# Perceived Discrimination, Geography, and Demographic Effects on Immune Cell Function and Regulation

> **NIH NIH U54** · MORGAN STATE UNIVERSITY · 2024 · $394,440

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY – Project 2
Immune-mediated inflammatory diseases are a health burden for approximately seven percent of the
population of Western nations. Our preliminary data suggest variations in ethnic identity and/or geography
influence discrimination experiences and inflammatory response trends. This study investigates how
geography, ethnicity, and a laboratory manipulation of discrimination experiences affect immune cell
function and genomic regulation. Flow cytometry and immune cell challenges will test monocytes from
peripheral blood, and next-generation transcriptomics will assess genomic and epigenetic mechanisms.
We will test the hypothesis that geography, self-identified race, and ethnicity, interacting with
discrimination conditions, significantly affect immune cell function through genomic and
epigenetic mechanisms, with perceived discrimination as a moderating factor in immune cell
outcomes. The transdisciplinary nature of the proposed study will incorporate cutting edge behavioral,
epigenetic, and genomic techniques that can serve as a guide for other researchers interested uncovering
biopsychosocial mechanisms leading to poor health across diverse populations. The valuable insights on
differential susceptibility to immune-mediated inflammatory diseases that will be uncovered in this project
can inform feasible interventions for these diseases in different population groups.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 11002070
- **Project number:** 2U54MD013376-06A1
- **Recipient organization:** MORGAN STATE UNIVERSITY
- **Principal Investigator:** Ingrid K TULLOCH
- **Activity code:** U54 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2024
- **Award amount:** $394,440
- **Award type:** 2
- **Project period:** 2019-07-31 → 2029-06-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/11002070

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 11002070, Perceived Discrimination, Geography, and Demographic Effects on Immune Cell Function and Regulation (2U54MD013376-06A1). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-26 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/11002070. Licensed CC0.

---

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