# The role of epigenetic transcriptional memory in monocyte-macrophage cells and cardiovascular disease risk

> **NIH NIH K01** · WEILL MEDICAL COLL OF CORNELL UNIV · 2020 · $157,641

## Abstract

Project Summary/Abstract
This proposal details a five-year training program to support the candidate to achieve his
long-term career
goal of building a successful independent transdisciplinary research program featuring clinical, immunology,
and epigenetic research to address the impact of epigenetic transcriptional memory in immune cells on
cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk in minority populations.
The candidate has a strong scientific skillset and
knowledge in epigenetics that provides a solid background to ensure his success in pursuing transdisciplinary
clinical research focused on CVD. The candidate seeks to focus his career development and enhance his
experience and technical research skills in immunology and clinical CVD research. The candidate will acquire
essential research skills including flow cytometry, in vitro and ex-vivo monocyte/macrophage functional assays
of human cells, and integrative bioinformatics to establish his independence in using his expertise in
epigenetics to address CVD. He has already established his own independent research project aimed at
defining the role of epigenetic regulation of monocyte/macrophage cellular responses across ethnicities with
CVD health disparities. The scientific and institutional environment at the University of Hawaii is well-matched
to ensuring the candidate achieves his career goals to study the immune system and CVD. There are multiple
independently funded research programs such as the Center for Cardiovascular Disease Research, COBRE
Diabetes Center, and Research Multidisciplinary and Translational Research Infrastructure Expansion project
that will provide shared resources and core facilities and offer numerous collaborative opportunities in
cardiometabolic disease research. A key component of the research career development plan is mentorship
from a multi-disciplinary mentoring team focused on cardiovascular disease research consisting of
immunology, clinical, and health disparity research experts committed toward contributing their expertise to
support the candidate’s career development and expand his research training. The candidate will pursue a
hypothesis that dysfunctional monocyte responses associated with
high cardiovascular disease risk are related to epigenomic programming differences at inflammatory and
metabolic genes and are exacerbated in Native Hawaiians compared to Caucasians. To test this hypothesis, a
cross-sectional study of viably cryopreserved blood specimens from 200 Native Hawaiians and age gender
research project aimed at addressing the
matched Caucasians with clinically defined high and low CVD risk. The specific aims are (1) To measure and
compare functional responses of isolated monocyte and macrophage cells from NHOPI and Caucasians with
clinically defined low or high CVD risk in the Multiethnic cohort. (2) Determine if epigenetically regulated
inflammatory and metabolic genes in isolated monocyte cells from NHOPI and Caucasians associate with CVD
risk and ...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10134649
- **Project number:** 7K01HL140271-03
- **Recipient organization:** WEILL MEDICAL COLL OF CORNELL UNIV
- **Principal Investigator:** Michael Jay Corley
- **Activity code:** K01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $157,641
- **Award type:** 7
- **Project period:** 2018-07-15 → 2023-06-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10134649

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10134649, The role of epigenetic transcriptional memory in monocyte-macrophage cells and cardiovascular disease risk (7K01HL140271-03). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10134649. Licensed CC0.

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