UNC​​​ Collaborative Studies Coordinating Center awarded $35M to lead next phase of health study

March 5, 2025

The UNC​​​ Collaborative Studies Coordinating Center (CSCC​​​), based in the UNC​​​ Gillings School of Global Public Health’s biostatistics department, has been awarded an eight-year, $35 million contract from the National Institutes of Health (NIH​​​) to continue as the Coordinating Center for the Hispanic Community Health Study/Study of Latinos (HCHS​​​/SOL​​​).  

HCHS​​​/SOL​​​ began in 2006. A baseline examination was conducted between 2008 and 2011 with more than 16,000 Hispanics/Latinos, ages 18-74 years, living in four United States communities: San Diego, CA; Chicago, IL; Miami, FL; and the Bronx, NY.

The HCHS/SOL Coordinating Center provides operational and scientific coordination for the study with specific services including scientific oversight of data collection plans, data management, coordination of a central laboratory, quality assurance for all study data, study monitoring and reporting, statistical analysis, scientific research investigation, and preparation of technical and financial reports.

During the first visit in the study, participants underwent an extensive baseline exam and answered questionnaires about their health and lifestyle factors. It provided extensive data on cardiovascular disease (CVD) and other chronic conditions, revealing a significant burden of risk factors across the study population. The visit underscored the variability in health outcomes and risk factors within the Hispanic/Latino subgroup, demonstrating gaps in national data that currently focus on Mexican Americans. 

At the second visit, researchers re-examined participants and collected data on chronic diseases that are prevalent in the Hispanic/Latino population, including heart disease, diabetes, asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and gestational diabetes. Participants completed updated questionnaires covering demographic, sociocultural and lifestyle factors, and their responses were analyzed alongside their genetic data. This visit emphasized the dynamic nature of how health changes over time and deepened the understanding of disparities within Hispanic/Latino communities, setting the stage for further investigation in subsequent visits.

During the third visit, researchers built on previous findings by investigating how baseline health profiles predict future cardiovascular and pulmonary events, both overall and by Hispanic/Latino heritage group. They also explored the causes of disease and examined how changes in socioeconomic factors and health care access/use affect health outcomes. Nineteen studies were successfully integrated into the third visit examination period, covering a wide range of research areas such as insulin resistance, arterial stiffening, dementia, sexual orientation and gender identity. 

Now, with the help of the new contract, researchers ​can continue studying factors associated with health outcomes and disease risk in Hispanic/Latino communities.

Dr. Jianwen Cai

Jianwen Cai, PhD​, Cary C. Boshamer​​​ Distinguished Professor in the Department of Biostatistics at the Gillings​​ School, serves as the lead principal investigator of the HCHS​​/SOL​​ Coordinating Center.

“We are very excited that HCHS/SOL, the most comprehensive long-term study of health and disease in people who are Hispanic and Latino living in the United States, has been funded for another cycle,” says Cai. “The continued study of this cohort will provide invaluable insight into how various factors, such as biologic, behavioral, environmental and social factors, influence Hispanic/Latino health and inform prevention strategies.”

HCHS​​​/SOL​​​ is the most comprehensive epidemiologic longitudinal study among US Hispanics/Latinos, with more than 4,000 participants recruited across the four sites. The study participants represent diverse Hispanic/Latino backgrounds, including Mexican, Puerto Rican, Dominican, Cuban, and Central and South American heritages. Recruits will continue to take part in clinical exams, blood tests, and nutritional, behavioral and psychosocial assessments. If serious health issues are identified during the study, participants are referred to their primary care providers or community-based organizations serving uninsured individuals. 

The continuation of the NIH contract also paves the way for supplementary studies to collect innovative data that were not part of the main study when it began. Overall, 32 additional studies contacting the same participants have been funded since HCHS/SOL started, allowing researchers to conduct more sophisticated modeling for risk factors, disease progression and clinical outcomes.   

The study also offers opportunities to incorporate novel analytic tools such as artificial intelligence and machine learning methodologies to predict disease onset. Currently HCHS/SOL is part of 28 consortia, including PAGE, TOPMED, HISLA and GIANT. There are two recent key publications from the study:

• Pirzada, Cai, et al (2023) at pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/37045521/ provides a comprehensive summary of HCHS/SOL in the past 15 years.
• Cai, Pirzada, et al (2024) at pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38437694/ investigated all-cause mortality among diverse Hispanic/Latino background groups.

Dr. Daniela Sotres-Alvarez

Joining Cai in the next phase of the study are: 

• Co-principal​​​ investigator: Daniela Sotres-Alvarez, DrPH​​​, professor in the department of​​​ biostatistics;

• Co-investigators​​​ at the UNC​​​ Gillings School: Beibo​​​​ Zhao, PhD, assistant professor of biostatistics; Xihao​​​​ Li, PhD, assistant professor  of biostatistics; Haibo​​​​ Zhou, PhD, professor of biostatistics; Wayne Rosamond, PhD, professor of epidemiology; and Kari North, PhD, associate dean for research;

• Co-investigators​​​ at the UNC​​​ School of Medicine: Ashley Henderson, MD, professor of medicine; Laura Loehr, MD, PhD, associate professor of medicine and assistant professor of epidemiology; Michelle Meyer, PhD, associate professor of emergency medicine and adjunct assistant professor of epidemiology; and Krista Perriera, PhD, professor of social medicine; and

• Project director Franklyn Gonzalez and the CSCC​​​ staff team.

References: 

Pirzada A, Cai J, Heiss G, Sotres-Alvarez D, Gallo LC, Youngblood ME, Avilés-Santa ML, González HM, Isasi CR, Kaplan R, Kunz J, Lash JP, Lee DJ, Llabre MM, Penedo FJ, Rodriguez CJ, Schneiderman N, Sofer T, Talavera GA, Thyagarajan B, Wassertheil-Smoller S, Daviglus ML. Evolving Science on Cardiovascular Disease Among Hispanic/Latino Adults: JACC International. J Am Coll Cardiol. 2023 Apr 18;81(15):1505-1520. doi: 10.1016/j.jacc.2023.02.023. PMID: 37045521. pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/37045521/ 

Cai J, Pirzada A, Baldoni PL, Heiss G, Kunz J, Rosamond WD, Youngblood ME, Aviles-Santa ML, Gallo LC, Isasi CR, Kaplan R, Lash JP, Lee DJ, Llabre MM, Schneiderman N, Wassertheil-Smoller S, Talavera GA, Daviglus ML. Cumulative All-Cause Mortality in Diverse Hispanic/Latino Adults : A Prospective, Multicenter Cohort Study. Ann Intern Med. 2024 Mar;177(3):303-314. doi: 10.7326/M23-1990. Epub 2024 Mar 5. PMID: 38437694; PMCID: PMC11450708. pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38437694/ 

Contact the Gillings School of Global Public Health communications team at sphcomm@listserv.unc.edu.