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Neighborhood food access and cardiovascular disease risk in early childhood

Award Number: K01HL181327
ORGANIZATION: NATIONAL HEART, LUNG, & BLOOD INSTITUTE
OPDIV: NIH
AWARD CLASS: DISCRETIONARY
AWARD ACTIVITY TYPE: TRAINING/TRAINEESHIP
PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE START DATE: 07/15/2026
PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE END DATE: 06/30/2031

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Neighborhood food access and cardiovascular disease risk in early childhood - PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the leading cause of death in the United States. The origins of CVD begin early in life. Thus, identifying early-life predictors of CVD and related behaviors can guide interventions that are likely to have a greater impact than those implemented later in life. Neighborhood access to healthy foods is an understudied potential predictor of CVD risk in early childhood. The current project applies a prospective mechanistic approach to understand whether limited neighborhood food access associates with more obesogenic food-related behaviors and higher CVD risk in early childhood. To accomplish this goal, this study leverages data from two complementary prospective cohorts: the geographically diverse, nationwide Environmental influences on Child Health Outcomes (ECHO) cohort, and the Denver-based Care cohort, which includes a high proportion of families with low food access as well as more in-depth behavioral measures related to CVD risk. The candidate proposes to use geocoded home address data to create a census tract-level measure of food access among both cohorts, and apply new skills in geographic information system (GIS) analysis to create an individual child-level measure of density of nearby healthy food outlets among Care cohort participants. Specific aims are: Aim 1: Test the hypothesis that limited neighborhood food access at 2 years of age predicts (1a) less responsive parental feeding practices and (1b) poorer nutritional quality of food parents serve their child at 3-5 years of age. Aim 2: Test the hypothesis that limited neighborhood food access at 2 years of age predicts more obesogenic child (2a) dietary intake and (2b) eating behaviors (such as lower satiety responsiveness) at 3-5 years of age. Aim 3: (3a) Test the hypothesis that limited neighborhood food access predicts higher child CVD risk (higher BMI, body fat, blood pressure, and arterial stiffness) at 3-5 years of age and (3b) identify parental and child behavioral pathways contributing to associations between neighborhood food access and child CVD risk. Testing these aims offers an opportunity to apply newly developed skills aligned with training goals in the following areas: 1) assessing parent and child food-related behaviors; 2) collecting, processing, and analyzing physiological markers of CVD risk; 3) GIS analysis; 4) longitudinal data modeling including path analysis; and 5) grant-writing, lab management, and study coordination to support professional growth. The candidate has assembled an interdisciplinary team of mentors and collaborators with expertise in early feeding, dietary assessment, cardiovascular health assessment, geospatial analysis, and advanced statistics to guide the proposed research and training. The University of Denver offers an ideal environment for the candidate, Emily Melnick, PhD, MPH, to launch a research career at the intersection of public health and developmental psychobiology. This award will provide Dr. Melnick with the training and preliminary data needed to conduct R01- funded research investigating how environmental contexts influence CVD risk in early life and designing targeted interventions based on identified change mechanisms to improve health across the lifespan.


Issue Date FY	Funding FY	Legal Entity Name	Legal Entity Address	Legal Entity City	Legal Entity State	Legal Entity Zip Code	Legal Entity COUNTY	Legal Entity COUNTRY	Assistance Listing	Award Code	Budget Year	Action Date	Action Type	Action Amount

Issue Date FY: 2026 ( Subtotal = $169,638 )
2026	2026	UNIVERSITY OF DENVER	2199 S UNIVERSITY BLVD RM 222	DENVER	CO	80210	DENVER	USA	Cardiovascular Diseases Research	000	1	7/15/2026	NEW	$169,638
														Subtotal = $169,638

Grand Total All Awards = $169,638

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Neighborhood food access and cardiovascular disease risk in early childhood

Award Number: K01HL181327

ORGANIZATION: NATIONAL HEART, LUNG, & BLOOD INSTITUTE

OPDIV: NIH

AWARD CLASS: DISCRETIONARY

AWARD ACTIVITY TYPE: TRAINING/TRAINEESHIP

PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE START DATE: 07/15/2026

PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE END DATE: 06/30/2031

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