# Translational Approaches to Health Disparities in Lung, Sleep, and Pandemics

> **NIH HL R25** · UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA · 2026 · $342,215

## Abstract

The nation, including the state of Arizona with a population that is 38.5% Latino and Native American, suffers
from tremendous health disparities contributed to, in part, by the absence of a diverse biomedical research and
healthcare workforce. Never has there been a greater need for health equity that needs to be addressed by a
diverse research workforce and infrastructure than during and following the Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19)
pandemic during which time our minority communities were disproportionately affected by the pandemic due to
respiratory failure and pulmonary-sleep manifestations of post-acute sequelae of COVID (PASC). In this
renewal application, we propose to build upon our past successes with innovative approaches and best
practices to advance research education tailored for qualified PRIDE trainees. The overarching goal of our
program is to provide advanced research training experiences and long-term mentoring in an interprofessional
environment to qualified candidates -- junior faculty and transitioning postdoctoral scientists from diverse
backgrounds, including those from groups that are underrepresented in the biomedical sciences -- who are
committed to investigating the factors responsible for differences in health among populations as they pertain
to lung, sleep-related breathing disorders, and the consequences of the pandemic to these systems. Our
proposal is to redesign, organize, and implement a NHLBI mission-focused Summer Institute program that will
support AiRE and program faculty to nationally recruit eligible and highly-qualified individuals in order to
provide advanced training experiences and long-term mentoring that will enable them to develop a research
program and work with their home institution to obtain NIH funding and develop their career and gain
leadership skills. The research training experiences will be tailored to the trainee and designed to enhance
their research skills, experiences, and knowledge base in lung and sleep-

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 11392960
- **Project number:** 5R25HL126140-12
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA
- **Principal Investigator:** FRANCISCO A MORENO; JANKO Z. NIKOLICH; Sairam  Parthasarathy
- **Activity code:** R25 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** HL
- **Fiscal year:** 2026
- **Award amount:** $342,215
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2014-09-15T00:00:00 → 2028-12-31T00:00:00

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/11392960

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 11392960, Translational Approaches to Health Disparities in Lung, Sleep, and Pandemics (5R25HL126140-12). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-06-27 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/11392960. Licensed CC0.

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