Tuesday, July 1, 2025 7/1/2025

A gender and culturally specific approach to reduce NAFLD in Mexican American men

Award Number: K01MD014761
ORGANIZATION: NATIONAL CENTER ON MINORITY HEALTH AND HEALTH DISPARITIES
OPDIV: NIH
AWARD CLASS: DISCRETIONARY
AWARD ACTIVITY TYPE: TRAINING/TRAINEESHIP
PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE START DATE: 01/07/2020
PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE END DATE: 11/30/2024

Group Awards By:

View Award Description

A gender and culturally specific approach to reduce NAFLD in Mexican American men - ABSTRACT Effective therapeutic interventions are needed to stem the alarming increases in non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) in Mexican-American men, an understudied population at greater risk for the development of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Primary lifestyle risk factors for NAFLD include physical inactivity and sugar- sweetened beverage consumption, characteristics that are highly evidenced in Mexican-American men. The risk of NAFLD is further increased in Mexican-American men by a greater frequency (up to 55%) of the risk allele at the PNPLA3 (patatin-like phospholipase domain-containing protein) gene. This allele confers a substantially greater susceptibility to NAFLD and HCC. In the absence of FDA-approved pharmaceutical agents, lifestyle modification, including weight loss initiated by improvements in dietary and physical activity behavior, is the recommended therapy for the prevention and treatment of NAFLD. Lifestyle interventions targeting modest weight loss (approximately 5% body weight) have been shown to result in significant reductions in liver fat. However, evidence regarding the effects of a lifestyle intervention designed exclusively for Mexican-American men at greater risk for NAFLD is not currently available. Dr. David Garcia has an excellent foundation in lifestyle interventions that has positioned him well to advance toward his goal of reducing obesity-related disease burden in Mexican-American males. The goal of this NIMHD K01 Mentored Research Scientist Development Award is to provide Dr. Garcia with an in-depth understanding of metabolic and pathogenic pathways and risk factors of obesity-related cancers and related diseases, with a specific focus on NAFLD and HCC in Mexican-American men. He also will gain training in non-invasive imaging biomarkers (e.g., transient elastography) for the evaluation and management of disease state and risk factors. Lastly, he will advance his knowledge and skill development in research methodologies (e.g., quantitative analysis and qualitative inquiry) that informs on the design and tailoring of a culturally-specific study to reduce the burden of NAFLD. With the mentorship of Dr. Cynthia Thomson and Dr. Michael Fallon, co-mentors, and collaborators; for the proposed project Dr. Garcia intends to 1) use an available dataset from the Cameron County Hispanic Cohort (CCHC) to assess risk for NAFLD, including the influence of phenotypic factors (lifestyle behaviors) in Mexican-American men; 2) evaluate the knowledge, attitudes, and beliefs of obesity-related cancer risk, with an emphasis on NAFLD and HCC risk in Mexican-American men; and 3) assess the feasibility, acceptability, and preliminary efficacy of a NAFLD-specific weight loss intervention tailored for Mexican-American men. The training plan and research strategy in this K01 application will afford Dr. Garcia the time, resources, and mentorship necessary to achieve his career goal which is enthusiastically endorsed by University of Arizona leaders and an extremely appropriate and supportive research environment.


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: 2025 ( Subtotal = $0 )
2025	2024	UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA	845 N PARK AVE RM 538	TUCSON	AZ	85721	PIMA	USA	Minority Health and Health Disparities Research	000	5	4/10/2025	NON-COMPETING CONTINUATION	$0
														Subtotal = $0

Issue Date FY: 2024 ( Subtotal = $133,272 )
2024	2024	UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA	845 N PARK AVE RM 538	TUCSON	AZ	85721	PIMA	USA	Minority Health and Health Disparities Research	000	5	11/6/2023	NON-COMPETING CONTINUATION	$119,945
2024	2024	UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA	845 N PARK AVE RM 538	TUCSON	AZ	85721	PIMA	USA	Minority Health and Health Disparities Research	001	5	5/28/2024	NON-COMPETING CONTINUATION	$13,327
														Subtotal = $133,272

Issue Date FY: 2023 ( Subtotal = $133,272 )
2023	2023	UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA	888 N EUCLID AVE RM 510	TUCSON	AZ	85719	PIMA	USA	Minority Health and Health Disparities Research	001	4	1/30/2023	NON-COMPETING CONTINUATION	$13,327
2023	2023	UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA	888 N EUCLID AVE RM 510	TUCSON	AZ	85719	PIMA	USA	Minority Health and Health Disparities Research	000	4	11/8/2022	NON-COMPETING CONTINUATION	$119,945
														Subtotal = $133,272

Issue Date FY: 2022 ( Subtotal = $133,272 )
2022	2022	UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA	888 N EUCLID AVE RM 510	TUCSON	AZ	85719	PIMA	USA	Minority Health and Health Disparities Research	001	3	4/27/2022	NON-COMPETING CONTINUATION	$13,328
2022	2022	UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA	888 N EUCLID AVE RM 510	TUCSON	AZ	85719	PIMA	USA	Minority Health and Health Disparities Research	000	3	11/9/2021	NON-COMPETING CONTINUATION	$119,944
														Subtotal = $133,272

Issue Date FY: 2021 ( Subtotal = $133,272 )
2021	2021	UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA	888 N EUCLID AVE RM 510	TUCSON	AZ	85719	PIMA	USA	Minority Health and Health Disparities Research	000	2	11/23/2020	NON-COMPETING CONTINUATION	$119,944
2021	2021	UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA	888 N EUCLID AVE RM 510	TUCSON	AZ	85719	PIMA	USA	Minority Health and Health Disparities Research	001	2	3/15/2021	NON-COMPETING CONTINUATION	$13,328
														Subtotal = $133,272

Issue Date FY: 2020 ( Subtotal = $133,272 )
2020	2020	UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA	888 N EUCLID AVE RM 510	TUCSON	AZ	85719	PIMA	USA	Minority Health and Health Disparities Research	000	1	1/7/2020	NEW	$133,272
														Subtotal = $133,272

Grand Total All Awards = $666,360

Top

All Categories

About

Search

Reports

Data Submission

Award Information

A gender and culturally specific approach to reduce NAFLD in Mexican American men

Award Number: K01MD014761

ORGANIZATION: NATIONAL CENTER ON MINORITY HEALTH AND HEALTH DISPARITIES

OPDIV: NIH

AWARD CLASS: DISCRETIONARY

AWARD ACTIVITY TYPE: TRAINING/TRAINEESHIP

PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE START DATE: 01/07/2020

PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE END DATE: 11/30/2024

Federal Websites

Department of Health & Human Services

HHS Operating Divisions

HHS Staff Divisions

Download A Document Viewer