Dr. Alka Kanaya is Professor in the Departments of Medicine, Epidemiology and Biostatistics at the University of California San Francisco. Trained in Internal Medicine and Epidemiology, over the past decade she has mentored several individuals at different levels in their training and developed a thriving program of multidisciplinary collaborative research focused on cardiovascular disease epidemiology and prevention. She is currently funded by the NHLBI to conduct a prospective cohort study of South Asians called the MASALA study which is modeled on the existing Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis (MESA) to understand the antecedents of cardiovascular disease in this high risk ethnic group. With the support of the K24 renewal, Dr. Kanaya will extend the research program by adding measures of coronary artery cross-sectional area to further knowledge on atherosclerosis markers and ASCVD. The Overall Aims of this K24 proposal are: (1) To measure coronary artery size (cross-sectional area and diameter) among 500 South Asians (age 45-65 years) in the MASALA study and describe coronary artery size by age, sex, and CAC category. (2) To compare coronary size of similar aged South Asians in MASALA with Whites and African Americans in CARDIA after adjusting for age, sex, body mass index and cardiovascular risk factors. (3) To determine the association between coronary artery size in South Asians with known cardiovascular risk factors, ectopic fat distribution, and biomarkers. (4) To determine whether previously discovered genetic variants and local methylation patterns for cardiometabolic traits generalize to South Asians, and then to investigate the association between common genetic variants and DNA methylation patterns with coronary artery size. The K24 would insure sufficient time to pursue this next phase in Dr. Kanaya's research while protecting time to devote to mentoring future clinical investigators in patient-oriented research. The plans for development, research, and mentoring were designed to complement each other and to create a synergistic effect of mentoring and research in patient-oriented research. The proposed mentoring, research, and career development activities actively leverage existing infrastructure, resources, and training initiatives provided by NIH including the CTSI, and Dr. Kanaya's active research program at UCSF.

Public Health Relevance

South Asian individuals have high rates of cardiovascular disease that are not explained by traditional risk factors. We have established a longitudinal study of South Asians to identify risk factors linked to subclinical atherosclerosis and incident cardiovascular disease. This project would add measures of coronary artery size from existing images of the heart to determine whether blood vessel size is related to the risk of cardiovascular disease.

Agency
National Institute of Health (NIH)
Institute
National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI)
Type
Midcareer Investigator Award in Patient-Oriented Research (K24)
Project #
5K24HL112827-08
Application #
9944321
Study Section
NHLBI Mentored Patient-Oriented Research Review Committee (MPOR)
Program Officer
Papanicolaou, George
Project Start
2013-08-01
Project End
2023-05-31
Budget Start
2020-06-01
Budget End
2021-05-31
Support Year
8
Fiscal Year
2020
Total Cost
Indirect Cost
Name
University of California San Francisco
Department
Internal Medicine/Medicine
Type
Schools of Medicine
DUNS #
094878337
City
San Francisco
State
CA
Country
United States
Zip Code
94118
Jin, Yichen; DiPietro, Loretta; Kandula, Namratha R et al. (2018) Associations Between Television Viewing and Adiposity Among South Asians. J Racial Ethn Health Disparities 5:1059-1062
Kanaya, Alka M (2018) India's Call to Action-Prioritize Chronic Cardiovascular Disease. JAMA Intern Med 178:373-374
Mehta, Anurag; Patel, Jaideep; Al Rifai, Mahmoud et al. (2018) Inflammation and coronary artery calcification in South Asians: The Mediators of Atherosclerosis in South Asians Living in America (MASALA) study. Atherosclerosis 270:49-56
Kandula, Namratha R; Cooper, Andrew J; Schneider, John A et al. (2018) Personal social networks and organizational affiliation of South Asians in the United States. BMC Public Health 18:218
Deol, Rupinder; Lee, Kathryn A; Kandula, Namratha R et al. (2018) Risk of Obstructive Sleep Apnoea is Associated with Glycaemia Status in South Asian Men and Women in the United States. Obes Med 9:1-6
Al Rifai, Mahmoud; Cainzos-Achirica, Miguel; Kanaya, Alka M et al. (2018) Discordance between 10-year cardiovascular risk estimates using the ACC/AHA 2013 estimator and coronary artery calcium in individuals from 5 racial/ethnic groups: Comparing MASALA and MESA. Atherosclerosis 279:122-129
Bhupathiraju, Shilpa N; Guasch-Ferré, Marta; Gadgil, Meghana D et al. (2018) Dietary Patterns among Asian Indians Living in the United States Have Distinct Metabolomic Profiles That Are Associated with Cardiometabolic Risk. J Nutr 148:1150-1159
Chiang, Janet M; Stanczyk, Frank Z; Kanaya, Alka M (2018) Vitamin D Levels, Body Composition, and Metabolic Factors in Asian Indians: Results from the Metabolic Syndrome and Atherosclerosis in South Asians Living in America Pilot Study. Ann Nutr Metab 72:223-230
Needham, Belinda L; Mukherjee, Bhramar; Bagchi, Pramita et al. (2018) Acculturation Strategies and Symptoms of Depression: The Mediators of Atherosclerosis in South Asians Living in America (MASALA) Study. J Immigr Minor Health 20:792-798
Mongraw-Chaffin, Morgana; Gujral, Unjali P; Kanaya, Alka M et al. (2018) Relation of Ectopic Fat with Atherosclerotic Cardiovascular Disease Risk Score in South Asians Living in the United States (from the Mediators of Atherosclerosis in South Asians Living in America [MASALA] Study). Am J Cardiol 121:315-321

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