UC Davis Health researchers have received an American Heart Association grant to study chronic stress and cardiovascular disease in underserved communities. And a team of UC Davis Health scientists is establishing a new research center to study the impact of stress from everyday life on heart health in underserved communities.
The American Heart Association has been funding the new UC Davis PRECISE Center (Psychosocial stRessors and Exposomics on CV health In underServed multiEthnic populations in Northern, California). And it is part of a $13 million initiative to study the impact of chronic stress on cardiovascular disease and health. The 2020 Stress in America survey from the American Psychological Association concluded that Americans are facing a national mental health crisis that could yield serious health and social consequences for years to come. Stress is known as a significant risk factor for cardiovascular disease and chronic psychosocial stress has been linked to the development of atrial fibrillation, coronary heart disease, and sudden cardiac death.
The UC Davis PRECISE Center will be led by Chiamvimonvat, with 3 interdisciplinary projects. Martin Cadeiras, medical director for the Advanced Heart Failure, Heart Transplantation and Mechanical Circulatory Support Device Program and Javier E. López, associate professor of Cardiovascular Medicine and medical director of Cardiac Rehabilitation will be leading Project 1 to recruit a diverse group of participants with different backgrounds, various psychosocial stress levels and socioeconomic status from underserved populations in California. They will investigate how societal, environmental, and biological factors may cause stress that can impact heart health. Also on the team is Imo Ebong, who is an associate professor of Advanced Heart Failure, Heart Transplantation and Mechanical Circulatory Support Device Program and Julie Bidwell, assistant professor at the Betty Irene Moore School of Nursing School of Nursing.
Projects 2 and 3 – led by Xiaodong Zhang, associate professor in Cardiovascular Medicine, Chao-Yin Chen, professor of Pharmacology, and Padmini Sirish and Phung Thai, assistant researchers and early-stage investigators in Cardiovascular Medicine, will use innovative animal models to study how the constellation of environmental and social stressors such as noise, overcrowding, and sleep disruption, impact cardiovascular function.
The team is also going to use advanced omics analyses, led by Bruce Hammock, distinguished professor in the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, as well as innovative computational biology, led by Leighton Izu, professor of Pharmacology and David Liem, research scientist in Cardiovascular Medicine, to generate a “functional connectome” across basic science and clinical projects that will unveil key patterns in signaling pathways between stress and heart health, providing the overarching integration and insights that are greater than the individual project.
The UC Davis PRECISE Center is comprised of a talented investigative team from UC Davis in partnership with the California State University, Sacramento, a Hispanic Serving Institution (HSI) and Asian American and Native American Pacific Islander Serving Institution (AANAPISI). And collaborators from Sacramento State include educational experts, psychology and social scientists, clinical psychologist, and environmental scientists.
The team is also going to collaborate with Valley High School Health TECH Academy, directed by Rodney Black. And UC Davis team members are from five different departments from four different schools and colleges (School of Medicine, School of Nursing, School of Veterinary Medicine, and College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences).
KEY QUOTES:
“Psychosocial stress is a significant risk factor for cardiovascular disease, but the mechanisms of chronic psychosocial stress on cardiovascular disease remain incompletely understood, making it difficult to design preventive or therapeutic strategies. Given the disproportionately high burden of psychosocial stress among minorities and underserved populations, evaluating the association of chronic stressors with cardiovascular disease is of paramount importance.”
“Overall, we are hoping to identify clusters of chronic psychosocial stress and study how these clusters affect multiethnic underserved populations and individuals. We will determine the overall effects of chronic psychosocial stress clusters at the population level, within individual patients, and in close collaboration with an animal model of chronic psychosocial stress.”
— Nipavan Chiamvimonvat, associate chief for research in Cardiovascular Medicine and the co-director of the UC Davis Cardiovascular Research Institute
“UC Davis Health has one of the most diverse patient populations in the country, with a large representation of Latinos from the California Central Valley. Therefore, the overarching goal of our study is to determine the effects of chronic psychosocial stress and its consequences on cardiovascular disease development among underserved multiethnic populations.”
— Martin Cadeiras
“This important work provides an opportunity to build upon the partnership between Sacramento State and UC Davis Health. The integrated and multifaceted studies extend our ongoing work in underserved communities and will add to the understanding of their disparate risk and related cardiovascular outcomes.”
— Dianne Hyson, dean of the College of Social Sciences & Interdisciplinary Studies at Sacramento State
“It will, furthermore, advance community partnerships and support their interdependent roles as significant drivers for innovation, economic and cultural growth.”
— Javier E. López
“Nothing creates purpose and hope better than giving underserved students the ability to do something meaningful for their underserved community.”
— Rodney Black
“This project aligns so well with the mission of UC Davis Health, as it is grounded in equity and provides unparalleled care across the region to transform lives and communities. I applaud the American Heart Association for this investment to study the impacts of chronic stress on cardiovascular health, providing us the opportunity to impact cardiovascular disease prevention and treatment in our most vulnerable populations.”
— Thomas Smith, chief of cardiovascular medicine
