# Health Disparities Research at UCR

> **NIH NIH U54** · UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA RIVERSIDE · 2020 · $3,226,921

## Abstract

Center for Health Disparities Research at UCR (HDR@UCR)
We propose a research center with a focus on health disparities among Latino/Hispanic communities
in Inland Southern California, a rapidly growing and diverse region of more than 4.3 million people.
There are pronounced health disparities in the region, which is also characterized by a severe
shortage of healthcare professionals, particularly primary care physicians. Leading the Center will be
the School of Medicine at the University of California, Riverside (UCR), a federally designated
Hispanic-serving Institution and a national model for diversity and student success. The aims of the
Center for Health Disparities at UCR include creating a rich interdisciplinary and collaborative
environment for health disparities research, infusing community-engaged research methods into the
academic culture, and equipping investigators with tools and training to improve their extramural
funding success. The Center will bring together broad interdisciplinary approaches, including
environmental sciences and biomedical sciences, as well as social science methods to study health
disparities. This Center will be built around a Community Engagement and Dissemination Core, based
in the UCR School of Medicine Center for Healthy Communities, which has already established
community networks among the Latino, Asian-Pacific Islander, and Native American communities in
the region. Our Center will also provide expanded capabilities in disparities research with the
Research Infrastructure Core, providing a range of training programs for graduate, postdoctoral, and
new Principal Investigator development. Importantly, this Core will also create an innovative social
sciences collaboratory as a new model for continuity in community-engaged social sciences research.
There are two Research Projects in this Center, with one basic biomedical project focused on testing
the correlates of environmental aerosol exposures in Latino neighborhoods in eastern Coachella
Valley with asthma and cardiopulmonary disease. A behavioral research project will focus on the
relationship between infant feeding styles and practices in low-income Latino families and infant
growth and obesity. In addition, an Investigator Development Core will support pilot research projects
for young investigators, incorporating a mentorship program to assist investigators with
grantsmanship skills and training in community-based research. Finally, we will establish a
Recruitment Core, which will build on recent success at UCR in recruiting and hiring a diverse faculty
cohort. The Center has been designed to move UCR toward realizing its tremendous potential to
become a national leader in health disparities research and training and to inform the national
dialogue on health disparities in Latino communities.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 9991900
- **Project number:** 5U54MD013368-02
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA RIVERSIDE
- **Principal Investigator:** DAVID D LO
- **Activity code:** U54 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $3,226,921
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2019-08-08 → 2024-02-29

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/9991900

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 9991900, Health Disparities Research at UCR (5U54MD013368-02). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-22 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/9991900. Licensed CC0.

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