UH Population Health to Host Scholars Focused on Obesity Health Disparities

Obesity no longer means having to lose a few pounds or go down a size in apparel. For decades, it has affected communities around the world as a chronic—and often, life-threatening—disease.

University of Houston Population Health (UHPH) has focused programming and research on cardiovascular health including obesity. Soon, it will begin a new phase in its efforts to facilitate the development of scientific investigations addressing this worldwide epidemic.

A recent grant from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (one of the National Institutes of Health), will provide UHPH with resources to further train and mentor new generations of obesity researchers.

This is the third time that Bettina Beech, UH Chief Population Health Officer and UHPH founder and colleagues have been awarded this grant, which supports Obesity Health Disparities Programs for Inclusion and Diversity Among Individuals Engaged in Health-Related Research (OHD PRIDE). Through OHD PRIDE, UH Population Health will work with early career investigators from around the nation to help them develop and share their research.

"UH Population Health will contribute to the next generation of scientists who are focusing their energies on health issues such as obesity," said Marino Bruce, director of UH Population Health Collaboratories and OHD PRIDE Multiple Investigator. "We're helping them launch their careers as early faculty members and assisting them to develop research studies designed to reverse disturbing global trends in obesity."

Beech, Bruce and Roland J. Thorpe Jr. at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health are multiple principal investigators of OHD PRIDE. Rosenda Murillo, Associate Professor in the UH College of Education along with a national team of mentors and program faculty will work with early career scholars as OHD PRIDE Fellows. OHD PRIDE mentors and program faculty are scientists from leading research universities who have distinguished careers in obesity-related cardiovascular research. This group will deliver presentations on the latest developments in obesity science and provide feedback to Fellows about their research ideas in group and individual settings. OHD PRIDE mentors and program faculty will work with Fellows to produce competitive research grants and high impact peer-reviewed publications; the primary elements of an independent research career.

UHPH will welcome the next cohort of OHD PRIDE Fellows during a 10-day summer institute this June. Additional follow-up meetings will be scheduled both virtually and on campus through 2025. OHD PRIDE will mentor and train four cohorts of Fellows over the next five years.

"Fellows will not only master the nuts and bolts of manuscript and grant writing; they also will learn the nuances of biomedical, behavioral and social science research," Bruce said. "They need to understand that revisions and rewrites are common, and research writing is a marathon … not a sprint."

Beyond developing fellows' writing and research skills, OHD PRIDE aims to continue making contributions the research literature and bringing awareness to the health risks associated with obesity in the U.S. and around the world.

"Obesity has been an international epidemic for two decades … going on three," Bruce said. "It is one of the major risk factors for hypertension, diabetes, chronic kidney disease, heart disease and some forms of cancer. This has affected marginalized populations more than others."

According to data from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), adult obesity is most prevalent among Black and Hispanic adult populations. Bruce added that social and economic factors also affect obesity rates. Living in areas that are not conducive to walking or basic exercise contributes to obesity as do communities without access to fresh, healthy food options.

"There is not a 'one size fits all' solution for obesity," Bruce said. "That's why we need a diverse biomedical research workforce to collaborate, produce, and disseminate research on this weight related outcomes."

While obesity has long contributed to several cardiovascular diseases and cancers, new developments related to the disease are affecting communities. Bruce cites the rise in weight loss drugs as offering scientists new opportunities to conduct obesity prevention and intervention studies. The jury is still out on medications such as Ozempic, he said.

"We simply don't know what the long-term effects of these drugs are," Bruce said. "Initiatives like OHD PRIDE can help the next generation of scientists produce research about accelerated weight gain and weight loss ensure that is accessible to and understood by the general public."

OHD PRIDE perfectly complements the mission of UH Population Health. Since its introduction at the University, UHPH has addressed quality of life and has launched academic health programs. In doing so, Beech, Bruce and others within UHPH examine the myriad factors affecting health—physical, social, environmental, economic, spiritual and more.

"There is so much to understand with regard to health, nutrition and obesity," Bruce said. "We are looking forward to continuing to work with early career researchers who are ready to explore these areas, establish careers as successful independent investigators, and share their discoveries with the world."

Provided by University of Houston