# Southern California Center for Chronic Health Disparities in Latino Children and Families.

> **NIH NIH P50** · CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL OF LOS ANGELES · 2022 · $4,878,928

## Abstract

Obesity and related chronic diseases, type 2 diabetes, non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, and dyslipidemia
continue to increase in the U.S., and Latinos are disproportionally affected. These disparities begin in early life,
occur within families, and are driven by multi-level factors, including individual (diet, eating behaviors), social
(cultural values, economic factors), and environmental (access to healthy foods, chemical exposures such as air
pollution). These factors interact to affect Latino health but are rarely studied in a holistic manner. Our
overarching goal is to understand how these multi-level factors contribute to multiple chronic disease disparities
in Latinos across the life course, and to develop and evaluate family-based, culturally sensitive solutions. We
propose to accomplish this ambitious goal by establishing the Southern California Center for Chronic Health
Disparities in Latino Families and Children (SCC-CHDLFC), a coalition of academic, clinical, government,
and community stakeholders across the region that is home to 10.8 million Latinos representing 45.2% of the
population. The Center is led by Drs. Goran (Children’s Hospital Los Angeles; CHLA) and Baezconde-Garbanati
(Univ. of Southern California; USC), who provide complementary expertise in Latino health disparities research.
The Administrative Core provides leadership, oversight, communication, and evaluation to strengthen and build
collaboration, accelerate research, and drive innovation to ensure Center success and impact. Project 1 (led by
Dr. Goran, CHLA) utilizes an ongoing birth-cohort to examine how early-life nutrition, environment, and social
factors affect chronic disease risk by age 5y, and how these factors affect response to family-based interventions
in Projects 2 and 3. Project 2 (led by Dr. Boutelle, UC San Diego) tests a parent-only intervention for treatment
of obesity and chronic disease risk in Latino children. The intervention, designed to address cultural issues
relevant to Latino families, is delivered by telehealth to parents only, increasing dissemination potential. Project
3 (led by Dr. Cohen, Kaiser Permanente) examines the efficacy of an affordable grocery delivery program (at a
cost not exceeding SNAP dollars), in conjunction with culturally appropriate meal planning, on chronic disease
risk reduction in Latino multi-generation households. We will support synergy and collaboration across these
projects and build the research enterprise through Center Cores. The Methods & Data Sub-Core led by Dr.
Espinoza (CHLA) will provide expertise in assessment of diet, social, environmental, and geospatial factors, and
data analysis and management, to support data harmonization and sharing. The Investigator Development
Core led by Drs. Spruijt-Metz and de la Haye (USC) and Elder (San Diego State Univ.) will establish a mentoring
network and pilot study program to support early-stage or underrepresented researchers, while also promoting
team science....

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10494254
- **Project number:** 5P50MD017344-02
- **Recipient organization:** CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL OF LOS ANGELES
- **Principal Investigator:** Michael Isaac Goran
- **Activity code:** P50 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2022
- **Award amount:** $4,878,928
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2021-09-24 → 2026-06-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10494254

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10494254, Southern California Center for Chronic Health Disparities in Latino Children and Families. (5P50MD017344-02). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10494254. Licensed CC0.

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