# Noventa Millas: Migration history, genomic ancestry, and health disparities among Cuban immigrants and Cuban-Americans in the United States

> **NIH NIH F99** · PENNSYLVANIA STATE UNIVERSITY, THE · 2022 · $43,906

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY
As a growing U.S. ethnic minority, Latinx populations have traditionally been studied as a monolith, with the
implicit assumption that individuals migrating from different countries have similar life experiences due to
common language. Additionally, it has been well documented that Indigenous, Black, and Latinx populations
face more adverse health outcomes relative to non-Hispanic whites in the United States. In order to address how
health outcomes vary within Latinx groups, research efforts would benefit from focusing on understanding the
variability of genomic ancestry and life experiences from first and second generation immigrants from a single
country of origin. The purpose of this research project is to integrate traditionally separate methodological
approaches to understanding health outcomes by comprehensively investigating the social, genotypic, and
epigenomic determinants of health within one such heterogeneous immigrant ethnic group.
In the F99 phase of this work, I will identify genotypic and sociocultural factors that are associated with variation
in adverse health outcomes among individuals of Cuban descent living in Miami, Florida. This research work will
be conducted in conjunction with the Hispanic Community Health Study/Study of Latinos (HCHS/SOL), a multi-
regional study investigating health outcomes across diverse groups of Hispanics in various locales within the
U.S., with over 16,000 participants registered to date, including over 2,300 individuals of Cuban descent. This
project has collected demographic, sociocultural, family history, health, and genotype data to understand health
disparities within a large ethnic group in the United States. Additionally, I will be collecting novel genomic and
sociocultural data, including data collection via a survey and semi-structured interview, for individuals of Cuban
descent living in Miami, Florida in order to determine if discrimination factors into Latinx health disparities; these
critical data are not available through HCHS/SOL.
In the K00 phase of this work, I will work at the intersection of the social determinants of health and genomics
through training and research within the field of epigenomics. Specifically, I am interested in investigating if there
are differential patterns of methylation across the genome within and among Cuban immigration waves and if
these patterns are associated with differential lived experiences. If we observe differences in methylation
patterns, are they related to adverse health consequences in populations that differentially experience life
stressors associated with varying sociocultural experiences, including experiences of discrimination? Over the
course of my career I plan to continue working with Cuban immigrants and Cuban-Americans,in exploring the
mechanisms by which the social determinants of health are embodied and expressed biologically. I envision
pursuing a postdoctoral position that expands my current genomic skill set ...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10538228
- **Project number:** 1F99HG012711-01
- **Recipient organization:** PENNSYLVANIA STATE UNIVERSITY, THE
- **Principal Investigator:** Margarita Hernandez
- **Activity code:** F99 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2022
- **Award amount:** $43,906
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2022-08-15 → 2024-07-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10538228

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10538228, Noventa Millas: Migration history, genomic ancestry, and health disparities among Cuban immigrants and Cuban-Americans in the United States (1F99HG012711-01). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-25 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10538228. Licensed CC0.

---

*[NIH grants dataset](/datasets/nih-grants) · CC0 1.0*