# Core B:  Study Design and Molecular Epidemiology Core

> **NIH NIH P20** · UNIVERSITY OF VERMONT & ST AGRIC COLLEGE · 2020 · $324,042

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY
Cardiovascular disease, stroke and cognitive impairment / dementia are leading causes of death and disability,
and they arise from several common antecedents. The proposed Vermont Center for Cardiovascular and Brain
Health (VCCBH) COBRE at the University of Vermont will address these diseases employing collaborative
research. This will be conducted by diverse scientists from multiple disciplines working together to understand
the pathobiology and molecular epidemiology of these diseases in order to meet the public health challenges
presented by them. The Study Design and Molecular Epidemiology Core (CORE B) of the COBRE will
support the evolution of the Center's Project Directors to independent status. It will leverage three decades of
experience of the Laboratory for Clinical and Biochemistry Research at the University of Vermont, a leading
molecular epidemiology laboratory and home to a biorepository containing ~4.7 million samples from >100,000
research participants from many observational cohort studies and clinical trials. The core will equip the multi-
disciplinary Project Directors with the skills they need to conduct their research applying innovative study
designs and statistical analyses, and to translate their results from bench or clinical research settings to the
population research setting and back, regardless of their prior experience in epidemiology. Our philosophy is
that a Core should not only provide service but should train an investigator to be skilled in all of the key
elements that the Core provides. Thus, the Core will provide Project Directors with initial and ongoing formal
input on their study design and statistical approaches (Aim 1); advise Project Directors on all aspects of
biosample procurement, storage, and analysis, including optimizing and troubleshooting assay performance
(Aim 2); and support their transition to independence by connecting them with the resources of national
studies that will allow them to translate their research to clinical settings (Aim 3). The Core co-directors, Dr.
Neil Zakai and Dr. Peter Durda, along with Core biostatisticians, will guide the Project Directors. Dr. Zakai is a
hematologist and chronic disease epidemiologist with expertise in many types of study designs, biostatistical
approaches to complex data, and laboratory operations, while Dr. Durda has vast experience in molecular
laboratory methods and epidemiology. Together, Drs. Zakai and Durda will provide individualized assistance to
project directors and innovative workshops utilizing a flipped classroom approach. Services will also be offered
to Pilot Grant award recipients who will be supported by institutionally committed funds, to other investigators
in the Center's Pipeline development program of potential future Project Directors, and to the UVM research
community using a fee-for-service model. Over time the Core will become sustainable, serving the needs of the
cardiovascular and neurovascular research co...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 9854160
- **Project number:** 1P20GM135007-01
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF VERMONT & ST AGRIC COLLEGE
- **Principal Investigator:** Neil Adrian Zakai
- **Activity code:** P20 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $324,042
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2020-08-06 → 2025-05-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/9854160

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 9854160, Core B:  Study Design and Molecular Epidemiology Core (1P20GM135007-01). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-24 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/9854160. Licensed CC0.

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