# Bring it Down San Francisco: Harnessing cloud-based technology to improve hypertension management in a low-income underserved population

> **NIH NIH K23** · UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, SAN FRANCISCO · 2020 · $177,444

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT
This an application for a K23 Mentored Patient-Oriented Career Development Award for Dr. Valy Fontil, an
Assistant Adjunct Professor in General Internal Medicine at the University of California San Francisco who is
establishing himself as a young investigator in implementation research of health systems-based strategies to
improve hypertension control in underserved, high-risk populations. This K23 award will provide him with the
necessary support evaluation of a hypertension management invention in 12 safety-net clinics and test a novel
technology-enabled intervention that engages patients and enables shared decision-making between patients
and providers to optimize visit frequency, treatment intensification, and medication adherence for treatment of
hypertension. To achieve these goals, Dr. Fontil has assembled a multi-disciplinary mentoring team comprised
of a primary mentor, Dr. Kirsten Bibbins-Doming, a renowned expert in cardiovascular epidemiology, health
disparities research, and simulation modeling, and two co-mentors: Dr. Mark Pletcher, renowned
cardiovascular epidemiologist with added expertise in clinical decision-making, decision analysis, and use of
emerging technology for improving health; and Dr. Charles McCulloch, Head of the Division of Biostatistics at
UCSF and expert in advanced statistical analysis of longitudinal data.
Safety-net healthcare institutions, which care for our highest-risk populations, must play a pivotal role in
achieving national priorities for improved BP control and reducing HTN disparities. Therefore, it is essential to
develop and test practical solutions that these healthcare systems can employ within their resource
constraints. Dr. Fontil will build on findings from his previous work in simulation modeling and real-world pilot
intervention to focus on optimizing two key processes of care (visit frequency, treatment intensification, and
medication adherence) that can improve BP control to upward of 80%. First, he will evaluate race-specific
effects of a health system intervention in safety net clinics (Aims 1&2) on improving these processes. Then he
will adapt and test a technology-enabled intervention for feasibility of improving these processes in patients at
safety-net clinics (Aim 3). The proposed research will provide the foundation and additional information needed
to design a randomized controlled trial of a technology-enabled intervention to improve overall BP control and
reduce racial disparities in BP control across a consortium of safety-net healthcare systems. This will form the
basis of my future R01 proposal.
Through a focused program of mentored training and coursework, the candidate will gain advanced skills and
expertise in (1) training in using and analyzing electronic health record data for health services research, (2)
advanced techniques in computer microsimulation modeling, and (3) foundational concepts and skills at the
intersection of data science, technolo...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 9904746
- **Project number:** 5K23HL136899-03
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, SAN FRANCISCO
- **Principal Investigator:** Valy Fontil
- **Activity code:** K23 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $177,444
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2018-05-10 → 2023-02-28

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/9904746

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 9904746, Bring it Down San Francisco: Harnessing cloud-based technology to improve hypertension management in a low-income underserved population (5K23HL136899-03). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/9904746. Licensed CC0.

---

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