Grant to support study of preconceptual health of Latinas and its association with child overweight, obesity
October 21, 2018
Dr. Daniela Sotres-Alvarez
Daniela T. Sotres-Alvarez, DrPH, associate professor of biostatistics at the UNC-Chapel Hill Gillings School of Global Public Health, has received a grant of $704,562 from the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases.
Sotres-Alvarez will study the preconceptual health of Latinas and its association with child adiposity.
“This study will improve understanding of the association between the health of a mother before she conceives and childhood obesity,” Sotres-Alvarez said. “This is a topic that is not well studied, yet is important, given the poor cardiovascular staus and high prevalence of childhood obesity among Hispanics/Latinos.”
Study results will be used to design better intervention studies to ensure that Hispanic/Latina women can be as healthy as possible before conceiving and that their children will be healthy and well.
Co-principal investigator for the grant is Anna Maria Siega-Riz, PhD, Jeanette Lancaster Alumni Professor Nursing and associate dean for research at the University of Virginia’s School of Nursing.
Contact the Gillings School of Global Public Health communications team at sphcomm@listserv.unc.edu.
