Chronic Disease Prevention and Management
Most deaths in the U.S. are attributable to chronic diseases such as heart disease and diabetes. Some groups are placed at increased risk of premature death from chronic diseases due in part to social drivers of health at multiple levels of the socioecological model. Thus, in order to prevent and manage chronic diseases, we must also understand and address contextual elements such as health care access and affordability, neighborhood environment, and exposure to chronic stressors.
We approach our work to combat chronic disease through the lens of these social drivers of health, conducting research to improve risk factors across individual, family, community, health care and population levels. Our efforts also aim to improve treatment adherence and patient-provider communication, reduce disease symptoms, and enhance quality of life.
Research within this realm is transdisciplinary in nature, and we are proud to collaborate with individuals with lived experience, community partners, and other key stakeholders. Our research methods span the translational science spectrum, ranging from efficacy trials to dissemination and implementation efforts.
Ongoing Projects
Principal Investigator: Jessica G. LaRose, PhD
Co-Investigator: Autumn Lanoye, PhD
Funding Source: National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK)
Project Summary: This is a randomized clinical trial to test the preliminary efficacy of an integrated lifestyle intervention targeting proinflammatory behaviors and psychological function on adiposity and biomarkers of inflammation and cardiometabolic disease among emerging adult women, compared to a developmentally adapted behavioral obesity treatment program.
Principal Investigator: Alexander R. Lucas, PhD
Funding Source: National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI)
Project Summary: Cardiovascular disease is a primary competing cause of morbidity and mortality among older men diagnosed with prostate cancer, especially those treated with androgen deprivation therapy. Behavioral interventions to support the adoption and maintenance of exercise training may be a promising non-pharmacological approach to buffer the negative sequalae of treatment with ADT. Through the proposed research and training plan we will test whether a behavioral exercise training intervention, that can be remotely delivered to men across diverse settings, leads to favorable changes in exercise capacity, body composition and subclinical markers of cardiovascular function, that forecast future cardiovascular events.
Multiple Principal Investigators: Jessica G. LaRose, PhD and Maghboeba Mosavel, PhD
Funding Source: National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK)
Project Summary: Grounded in a decade of community-based participatory research, this is a cluster randomized trial designed to test the feasibility, acceptability, and preliminary effectiveness of a novel grassroots intervention delivery model to reduce adiposity and improve cardiometabolic risk for majority Black residents in an under-resourced community setting.
Autumn Lanoye, Ph.D., L.C.P.
Jessica G. LaRose, Ph.D.
Alexander R. Lucas, Ph.D., M.S.
Maghboeba Mosavel, Ph.D., M.A.
