# Coronary artery cross-sectional area and cardiovascular risk in South Asians

> **NIH NIH K24** · UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, SAN FRANCISCO · 2021 · $121,887

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT
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.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10176172
- **Project number:** 5K24HL112827-09
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, SAN FRANCISCO
- **Principal Investigator:** ALKA M. KANAYA
- **Activity code:** K24 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2021
- **Award amount:** $121,887
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2013-08-01 → 2023-05-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10176172

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10176172, Coronary artery cross-sectional area and cardiovascular risk in South Asians (5K24HL112827-09). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-24 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10176172. Licensed CC0.

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