# Center for Collaborative Research in Minority Health and Health Disparities

> **NIH NIH U54** · UNIVERSITY OF PUERTO RICO MED SCIENCES · 2020 · $187,497

## Abstract

Project Summary/Abstract:
Among patients with COVID19, there is a high prevalence of cardiovascular disease, and >7% of patients
experience myocardial injury as a result of the infection (22% of critically ill patients). COVID19 may
disproportionately affect people with cardiovascular disease. Previous observations suggest that underlying
cardiovascular disease is associated with an increased risk of in-hospital death among patients hospitalized with
COVID19. Furthermore, coagulopathy and vascular endothelial dysfunction have also been proposed as
complications of COVID19. We propose a supplement to “Adopting a Precision Medicine Paradigm in Puerto
Rico: leveraging ancestral diversity to identify predictors of clopidogrel response in Caribbean Hispanics” to
describe and better understand how the COVID19 pandemic is affecting our established cohort of Caribbean
Hispanics with cardiovascular disease. Our cohort is currently made up of 549 patients with coronary artery
disease (CAD), peripheral artery disease (PAD), and/or a history of stroke (CVA) who are currently receiving
treatment with the antithrombotic medication clopidogrel (with or without aspirin). Building on the personalized
medicine approach we are already developing for this population, we will combine serologic testing to measure
individual exposure to the SARS-CoV-2 virus with their health (symptoms, clinical outcomes, medical
comorbidities), access to care (including SARS-CoV-2 testing), and household status during the COVID19
pandemic. This will allow us to evaluate the true prevalence of SARS-CoV-2 exposure in our cohort, as well as
understand the phenotypic effects of the virus in our population. These data will shed light on the underlying
biological pathways involved in COVID-19 pathogenesis. We will then combine data from our cohort with patients
hospitalized for acute COVID19 to perform a targeted and untargeted exploratory genome-wide association
study of poor clinical outcomes (e.g., hospitalizations, ICU admission, need of mechanical ventilators) in order
to identify potential risk markers or protective genes among Caribbean Hispanics suffering from the disease.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10209376
- **Project number:** 3U54MD007600-34S2
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF PUERTO RICO MED SCIENCES
- **Principal Investigator:** Emma Fernandez-Repollet
- **Activity code:** U54 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $187,497
- **Award type:** 3
- **Project period:** 1997-09-01 → 2022-06-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10209376

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10209376, Center for Collaborative Research in Minority Health and Health Disparities (3U54MD007600-34S2). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10209376. Licensed CC0.

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