Four Researchers Win Research Awards to Study Social Determinants of Obesity and Related Chronic Diseases

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - Four researchers from the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) and Louisiana State University (LSU) won pilot project awards to study the social determinants of obesity and related chronic diseases in the South. The funds, $100,000 per project, are provided by the Mid-South Transdisciplinary Collaborative Center for Health Disparities Research (Mid-South TCC). The winning investigators are:

Andrea Cherrington, MD, MPH, Associate Professor at UAB, for her project "Assessing Social Determinants of Obesity for Latino immigrants in tan Emerging Community"

Amanda Willig, PhD, RD, Assistant Professor at UAB, for her project "Behavioral and Social Factors Impact Mitochondrial Dysfunction and Obesity in HIV-infected Women"

Douglas Moellering, PhD, Assistant Professor at UAB, for his project "Adverse Effects of Life Stress on Obesity and Disease Risk Are Mediated by Diet Quality and Oxidative Stress"

James Hempe, PhD, Associate Professor at LSU, for his project "Metabolic Determinants of Racial Disparity in Hemoglobin Glycation"

The Mid-South TCC, one of only two such regional centers in the nation, investigates social determinants - social, economic, cultural, and environmental factors - that drive and sustain health disparities in obesity and chronic diseases across the human lifespan. The center's mission is to develop interventions to relieve such disparities. The research specifically targets six Mid-South states (Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, Arkansas, Tennessee, and Kentucky) that include some of the most impoverished rural counties and inner-city communities in the nation, carrying exceptionally high burden of obesity, chronic diseases, and high mortality rates from these conditions.

"As a regional center we can deepen our research effort to study the social and economic factors that cause obesity and chronic illnesses," states the Center's Director, Dr. Mona Fouad. "We are now able to work in a larger geographic area, support innovative studies by scientists from academic institutions across the Mid-South region, and reach more people in need. We congratulate our winners and applaud the important work they are doing to improve the health of underserved men, women, and children across the South."