# Center for Latino Health Research Opportunities-CLaRO

> **NIH NIH U54** · UNIVERSITY OF MIAMI CORAL GABLES · 2021 · $125,000

## Abstract

This application proposes an interdisciplinary Center for Latino Health Research Opportunities (CLaRO), with
the unifying theme of conducting and promoting multi-level community-based participatory research to prevent
SAVA syndemic conditions (substance abuse, violence/trauma and HIV/AIDS) and reduce their adverse health
and mental health consequences. The emphasis of the Center will be on tailored interventions for Latino
subgroups who represent pockets of vulnerability and require precise and specialized interventions that
optimize access to and impact of interventions. CLaRO will unite and advance the work undertaken during the
past decade by two NIMHD Centers of Excellence: the P60 Center of Excellence for Health Disparities
Research (El Centro), at the University of Miami (UM), and the P20 Center of Excellence within the Center for
Research on US Latino HIV/AIDS and Drug Abuse (CRUSADA), at Florida International University (FIU). Both
originating centers have well-established research infrastructures and strong records of achievement in
translating research findings into meaningful, culturally relevant clinical practice for vulnerable Latinos. In this
application, we propose two behavioral intervention studies, each of which advances the work of the existing
collaborating Centers of Excellence. Research Project 1 will develop a culturally tailored intervention directed at
preventing and reducing SAVA conditions among seasonal farmworker men and will be packaged, in
collaboration with the Community/Scientific Advisory Board (CSAB), for community dissemination. Research
Project 2 adapts and tests an intervention, developed at El Centro, for preventing and reducing self-harm and
other SAVA-related behaviors in Latina and sexual/gender minority youth. The two Research Projects will be
integrated through a common set of data points to measure risk and protective factors, moderators, and SAVA
indicators related to the CLaRO theme. The common data elements will be expanded as CLaRO evolves to
include biological and community-level measures. This application leverages the success of the originating
Centers of Excellence and considerable institutional resources to advance investigator development at the
applicant institution (UM). We propose a Pilot Projects Program, which will be articulated with scientific
resources, training and mentorship, and will fund up to 35 studies, serving as an engine for the advancement
of early-stage investigators and for diversifying the workforce of successful health disparities investigators. The
CLaRO theme, agenda, and priorities were developed in collaboration with a network of community partners
who will play an ongoing role in guiding and disseminating CLaRO science and advancing neighborhood
capacity building and multilevel interventions to promote health in Latino communities. Miami-Dade County—
with its large and diverse Latino population, who face individual, social and structural risk factors and have high
p...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10369303
- **Project number:** 3U54MD002266-15S1
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF MIAMI CORAL GABLES
- **Principal Investigator:** Victoria Behar-Zusman
- **Activity code:** U54 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2021
- **Award amount:** $125,000
- **Award type:** 3
- **Project period:** 2007-09-10 → 2024-04-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10369303

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10369303, Center for Latino Health Research Opportunities-CLaRO (3U54MD002266-15S1). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10369303. Licensed CC0.

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