Thursday, January 1, 2026 1/1/2026

Improving Access to Curative Therapies for Hepatocellular Carcinoma

Award Number: K23MD018090
ORGANIZATION: NATIONAL CENTER ON MINORITY HEALTH AND HEALTH DISPARITIES
OPDIV: NIH
AWARD CLASS: DISCRETIONARY
AWARD ACTIVITY TYPE: TRAINING/TRAINEESHIP
PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE START DATE: 09/25/2022
PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE END DATE: 06/30/2026

Group Awards By:

View Award Description

Improving Access to Curative Therapies for Hepatocellular Carcinoma - ABSTRACT Lauren D. Nephew MD, MA, MSCE’s long-term career goal is to become an independent, externally funded researcher and leader in developing multilevel interventions to reduce disparities in access to treatments for liver disease and gastrointestinal malignancies. She has identified improving access to curative therapies for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) as a critical issue to address to achieve this goal. This proposal describes a 4-year comprehensive program of training and mentored research for an academic career in health services research with a special focus on improving health care access and outcomes for populations experiencing adverse social determinants of health (SDOH). This is in line with NIMHD’s commitment to combating health disparities. While Dr. Nephew has a strong background in epidemiology, this K23 will provide key training in using human-centered design research methods for intervention development, randomized controlled behavioral trials, and implementation of interventions within health systems. Patients with chronic liver disease who experience adverse social determinants of health are approximately 50% less likely than their counterparts to receive curative therapies for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) even when presenting with early-stage disease. Reasons for disparities in mortality are in part related to failure to progress through the complex HCC care continuum to access curative therapies as a result of the distribution the SDOH. The HCC-EduLink intervention we propose to develop is designed to: a) improve patients’ HCC-related knowledge; b) screen patients for social needs and substance use and refer to social work for linkage to local services; and c) use our multidisciplinary HCC tumor board to facilitate linkage to subspecialty HCC cancer care. The objectives of this application are to develop the education program component of the HCC-EduLink intervention and pilot test the full multi-level intervention designed to address patient- and system-level SDOH variables and facilitate access to HCC curative therapies in a cohort of patients with HCC. Dr. Nephew’s multidisciplinary mentorship team, including a world-renowned gastroenterologist, an expert in interventions to reduce cancer disparities, and a behavioral health statistician, will provide expert guidance to complement her coursework and experiential learning. The environment including the Indiana University Simon Cancer Center, Clinical and Translational Science Institute, the Eskenazi Safety-net Hospital and the Indiana University Academic Health Center, make this an ideal environment for her training and to complete the proposed aims. Upon completion of the proposed research and training, Dr. Nephew will submit a competitive R-level grant to test the pilot intervention in a larger randomized trial and will possess the skills and experience needed to make a sustained and impactful contribution to reduce HCC mortality through evidenced-based interventions in other populations.


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 = $0 )
2026	2025	TRUSTEES OF INDIANA UNIVERSITY	980 INDIANA AVE RM 2232	INDIANAPOLIS	IN	46202	MARION	USA	Minority Health and Health Disparities Research	000	4	11/21/2025	NON-COMPETING CONTINUATION	$0
														Subtotal = $0

Issue Date FY: 2025 ( Subtotal = $152,508 )
2025	2025	TRUSTEES OF INDIANA UNIVERSITY	980 INDIANA AVE RM 2232	INDIANAPOLIS	IN	46202	MARION	USA	Minority Health and Health Disparities Research	001	4	7/31/2025	NON-COMPETING CONTINUATION	$152,508
2025	2024	TRUSTEES OF INDIANA UNIVERSITY	980 INDIANA AVE RM 2232	INDIANAPOLIS	IN	46202	MARION	USA	Minority Health and Health Disparities Research	000	3	11/27/2024	NON-COMPETING CONTINUATION	$0
														Subtotal = $152,508

Issue Date FY: 2024 ( Subtotal = $152,508 )
2024	2024	TRUSTEES OF INDIANA UNIVERSITY	980 INDIANA AVE RM 2232	INDIANAPOLIS	IN	46202	MARION	USA	Minority Health and Health Disparities Research	000	3	7/12/2024	NON-COMPETING CONTINUATION	$152,508
														Subtotal = $152,508

Issue Date FY: 2023 ( Subtotal = $152,508 )
2023	2023	TRUSTEES OF INDIANA UNIVERSITY	980 INDIANA AVE RM 2232	INDIANAPOLIS	IN	46202	MARION	USA	Minority Health and Health Disparities Research	001	2	7/8/2023	NON-COMPETING CONTINUATION	$152,508
2023	2022	TRUSTEES OF INDIANA UNIVERSITY	980 INDIANA AVE RM 2232	INDIANAPOLIS	IN	46202	MARION	USA	Minority Health and Health Disparities Research	000	1	7/8/2023	NEW	$0
														Subtotal = $152,508

Issue Date FY: 2022 ( Subtotal = $152,508 )
2022	2022	TRUSTEES OF INDIANA UNIVERSITY	980 INDIANA AVE RM 2232	INDIANAPOLIS	IN	46202	MARION	USA	Minority Health and Health Disparities Research	000	1	9/25/2022	NEW	$152,508
														Subtotal = $152,508

Grand Total All Awards = $610,032

Top

All Categories

About

Search

Reports

Data Submission

Award Information

Improving Access to Curative Therapies for Hepatocellular Carcinoma

Award Number: K23MD018090

ORGANIZATION: NATIONAL CENTER ON MINORITY HEALTH AND HEALTH DISPARITIES

OPDIV: NIH

AWARD CLASS: DISCRETIONARY

AWARD ACTIVITY TYPE: TRAINING/TRAINEESHIP

PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE START DATE: 09/25/2022

PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE END DATE: 06/30/2026

Federal Websites

Department of Health & Human Services

HHS Operating Divisions

HHS Staff Divisions

Download A Document Viewer