PROJECT SUMMARY
This is a proposal for a K24 Midcareer Investigator Award in Patient-Oriented Research (POR) for Namratha
Kandula, MD, MPH of Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine. Dr. Kandula is Associate
Professor of Medicine and Preventive Medicine and co-Director of the Center for Community Health.
Dr. Kandula's scholarship is focused on understanding the social and cultural determinants of cardiovascular
disease (CVD) disparities in South Asian Americans and implementing evidence-based interventions (EBIs)
using community-based participatory research (CBPR) methods. South Asian Americans, the majority of whom
are immigrants, are disproportionately affected by CVD compared to non-Hispanic whites and other Asian
Americans. While there is ample evidence that intensive diet and physical activity interventions improve CVD
risk factors in adults, these EBIs have limited reach in South Asian and other vulnerable populations because
most EBIs were developed in narrow clinical populations, lack cultural salience, do not account for multilevel
social determinants of health, and are difficult to implement in new settings. Dr. Kandula has expertise in
epidemiologic studies and community-based lifestyle intervention trials and has been actively mentoring
students and junior investigators on health disparities and community engaged research. The objective of this
K24 application is to promote science and mentorship in community engaged implementation research to
optimally deliver and sustain EBIs focused on populations with a high burden of health disparities. Support
from the K24 will provide Dr. Kandula with protected time to: 1) Devote more time to mentoring a diverse group
of young investigators in community engaged implementation research; 2) Improve her implementation science
research and mentoring skills through mentor training and guidance from senior mentors; 3) Extend her
currently funded work to fill critical gaps in the science of delivering and sustaining EBIs for vulnerable
populations; and 4) Assume leadership in new multisector, collaborative research on how to optimally deliver
EBIs to eliminate health disparities. The current K24 proposal builds upon the scientific premise and extends
the research and mentorship of the PI in the context of her two NIH-funded, community engaged lifestyle
intervention trials to reduce CVD disparities in South Asian adults and adolescents (SAHELI and SAATH
trials). The PI and her mentees will use mixed methods to: 1) Investigate social and structural determinants
that contributed to differences in implementation outcomes of EBIs in the SAHELI and SAATH trials;
2) Evaluate sustainability of the EBIs implemented in the SAHELI and SAATH trials; and 3) Understand
stakeholder perspectives on which implementation outcomes and evaluation strategies are most meaningful
and feasible when implementing EBIs for CVD prevention in health disparity populations. Conduct of the
proposed Aims will accelerate science and mentorship in building sustainable community partnerships and
models to optimally deliver EBIs that improve the health of vulnerable populations and advance health equity.