Resuscitation: Novel Strategy for Real-Time Rhythm Assessment during CPR in Men and Women

Population
Project PI: Dan Arking, PhD
Project Co-PI: Nona Sotoodehnia, MD, MPH
Genomics of Sudden Cardiac Arrest Risk among Men and Women

Brigham & Women's Hospital

Center Directors: Mark Feinberg, MD, FAHA and Marc Sabatine, MD, MPH, FAHA
Training Directors: Vanita Aroda, MD and Jessica Fetterman, PhD

Basic
Project PI: Mark Feinberg, MD, FAHA
Non-coding RNAs in Ischemic Myocardial Disease and Diabetes: Discovery, Pathobiology, and Therapeutic

Clinical
Project PI: Marc Sabatine, MD, MPH, FAHA
Risk Prediction and Personalizing Therapy to Reduce Major Vascular, Heart Failure, and Renal Events in Diabetes

Clinical
Project PI: Naomi Hamburg, MD, FAHA
Restoring Vascular and Endothelial Health in Patients with Diabetes

University of Iowa

Center Director: Evan Abel, MD, PhD, FAHA
Training Director: Kamal Rahmouni, PhD, FAHA

Basic
Project PI: Ethan Anderson, PhD
A Heart-Liver-Adipose Axis: The Role of Inter-organ Crosstalk in Cardiometabolic Risk

Clinical
Project PI: Saumya Das MD, PhD
Adipose-derived Regulators of Inter-organ Communication in Type II Diabetes Mellitus and Cardiometabolic Disease

Population
Project PI: Ravi Shah, MD, FAHA
Molecular Signatures of Dysfunctional Adiposity and Cardiometabolic Disease in Young Adulthood: the CARDIA Study

New York University

Center & Training Director: Ira Goldberg, MD, FAHA

Basic
Project PI: Edward Fisher, MD, MPH, PhD, FAHA
Mechanisms that Retard Atherosclerosis Regression in Insulin Resistant and Obese Mice

Clinical
Project PI: Jeffrey Berger, MD, FAHA
Diabetes and the Platelet Phenotype: Influence of Sex, Cholesterol Lowering and Cardiovascular Events

Population
Project PI: Chiara Giannarelli, MD, PhD
Determinants of Pathological Changes in Atherosclerosis in Women and Men with Diabetes

Johns Hopkins University

Center Directors: Chiadi Ndumele, MD, PhD, FAHA and Rexford Ahima, MD, PhD
Training Director: Erin Michos, MD, MHS, FAHA

Basic
Project PI: Rexford Ahima, MD, PhD
Divergent Adipokine Mouse Models and Diabetic Cardiomyopathy

Population
Project Co-PI: Chiadi Ndumele, MD, PhD, FAHA
Project Co-PI: Elizabeth Selvin, PhD, FAHA
Serum Adipokines, Metabolic Risk Progression, and Heart Failure

Boston University

Integrated Digital Technology Platform for Optimization of Precision Brain Health

Center Director: Rhoda Au, PhD
Training Director: Vijaya Kolachalama, PhD

Clinical
Project PI: Rhoda Au, PhD
Digital Phenotyping of Brain Health

Clinical
Project PI: Honghuang Lin, PhD
Futurizing Brain Health Monitoring Platform

Clinical
Project PI: Vijaya Kolachalama, PhD
Discovery and Validation of Digital Biomarkers

Cincinnati Children's Hospital

Active Detection and Decentralized Dynamic Registry to Improve Uptake of Rheumatic Heart Disease Secondary Prevention

Center Director: Andrea Beaton, MD
Training Director: Elaine Urbina, MD, FAHA

Clinical
Project PI: Andrea Beaton, MD
Active Detection and Decentralized Dynamic Registry to Improve Uptake of Rheumatic Heart Disease Secondary Prevention

Johns Hopkins University

Center for Mobile Technologies to Reduce Disparities in Cardiovascular Health

Co-Center Directors: Seth Martin, MD, MHS and David Newman-Toker, MD, PhD
Co-Training Directors: Erin Michos, MD, MHS, FAHA and Najila Nassery, MD

Clinical
Project PI: Seth Martin, MD, MHS
Advancing Mobile Technologies to Reduce Disparities in Cardiovascular Health

Stanford University

Center for Heart Health Technology (H2T): Innovation to Implementation

Center & Training Director: Mintu Turakhia, MD

Clinical
Project PI: Paul Wang, MD
Technology-Enabled Management of Hypertension in Underrepresented Communities and in the Gig Economy

University of Michigan

Center Director: Brahmajee Nallamothu, MD, MPH
Training Director: Bhramar Mukherjee, PhD

Population
Project PI: Lesli Skolarus, MD, MSc
Wearables In Reducing risk and Enhancing Daily Life-style (WIRED-L) Project

Augusta University
Research Focus:  Obesity-related disparities in the bidirectional risk of cardiovascular disease and cancer

Center Director: Neal Weintraub, MD, FAHA
Training Director David Stepp, PhD

Basic
Neal Weintraub, MD, FAHA
DARC and Chemokine Control in Cardiometabolic Disease and Cancer

Clinical
Ryan Harris, PhD
Health Disparities and Vascular Aging Over Time in New Onset Cancer

Population
Avirup Guha, MBBS
Role of Obesity, Ancestry and Social Determinants of Health for Cancer development in African American Individuals with Cardiovascular Disease

Boston University School of Medicine 
Research Focus: Cancer-Associated Thromboembolism as Affected by Health Disparities (CAT-HD)

Co-Center Directors: Katya Ravid, DSc and Vipul Chitalia, MD, PhD
Co-Training Directors: Emelia Benjamin, MD, ScM, FAHA and George Murphy, PhD

Basic
Vipul Chitalia, MD
Targeted mechanisms of compromised diet-associated vasculo-thrombosis in experimental cancer models

Population
Nathanael Fillmore, PhD
“Development and molecular validation of a health-disparities-informed thromboembolism risk model in cancer patients” 

Medical College of Wisconsin
Research Focus: Understanding and Addressing Disparities in Cancer Therapy Induced Inflammation and Associated Endothelial Dysfunction

Center Director: Melinda Stolley, PhD
Training Director David Gutterman, MD, FAHA

Basic
Alison Kriegel, PhD, FAHA
Impact of CTx and Exercise on Immune and Endothelial Cells- Comparative study of B/AA vs. white BC patients

Clinical
Andreas Beyer, PhD, FAHA
Defining Differences in Endothelial Function and Response to CTx among a Diverse Population of Women with BC

Population
Kirsten Beyer, PhD
Taking Charge During Treatment: exercise to improve fitness and quality of life among diverse breast cancer survivors

University of Pennsylvania
Research Focus: Understanding and Reducing Racial Disparities in High Risk Cardio-Oncology Communities

Center Director: Bonnie Ky, MD
Training Director: Clyde Yancy, MD, FAHA

Basic
Joseph Wu, MD, PhD, FAHA
The Role of Genomic Ancestry in Mediating Breast and Prostate Cancer Therapy Cardiotoxicity

Clinical
Bonnie Ky, MD
Phenotyping the Social Determinants of Cardiovascular Health in Cancer Patients and Survivors

Population
Kevin Volpp, MD, PhD
Saro Armenian, DO, MPH
Increasing Physical Activity to Improve CV Health in Racially Diverse Cancer Survivor Communities

View the RFA and award details: SFRN on the Science of Diversity in Clinical Trials

AWARDEES

Diversity & Inclusion in cardioVascular trials through Enrollment and education Resulting in Sustainable Equity: DIVERSE – Researchers from Stanford University School of Medicine in Stanford, California and the Morehouse School of Medicine in Atlanta, will collaborate to conduct two large research studies to identify the best strategies for including people of diverse populations in clinical trials. The first study is comparing six different strategies in 112 different clinical trials randomizing at the site level across the country to determine which works best for different people. The second study works with doctors in communities to find what they and their patients need most to participate in clinical research trials. Researchers will train community doctors to identify and remove barriers to health care access and to enroll people in research trials which can help their patients have access to the latest therapies. The instructions and resource developed for community doctors and hospitals will be made widely available to health care professionals outside the study area. Additionally, the team will form a network of leading pharmaceutical companies, technology companies and minority health care institutions to work together to make clinical trials more inclusive. This collaborative team is led by Eldrin Lewis, M.D., M.P.H., FAHA, the Simon H. Stertzer, M.D. Professor of Medicine and chief of the division of cardiovascular medicine at Stanford University School of Medicine.

Integrated Community Engaged, mHealth, and Data Science to Enhance Clinical Trial Diversity and Cardiometabolic Health (iDIVERSE) – Researchers from the University of California-Los Angeles (UCLA), the University of Hawaii (UH) in Honolulu and Washington State University (WSU) in Pullman will collaborate on projects addressing disparities in clinical research in multiple diverse populations. The center at UH focuses on Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander participants; the WSU is working with Native American participants; and the center at UCLA is concentrating on African/Black, Asian/Filipino, and Latin American participants. Each center is conducting a clinical trial to treat heart disease, diabetes or obesity, using smartphones to stay in touch with participants throughout the project. The three complementary projects aim to mitigate cardiometabolic disparities and they will be thematically connected through mHealth approaches to improve recruitment, enrollment and participation of diverse individuals in clinical trials. The AHA iDIVERSE team will further provide diversity training and, where appropriate, machine learning approaches to advance health equity in clinical trials. This collaborative team is led by Tzung Hsiai, M.D., Ph.D., the Maud Cady Guthman Endowed Term Chair in Cardiology and a professor of medicine (cardiology) and bioengineering at UCLA, and co-directed by Keith C. Norris, M.D., Ph.D., executive vice chair for the Department of Medicine for Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion and a professor of medicine at UCLA and Keawe Kaholokula, Ph.D., a professor and chair of the Department of Native Hawaiian Health at University of Hawaii at Manoa.

Behavioral Economics to Transform Trial Enrollment Representativeness (BETTER) – Researchers from the University of Pennsylvania (Penn) in Philadelphia, Emory University in Atlanta, Grady Health Systems in Atlanta and MedStar Washington Hospital Center in Washington, D.C., are collaborating to use behavioral health science to improve clinical trial participation among diverse groups. They will bring together experts in behavioral economics, research ethics, health equity and clinical trials to identify methods that make trial enrollment and retention easier for everyone. The BETTER Center team will study previous trials to learn from past successes and failures, engage people with heart disease from underserved racial groups to identify barriers to clinical trial enrollment, and then develop and test methods to improve the pace and diversity of trial enrollment. This collaborative team is led by Scott Halpern, M.D., Ph.D., M.B.E., the John M. Eisenberg, M.D. Professor in Medicine at the Perelman School of Medicine at Penn.

Alzheimer's Trial Recruitment Innovation Lab (ATRIL) Reducing Bottlenecks and Achieving Diversity – Researchers from the University of Southern California’s (USC) Alzheimer’s Therapeutic Research Institute (ATRI) and USC’s Schaeffer Center for Health Policy & Economics in Los Angeles, and Howard University in Washington, D.C., are studying innovative ways to increase clinical trial participation among diverse and underrepresented populations, specifically for Alzheimer’s disease (AD), the most common form of dementia. With this funding, the team will conduct two research projects and establish a fellowship training program. The first project will test remote and in-person evidence-based recruitment models for clinical trial participation among diverse populations using community-based partnerships. The second project will evaluate the feasibility of unsupervised, web-based cognitive assessment tools to accelerate clinical trial engagement. Finally, the multidisciplinary fellowship program will train and develop future AD and AD-related dementia clinical trialists. This collaborative team is led by Rema Raman, Ph.D., a professor of neurology at USC’s Keck School of Medicine and director of biostatistics and recruitment at USC’s ATRI.

Training Researchers to Advance Inclusion Networks (TRAIN) – A team at Stanford University School of Medicine in Stanford, Ca., and the Morehouse School of Medicine in Atlanta, is establishing the full network’s coordinated training center to develop science curriculum and career development training opportunities among the participating scientists, with the goal of enhancing diversity of clinical research participants. The program will specifically teach scientists how to do studies in full partnership with patients and communities through classes, community meetings and peer-to-peer learning. This training team is led by Hannah Valantine, M.B.B.S., M.D., a professor of medicine at Stanford. and Priscilla Pemu, M.B.B.S, M.S.C.R., a professor of medicine, the associate dean of clinical research and the director of the Clinical Research Center at Morehouse.