Research

Lorna McNeill, Ph.D., M.P.H.

Center for Community-Engaged Translational Research (CCETR), Director

African American Cancer Prevention Project: Establishing a Cohort to Investigate Health Disparities (Project CHURCH), Principal Investigator
The goal of this prospective cohort study is to examine the role of lifestyle/behavioral, social, and environmental factors on minority health and cancer-related disparities among a church-based sample of African-Americans in Houston, TX.

Clinical and Translational Sciences Award (CTSA) Community Engagement Core, Principal Investigator
The goal of this core is to enhance translational science related to community engagement, implementation, and dissemination research.

Family-Based Approach to Reducing Obesity Risk Among African American Families, Principal Investigator
To determine whether health coaching and support delivered to parents and families through churches improves weight outcomes.

Implement innovative evidence-based strategies to reduce and prevent obesity in children and adolescents: Implement We Can Obesity Prevention in Clinics, Principal Investigator
This project provides an evidence-based childhood obesity prevention program to children and parents of Harris Health System school-based clinics, elementary and middle schools affiliated with the clinics and surrounding communities. The project targets low-income, uninsured and under-insured populations of children who are at risk of obesity.

Food Deserts in Houston? Increasing Fruit and Vegetable Consumption to Reduce Cancer Risk, Principal Investigator
The primary goal of this study is to explore the feasibility and efficacy of a community-based approach to utilizing churches to provide consistent access to fresh fruit and vegetable using low-cost strategies combined with nutrition education to low-income children and their families, thereby addressing cancer-related health disparities in Houston.

A Peer and Family Based Approach to Obesity in African American Families, Principal Investigator.
The proposed project plans to use a community-based participation (CBPR) approach to implement a randomized intervention which seeks to determine whether health coaching and support delivered to African American parents and families through churches improves weight outcomes.

Training Program to Reduce Breast Cancer Disparities in Black and Hispanic Women, Multiple Principal Investigators
The overall goal of this program is to recruit highly-qualified graduate students (masters and doctoral) and launch them into research careers focused on reducing breast cancer disparities.

2/2 U-HAND (University of Houston / MD Anderson) Program to Reduce Cancer Disparities, Principal Investigator
To build and maintain a long term collaborative partnership between the University of Houston (ISUPS, Hispanic-Serving Institution) and The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center (NCI-designated cancer center) that supports and stimulates excellence in educational programming and innovation in research designed to affect health equity among racial/ ethnic groups disproportionately affected by cancer disparities.

Larkin Strong, Ph.D., M.P.H.

Peer-Based Approaches to Enhance Physical Activity in Dyads of Inactive Women, Principal Investigator
The goal of this research is to evaluate the effectiveness of a 6-month behavioral dyadic intervention to promote positive and sustained change in physical activity among inactive predominantly Latina and African American women in Houston, Texas.

Cultural Adaptation of a Mindfulness-Based Intervention for Latino Cancer Patients and their Caregivers, Principal Investigator
This study will systematically and culturally adapt a dyadic mindfullness-based intervention with preliminary evidence of efficacy and test its feasibility and efforts in Latino patients with advanced cancer and their family caregivers.

The Joint Collaborative on Geospatial Analysis and Health, Multiple Principal Investigators
This collaboration between UTHealth Houston School of Public Health and MD Anderson Cancer Center is designed to facilitate greater use of spatial analysis in population health and cancer-based research.

Tu Salud Si Cuenta! Reaching Latino family dyads to increase physical activity and healthy eating, Principal Investigator
The goal of this research is to evaluate the effectiveness of a six-month, community-based family dyad intervention in promoting engagement in and maintenance of physical activity and healthy eating among Latino adults in Houston, Texas.

Qian Lu, M.D., Ph.D.

Health Benefits of Writing Therapy among Asian American Cancer Survivors, American Cancer Society, Principal Investigator
The study uses a randomized controlled trial to test the health benefits of expressive writing that is culturally adapted for Asian American cancer survivors.

Writing to Heal: A Culturally Based Brief Expressive Writing Intervention for Chinese Immigrant Breast Cancer Survivors. National Institute of Health, Principal Investigator
This study uses a randomized controlled trial to test the health benefits of expressive writing that is culturally adapted for Chinese immigrant breast cancer survivors.

Promoting HPV Vaccination among Young Adults in Texas, National Cancer Institute, Principal Investigator
The overall objective of this proposal is to test an innovative multilevel intervention to increase HPV vaccination rates among young adults.

Dalnim Cho, Ph.D.

Developing a culturally relevant supportive care program for Black patients dealing with advanced cancer, Multiple Principal Investigators
The goal of this research study is to test a culturally adapted mind-body program for Black patients diagnosed with advanced cancer.

Barriers and Facilitators to Black Men's Oral Health Care Access: A Multilevel Perspective, Multiple Principal Investigators
The goal of this research study is to identify barriers to and facilitators of Black men's preventive dental care receipt.

Targeting the obesogenic work environment: A feasibility study to develop a multi-level lifestyle intervention for truck drivers in Texas, Principal Investigator
The goal of this study is to identify barriers to and facilitators of healthy lifestyle behaviors (such as physical activity and healthy eating) among truck drivers

Social isolation, loneliness, and health outcomes among prostate cancer survivors, Pilot Principal Investigator
This research study aims to understand the social isolation and loneliness prostate cancer survivors face identifying how these factors relate to health outcomes.

Unveiling the Hidden Struggles: Social Isolation and Loneliness in Black Men with Prostate Cancer, Principal Investigator
This study aims to identify factors associated with social isolation and loneliness among black prostate cancer survivors, with the goal of creating strategies to enhance their social wellbeing.

Coping Beyond Cancer: Trajectories of Adjustment in Young Adult Cancer Patient-Caregiver Dyads, Principal Investigator
The goal of this research study is to better understand the day-to-day stress, lifestyle behaviors, and quality of life after cancer treatments of young adult cancer survivors and their romantic partners.

Scherezade Mama, Dr.P.H.

Adaptation and implementation of a community-based Intervention to reduce psychosocial distress and promote physical activity in rural breast cancer survivors, Principal Investigator
The goal of this career development award is to use a community-engaged approach to develop and evaluate an intervention to reduce psychosocial distress and increase physical activity in rural breast cancer survivors.

Surendranath Shastri, M.D., Dr.P.H.

Project Smoke Free, Principal Investigator
Project Smoke-Free is a collaborative study between the Department of Health Disparities Research and the Houston Housing Authority, focusing on providing a culturally-tailored educational and smoking cessation intervention to help improve adherence to the smoke free public housing (SFPH) rule, with a goal of eliminating secondhand smoke exposure (SHSe) among African American residents in public housing sites in Houston, Texas.

Dede Teteh-Brooks, Ph.D.

Knowledge engine: A computational approach to combating dermatological health disparities in underserved communities, Multiple Principal Investigators
The purpose of this study is to assess impact of user engagement on attitudes/beliefs of a hair intelligence platform (HairDays). HairDays provides information on endocrine disrupting chemical exposures and breast cancer risk, as well as data-driven personalized interventions for hair/scalp health.

The Impact of Social Determinants of Health Domains on Lung Cancer Surgery Family Caregivers and Patients, Multiple Principal Investigators
The purpose of the study is to determine the impact of social determinants of health (SDoH) on lung cancer surgery patient-caregiver dyad participants in a multimedia self-management intervention.

Karen Basen-Engquist, Ph.D.

Active Living After Cancer (ALAC), Principal Investigator
The Active Living After Cancer (ALAC) program is a community-based intervention designed to improve the quality of life for cancer survivors through physical activity, healthy living education, and social support. ALAC provides cancer survivors and their co-survivors with the tools and knowledge needed to adopt and maintain healthier lifestyles post-treatment. The program is implemented in partnership with health care providers and community organizations to ensure accessibility and sustainability.

Live Healthy Study, Multiple Principal Investigators
The goal of this study is to determine the effectiveness of a behaviorally-based tailored disease management intervention in patients with fibrosis or steatosis and risk factors for cirrhosis.

Text2Move Study, Multiple Principal Investigators
To test the effect of two text messaging strategies, responsive texts and standard scheduled texts, on sedentary behavior in a racially and geographically diverse sample of adults. To assess participant engagement with the program and with the educational content delivered via text messaging.

Texas HOPE: Together Dissolving Food Insecurity Structural Barriers (Sub-Contract), Multiple Principal Investigators
The aim of this mixed methods research is to assess community needs related to food insecurity (the lack of ability to access to an adequate amount of nutritious and affordable food). The researchers aim to conduct focus groups/interviews as well as surveys with individuals and stakeholders in the HOPE Clinic catchment area of Southwest Houston.

Your Health is Calling program, Principal Investigator
Your Health is Calling is a weight management program providing one on one health coaching to cancer survivors as well as the prevention population. The 6-month program consists of 16 telehealth sessions with a health coach, encouraging participants to self-monitor their weight, physical activity and diet through connected scales and activity trackers while providing educational materials on nutrition and physical activity along with motivational text messaging, to help individuals attain a clinically significant weight loss. The goal of the program is to increase access to lifestyle change counseling for weight management and physical inactivity through the use of telehealth services. The program is a continuation of evidence-based fitness programming for cancer survivors and will expand access to the at-risk prevention population.

Center for Transformative Community-Driven Research to Prevent Obesity-related Cancer (Acres Homes CPC), Multiple Principal Investigators
The Acres Homes Cancer Prevention Collaboration (Acres Homes CPC) is an MD Anderson-led initiative that seeks to reduce cancer risk and ultimately improve cancer outcomes in a historic neighborhood. It is one of five new centers for cancer control research created as part of the Persistent Poverty Initiative of the National Cancer Institute — the first major program to address the structural and institutional factors of persistent poverty in the context of cancer. The Acres Homes CPC is implemented in the context of MD Anderson’s place-based cancer prevention approach, Be Well Communities™.

Reducing Breast Cancer Risk through Modifying Body Composition and Decreasing Inflammation in Normal Weight Women (Project TONE), Principal Investigator
Our goal is to conduct a randomized pilot study to evaluate the feasibility and preliminary efficacy of a lifestyle intervention on body composition and metabo-inflammation in postmenopausal women who are of normal weight (BMI 18.5 – 24.9 kg/m2) but have an elevated risk of breast cancer because of excess adiposity.

HEALTH4CLL2: A randomized waitlist control trial of behavioral interventions in patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia, Multiple Principal Investigators
The project aims to identify methods to better understand the influence of comorbidities on the clinical course of CLL and to assess the impact of a validated behavioral intervention consisting of diet and exercise training.

Patients’ and Providers’ Decisional Needs Related to Medical Treatment of Obesity, Principal Investigator
The goal of this project is to develop and test decision support tools for both primary care providers and patients to ensure decisions about weight loss medications are well-informed and patient centered. We aim to conduct a needs assessment to inform the development of the decision support tools. The objective of the needs assessment is to identify the information gaps and decision support needs of primary care providers and their patients with obesity regarding obesity treatment decisions, specifically the decision to use medication and which medication to use.