African Americans experience high rates of type 2 diabetes and its associated complications compared to their white counterparts. Reasons for these disparities include differences in family history, socio-economic status (SES), disease control, and quality of diabetes care just to name a few. One of the strongest risk factors for type 2 diabetes is obesity, and a substantial disparity exists between African Americans and whites, particularly among women. In fact, over 75% of African-American women aged 20 and above are overweight or obese. Given the alarming statistics, the serious health implications of this disease burden, and the federal mandate to eliminate health disparities, there is a need to identify novel explanatory factors underlying these disparities. Therefore, the candidate proposes two observational studies to evaluate novel risk factors: 1) A cross-sectional family study of three generations of African Americans to evaluate conserved cultural factors related to nutrition and body weight;and 2) A prospective study, nested within a randomized, controlled trial, to evaluate environmental influences (i.e. aggregate-level SES, food availability, consumer purchases) on body weight and response to a weight-loss intervention. The candidate is building on a strong research background and has developed a comprehensive plan for further training and research mentorship. The plan includes formal training through coursework, participation in workshops and seminars, collaborative research activities with groups at other institutions, and regular meetings with a multidisciplinary team of faculty mentors and advisors. With this additional training, the candidate should achieve her goal of becoming an independent investigator focused on the etiology and reduction of racial/ ethnic disparities in diabetes and obesity, particularly in relation to African Americans.
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