AHA Awards $1.2 million for Food is Medicine Research at UTHealth Houston

The American Heart Association (AHA) awarded a cumulative $1.2 million to UTHealth Houston School of Public Health researchers to test the effectiveness of Food is Medicine interventions to improve maternal and infant health outcomes. 

These awards are part of the AHA's $7.8 million national initiative to expand Food is Medicine projects under its Health Care by Food program. Public health researchers have embarked on groundbreaking efforts to enhance health outcomes through nutrition.  

Researchers are actively engaged in food-based interventions such as food prescription plans and other resource designs to mitigate the impacts of food insecurity and chronic health conditions. The AHA selected three UTHealth Houston School of Public Health researchers as award recipients to contribute to this initiative.  

Shreela Sharma, PhD, RDN, LD, professor and vice chair of the Department of Epidemiology, and Director of Center for Health Equity, was awarded $430,452 for the project "Testing the Impact of TBES (text-based engagement strategies) Rx." This project will test the impact of high-frequency messaging with cardholders on activity and utilization to increase fruit and vegetable consumption for high-risk pregnant mothers. The project is in partnership with Tufts University Research Assistant Professor Ronit Ridberg, PhD, and About Fresh, which provides the Fresh Connect produce prescription program.  

Nalini Ranjit, PhD, associate professor of the Department of Health Promotion and Behavioral Sciences and at the Michael and Susan Dell Center for Healthy Living, will serve as the primary investigator on a $447,480 award alongside Sharma to examine the utilization of a produce prescription program among high-risk pregnant mothers. The project is being implemented with Planet Harvest, Brighter Bites, and Harris Health System.  

Alexandra van den Berg, PhD, MPH, professor of Health Promotion and Behavioral Sciences, and associate director of the Michael and Susan Dell Center for Healthy Living, was awarded $394,804 for the project "Enhancing Food is Medicine Interventions for Food Insecure Postpartum Women in Central Texas." 

The rise of "Food is Medicine" has gained significant attention and emerged as a central focus for researchers and policymakers, promising innovative solutions to improve health outcomes. 

You can read more about the new initiatives here.

EPIDEMIOLOGY FACULTY HIGHLIGHTS

New Grant Funds Summer Health Equity Fellowship

Assistant Professor Jemima John, PhD, and Professor Shreela Sharma, PhD, RDN, LD, have been awarded a $5,000 grant from the Kenneth I. Shine, MD, Academy of Health Science Education to promote research and innovation in health science education.

The grant will fund the implementation of a seven-week student-informed summer intensive fellowship to cultivate health equity competencies in the next generation of public health scientists. The development of this fellowship has been student-led from the start. Two hundred fourteen students completed a survey earlier this spring indicating their training preferences, and student leaders assisted John in developing the curriculum.

Finalized fellowship activities will include a structured health equity course, mentored research, community engagement opportunities, and professional development activities. Grant funding will support fellows' stipends.

You can read more about the fellowship here.

Researchers Identify Two Healthy Fats Associated with Lower Risk of Dementia

Associate Professor Marcia Otto, PhD, and Professor Nikhil Padhye, PhD, Cizik School of Nursing, recently published a study examining how certain healthy fats, omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids, may affect brain health in older adults. They studied data from 3,564 older adults in the U.S. who did not have a history of stroke or memory issues. The researchers measured levels of six of these fatty acids over 23 years. They found two specific healthy fats were linked to slower memory decline and a lower risk of dementia later in life.

The study's findings support the hypothesis that circulating concentrations of specific healthy fats could significantly influence cognitive health later in life.

You can read the complete publication in the Journal of Alzheimer's Disease.

Assistant Professor Awarded Grant for New Genetic Study

The Simons Foundation Autism Research Initiative (SFARI) has awarded a pilot grant to Assistant Professor Zeynep H. Coban Akdemir, PhD, and Sujatha Jagannathan, PhD, Assistant Professor and Vice Chair for Equity with the University of Colorado. Their collaborative project, ‘Systematic Identification and Characterization of Transcripts Associated through ASD through Potential Gain-of-Function Alleles’ will study the impact of genetic variants, particularly premature termination codon (PTC) variants, on neurodevelopmental disorders like autism spectrum disorder (ASD) crucial for predicting disease outcomes and developing targeted therapies.

Restrepo Spotlights Expansive Tuberculosis Research For

World TB Day

Associate Professor Blanca Restrepo, PhD, was a key speaker at a circle of conferences that took place in Reynosa and Rio Bravo Tamaulipas, Mexico. The event, titled 'Curso de Actualización sobre Tuberculosis, Programa de Prevención, Control de Tuberculosis,' marked International Day of the Fight Against Tuberculosis on March 24th. Restrepo outlined a 20-year timeline of tuberculosis research and its global impact.

EPIDEMIOLOGY STUDENT NEWS

From Aspirations to Expertise in Health Equity Advocacy

From a young age, Sara Stephens, PhD, was always interested in pursuing a career that involved helping people and positively impacting her community. As a high school student, she excelled in writing and the language arts, art history, and sports. Combined with a desire to help others, the creativity, communication, and teamwork cultivated by this diverse set of interests would serve her well in her later career.

Her collegiate journey took her to Baylor University, where she majored in medical humanities on the pre-medical track, involving courses such as biology, bioethics, and health economics. During her junior year, she gained hands-on experience as a scribe in an emergency room in Waco, Texas. This experience revealed the stark realities of the US healthcare system for many in Texas, including health disparities and systemic access barriers that many patients face due to poverty and other socioeconomic influences. In understanding the broader impact of social determinants on health and individual and community well-being, she was motivated to study these health disparities and public health further.

Drawn toward this balance between empirical research, healthcare, and advocacy, Stephens pursued her MPH and PhD in Epidemiology at the School of Public Health, specializing in pediatric chronic disease, including congenital heart defects. Her work involves conducting and publishing epidemiologic studies and closely collaborating with clinicians to understand the greater implications of her research on pediatric care.

Throughout her training, Stephens valued the importance of involving those with lived experiences in research, realizing that data alone may not always capture the complexities of chronic disease. She emphasized collaboration with patients and their families, acknowledging their insights as invaluable for research, particularly for rare diseases. Her work in clinical epidemiology offered her a unique opportunity to contribute to meaningful changes for these communities, providing scientific support while respecting the human stories to drive progress in healthcare.

Stephens' commitment to addressing health disparities remained a central focus as she completed her PhD. She evolved from a young student who dreamt of helping people to a dedicated public health professional with a clear mission to impact the healthcare system for children with chronic disease positively. Stephens graduates with her PhD in epidemiology this spring and will continue her journey as a postdoctoral epidemiologist within the Department of Pediatrics at Baylor College of Medicine, where she aims to further her work in promoting health equity and supporting patient communities. 



EPIDEMIOLOGY ALUMNI

UPCOMING EVENTS

Tephi Grand Rounds: Fungal Outbreaks

Speaker:

Luis Ostrosky-Zeichner, MD, FACP

Wednesday, May 8

4:00 pm - 5:00 pm

Zoom

Outbreaks of fungal disease are becoming more frequent due to globalization, climate change, and an increasing number of medically complex patients. This lecture will discuss the frequency, epidemiology, and characteristics of major fungal outbreaks in the literature.



For More Information:

Info@Tephi.texas.gov

Texas Public Health Association

100th Annual

Education Conference

May 20 - 22

Galveston, Texas

The conference welcomes physicians, nurses, health educators, academicians, registered sanitarians/environmental health professionals, nutritionists/dietitians, social workers, community mental health professionals, students, and others working in public health and related fields.

For More Information &

Registration: Link

The Cupboard

Wednesday, May 1

Monday, May 20

Wednesday, May 29

1:00 pm - 4:00 pm

The Cupboard is a no-cost food resource

for students and staff who may

need assistance.



Location: SPH Building, B-04

Email: TheCupboard@uth.tmc.edu

Disaster Readiness and Resilience Clinic

Saturday, May 5

9:00 am - 3:00 pm

Where: Metropolitan Multi-Service Center

1475 West Gray Street

Houston, TX 77019

A Whole Community/Disability Access and Functional Needs (DAFN) inclusive workshop for individuals, caregivers, and families to improve their preparedness for the threats and hazards that may impact area community members. This event is free and open to the public.

If you would like more information, please visit here.

EPIDEMIOLOGY NOTES

Open Calls, Applications, Abstracts, and Conference Participation Opportunities Now available on SharePoint.

Calls for applications, abstracts, and conference participation opportunities are now published and shared on the School of Public Health SharePoint Site.

If you would like to share such opportunities, you will be responsible for submitting participation opportunities through SharePoint.  Additional details will follow in the coming weeks.

Questions regarding this change can be directed to SPH-Communications@uth.tmc.edu

SER Conference is coming to Austin, TX, June 18-21, 2024

The Society for Epidemiologic Research 2024 Conference will be held in Austin, Texas. The conference is open to health professionals and students. For more information and registration links, please visit the SER Conference website.

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Reminder: For more information on how to handle media requests, see the UTHealth Houston HOOP policy here. If you are contacted by the media, please call the UTHealth Houston Media Relations team on the hotline, 713-500-3030 - someone is available 24/7. Deb Lake is the designated School of Public Health contact. Always choose to call the hotline for immediate assistance.

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