SUNY PRIDE-CVD Scholars
Cohort X – 2022
Wissam AbouAlaiwi, PhD, FAHA
Associate Professor
Department, School: Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics/ College of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences
University: University of Toledo
Location: Toledo, OH
Research Interests: Polycystic kidney disease (PKD), affecting 1 in 500 individuals, is the most commonly occurring genetic disease arising from dysfunction of primary cilia (ciliopathy) due to mutations in Pkd1/2 genes encoding for polycystin-1 (PC1) and -2 (PC2), respectively. Although PKD is a systemic disease hallmarked by fluid-filled kidney cysts, cardiovascular complications are the leading cause of death among PKD patients. PKD patients are more likely to develop hypertension and congestive heart failure. A primary cilium is a mechanosensory organelle that extends from the apical membrane of a cell to the lumen of blood vessels and kidney tubules. We and others have independently studied abnormality in primary cilia, cell proliferation and polyploidy in the vascular and renal systems in PKD. We propose cilia as a fluid sensory organelle required for sensing fluid shear stress within the cardiovascular and renal systems.
Denver Brown, MD
Assistant Professor/ Attending Nephrologist
Department, School: Nephrology
University: George Washington University School of Medicine/ Children’s National Hospital
Location: Washington, DC
Research Interests: I have long been interested in investigating the consequences of metabolic acidosis in children with CKD, as there are well tolerated agents for the treatment of metabolic acidosis. Cardiovascular disease is a well-known risk factor for poor outcomes in children with chronic kidney disease. Metabolic acidosis has been associated with adverse cardiovascular events in adults but little is known about this association in children. I am interested in evaluating this relationship in children, as part of larger study that seeks to examine links between metabolic acidosis and multiple other CKD related comorbidities in order to identify whether treatment modifies any observed relationships.
Susana J. Calderon, PhD, RN
Assistant Professor
Department, School: Mennonite College of Nursing
University: Illinois State University
Location: Normal, Illinois
Research Interests: As an agent of change in advancing people’s health and improving quality care, my experiences with minority and underserved children compel me to lead the effort to improve health for children, especially disadvantaged minority children. Over the past years, I have addressed oral health disparities among children using an interdisciplinary team approach that acknowledges the complexity of oral health disease and systemic inflammation. My research focuses on finding the beneficial role of the oral and gut microbiome in children and preventing cardiovascular disease. My goal is to improve health outcomes for underserved minority children and decrease health disparities and future cardiovascular disease.
Ayorkor Gaba, Psy.D.
Assistant Professor
Department, School: Psychiatry
University: University of Massachusetts Medical School
Location: Worcester, Massachusetts
Research Interests: I am a treatment researcher at the University of Massachusetts Medical School. I am committed to research focused on eliminating racial/ethnic health and health care disparities. My research interests include a focus on the disproportionate burden of multimorbidity, defined as ≥2 concurrent chronic medical (e.g. cardiovascular disease), mental health, and/or substance use conditions, among Blacks/African-Americans and/or Hispanics/Latinos adults. I have a particular interest in addressing multimorbidity among adults with criminal legal system involvement, who are often at greater risk of experiencing health and healthcare disparities. My research utilizes community-based participatory research and health equity implementation science approaches to inform the development, implementation, and evaluation of integrated, culturally responsive, and trauma-informed integrated care interventions.
Cynthia Lebron, PhD, MPH
Assistant Professor
Department, School: School of Nursing and Health Sciences
University: University of Miami
Location: Coral Gables, Florida
Research Interests: My research interests lie at the intersection of racial/ethnic health disparities in obesity and maternal and child health. I began in health research with Hispanic adults with diabetes and then moved on to Hispanic adolescents with obesity and then to obesity prevention in preschool. As my work in obesity moved through the life course, my interests increasingly became prevention and protective factors. The natural progression from this work was a focus on maternal and child health. As mother’s health is continually found to be the best prediction of early child health, I found myself more curious as to the influences of mother’s health. Consequently, I sought out various opportunities to learn about mothers as agents of health such as interviewing Hispanic mother about their feeding practices and nutrition influences and analyzing an online parenting forum on breastfeeding. The evolution of my research has meant that I am increasingly focused on pre- and perinatal risk/protective factors and health outcomes that lead to health inequities in minority women and children. I believe creating the support and infrastructure necessary to establish healthy behaviors such as breastfeeding, a nutritious diet, healthy sleep, and physical activity as early in life as possible will impact the health disparities that develop later in life. The K01 that I have applied for would allow me to explore that idea in the form of a multigenerational intervention for the prevention of early childhood obesity in Hispanic infants.
Andrea López-Cepero, PhD
Assistant Professor
Department, School: Department of Epidemiology, Rollins School of Public Health
University: Emory University
Location: Atlanta, GA
Research Interests: Dr. López-Cepero is a population health researcher focusing on prevention of cardiometabolic diseases among US Latinxs and Puerto Rico, particularly obesity and type 2 diabetes. She uses a biopsychosocial approach to understand how stress influences cardiometabolic health through behavioral and physiological adaptations, with the ultimate goal of identifying novel interventions targets to improve Latinx health. Her current research documents stress-related eating behaviors (i.e., emotional and uncontrolled eating) in US Latinx adults and in Puerto Rico, and evaluates their association with stressors and cardiometabolic markers. Additionally, her research explores novel resilience factors and how these may buffer the effect of stress on eating behaviors and health. With the COVID-19 pandemic, Dr. López-Cepero is leading studies in Puerto Rico that aim to document how the pandemic has influenced glucose metabolism, stress, eating behaviors, and access to foods and healthcare among individuals in Puerto Rico.
Alexandra MacMillian Uribe, PhD, RDN
Assistant Professor
Department, School: (1) Institute for Advancing Health through Agriculture, AgriLife Research (2) Department of Nutrition, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences
University: Texas A&M
Location: Dallas, Texas
Research Interests: My research focuses on developing and evaluating community-informed health promotion interventions that reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD) among children and adults in underserved urban communities. Currently, I am launching two pilot programs evaluating the effectiveness of a produce prescription program on cardiovascular health, fruit and vegetable consumption, and food security among caregiver-toddler dyads and adults at risk of or living with CVD from underserved communities in Dallas, TX. I also am preparing a US Department of Agriculture Gus Schumacher Produce Prescription grant application to evaluate the impact of produce prescription programs, coupled with health and disease management education, on blood pressure and food security among adults with hypertension in West Dallas, TX, a racially and ethnically concentrated area of poverty with low access to healthy foods. In addition to produce prescription programs, I am interested in school-based interventions that promote a healthy lifestyle and decrease cardiovascular disease risk over the lifespan. I have applied for National Institutes of Health and American Diabetes Association funding to evaluate the impact of an adapted multi-level civic engagement program to catalyze positive food and physical activity environmental change on metabolic syndrome risk factors (which increase the likelihood of developing CVD) among urban adolescents attending Title 1 middle schools.
Aresha Martinez-Cardoso, PhD
Assistant Professor
Department, School: Public Health Sciences
University: University of Chicago
Location: Chicago, Illinois
Research Interests: I am an interdisciplinary public health researcher and Assistant Professor in the Department of Public Health Sciences. My research integrates theoretical perspectives from the social sciences with epidemiological methods in public health to examine how social inequality in the US shapes health inequities across the life course, with a particular focus on the cardiovascular health of Latinxs. My research aims to answer: how do racial and social inequities shape the health of US and foreign-born Latinxs and how can we intervene? In my work, I aim to unpack the “Latino health paradox” wherein the cardiovascular health of Latinx immigrants declines with more time in the US, and further that health also declines intergenerationally among Latinxs. In this vein, a growing body of research suggests that contending with structural racism and social inequalities across the life course may contribute to wear and tear on the body through the dysregulation of stress-sensitive biological systems and epigenetic pathways. However, the social and biological mechanisms by which racism shapes the health of Latinos across time and generations have yet to be fully elucidated. My work aims to fill these gaps. In addition, I extend my work by envisioning policy and social interventions that would move the needle on deeply entrenched health disparities.
Emily F. Moore, PhD, ARNP, CPNP-PC
Advanced Practice Education Manager, Affiliate Faculty
Department, School: Advanced Practice
University: University of Washington
Location: Seattle, Washington
Research Interests: My dissertation was centered around Health Disparities research, focusing on infants with single ventricle heart disease, access to healthcare, and their survival in rural communities. The purpose of my dissertation study was to explore the differences in clinical characteristics and mortality between rural and urban infants with single ventricle heart disease who are status-post stage one repair, pending stage two (the interstage period). The overarching hypothesis was that an increased percentage of infants living in rural areas experience adverse outcomes during the interstage period. The long-term goal of my program of research is to describe the differences of congenital heart disease and care coordination between rural and urban communities with a focus on Alaska Native populations to improve culturally appropriate care without compromising morbidity and mortality.
Olatokunbo Osibogun, MBBS, PhD
Assistant Professor
Department, School: Department of Epidemiology, Robert Stemple College of Public Health & Social Work
University: Florida International University
Location: Miami, Florida
Research Interests: My research interests as they relate to cardiovascular disease are the impact of 7 health behaviors and factors (smoking, body mass index, physical activity, diet, total cholesterol, blood pressure and blood glucose) that measure cardiovascular health on various aspects of life. I am also interested in the social & structural determinants of health and their effects on cardiovascular health.
Melissa Vilaro, PhD
Assistant Professor
Department, School: Family, Youth, & Community Sciences
University: University of Florida
Location: Gainesville, Florida
Research Interests: Dr. Vilaro is an Assistant Professor of Health and Wellness in the Department of Family Youth and Community Sciences at the University of Florida. Her research focuses on culturally tailored health communication and behavior change interventions that support adherence to dietary guidelines for chronic disease prevention. Her most recent research focuses on adapting health information technologies (HITs). HITs have potential to positively impact health, but are largely developed without consideration for how rural, minoritized, or otherwise diverse groups can best use and benefit from them. Dr. Vilaro’s current work is funded by a NCI diversity supplement to develop and test a culturally tailored nutrition risk module for colorectal cancer prevention and she is also conducting research on the use of telehealth in rural communities. She is interested in extending her research program to include prevention of heart failure among cancer survivors. As heart failure is a common outcome from cancer treatment, adhering to a sodium-restricted diet is one important modifiable health behavior for cancer survivors.