# SDSU HealthLINK Center for Transdisciplinary Health Disparities Research

> **NIH NIH U54** · SAN DIEGO STATE UNIVERSITY · 2021 · $3,862,999

## Abstract

OVERALL – Project Summary
San Diego State University (SDSU) is a Hispanic-Serving Institution with health-related doctoral programs in
several disciplines. One of the goals in SDSU's Strategic Plan, “Building on Excellence” is to continue to
enhance its research and creative endeavors profile, with particular emphasis on building areas of excellence
and addressing national and international challenges. Faculty at SDSU excel at conducting research that
improves minority health and reduces health disparities. However, the university currently lacks adequate
research infrastructure to meet this strategic goal and bring diverse disciplines together to support innovative
minority health and health disparities (MHHD) research. The proposed SDSU HealthLINK Center for
Transdisciplinary Health Disparities Research (Center) will address critical needs identified by faculty, staff,
and the administration to achieve the university's vision of enhancing its research profile as well as facilitate
innovative MHHD research. Thus, in response to RFA-MD-17-006, National Institute of Minority Health and
Health Disparities request for applications to create Research Centers in Minority Institutions (U54), we
propose four aims that align with the goals of the RCMI specialized centers. We will enhance our institutional
capacity to engage in basic biomedical, behavioral, and clinical MHHD research by developing a Research
Infrastructure Core (RIC) that will house the following sources of support: clinical treatment and data collection
rooms and a lab to collect, process, and store biospecimens; expertise in using wireless technology and big
data (electronic health record, US Census) to answer significant and innovative research questions;
development and adaptation of evidence-based interventions across diverse health disparity populations and
across health conditions using well-tested formative research methods; a repository of relevant survey items
and research protocols for use by MHHD researchers; and data management and analytic approaches for
combining these with other sources of data (e.g., biomarkers, survey). These resources and services, coupled
with pilot project funding through the Investigator Development Core and career enhancement activities
through the Administrative Core, are designed to improve the competitiveness of SDSU investigators to
procure NIH support to engage in significant and innovative MHHD research. Finally, partnerships on the
Community Engagement Core will foster long-term relationships with organizations whose missions align with
our own; their engagement and participation will ensure we meet the needs of the communities we serve and
allow for bidirectional capacity building and knowledge transfer. It is clear that the Center will generate, use,
and disseminate findings derived from basic biomedical, behavioral, and clinical research to inform additional
innovations in research, practices, and policies to improve minority health and re...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10167772
- **Project number:** 5U54MD012397-04
- **Recipient organization:** SAN DIEGO STATE UNIVERSITY
- **Principal Investigator:** GUADALUPE X AYALA
- **Activity code:** U54 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2021
- **Award amount:** $3,862,999
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2018-09-11 → 2023-05-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10167772

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10167772, SDSU HealthLINK Center for Transdisciplinary Health Disparities Research (5U54MD012397-04). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-24 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10167772. Licensed CC0.

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