Disease Prevention

The major goals of this project are to ascertain the genetic and metabolic factors that contribute to whether individuals may have experienced benefit or potential harm during an already-completed chemoprevention trial of selenium. This project received funding from the National Cancer Institute through an R01 Research Project Grant. 

The goal of this project is to work with communities to identify barriers and solutions to implementing non-pharmaceutical interventions during outbreaks of infectious diseases. This project received funding support from the Arizona Department of Health Services. 

The goal of this project was to advance understanding related to the impact of climate on the possible emergence of Dengue in the southern United States and northern Mexico. This project was funded by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease. 

Engaging the community and sustaining its investment in control programs is recommended as a critical component of assessing response during dengue outbreaks [1]. Evidence of the effectiveness of community engagement to impact entomological and to a lesser extent epidemiological endpoints is growing [2-5]. Both effectiveness and sustainability need to be explored as even effective programs may be unsustainable if community members lose motivation [6]. Evidence suggests that the use of theoretical frameworks such as the health belief model improves the effectiveness of public health interventions [7]. The health belief model would suggest that action is most likely taken when individuals have knowledge about Aedes mosquitoes and the viruses they carry; perceive Aedes mosquitoes to be a risk to them and their household members and that the risk is severe; perceive that the benefits of interventions outweigh the barriers to implementation; and are further motivated by self-efficacy and external cues to action such as media campaigns [8]. Indeed the best practices for communicating vector control strategies to the public have not been well defined particularly for industrialized countries where evaluation mosquito-borne disease messaging is particularly sparse. Vulnerable populations, including individuals residing in public housing, were less likely to receive information about dengue during an outbreak in Key West, FL [9]. During the West Nile outbreak in 2003 a study indicated people were most commonly getting their information from communications through newspapers, radio and TV broadcasts [10]however those that reported taking action were more likely to have gotten their information from the newspaper, word of mouth, or searching on the internet as compared to information they received from radio, TV, brochures, or health professionals perhaps due to the more active engagement associated with these sources. Some studies have indicated that mass media reports during outbreaks may not provide accurate risk information that could help individuals determine if they should take precautions [11, 12]. Leveraging mobile apps and social media as public health communication tools has become more broadly implemented for improving healthy behaviors; with most regular implementation addressing physical activity and smoking cessation [13, 14]. While mobile apps have shown variable effectiveness at increasing positive health behaviors, the potential is recognized [13].  Kidenga is a community-based surveillance and education app developed to address the increasing risk of Aedes-borne diseases in the southern United States. The Kidenga app was launched in late September 2016 and was developed through a collaborative partnership between the University of Arizona (lead institution) and CDC personnel based at the Division of Global Migration and Quarantine in San Diego, CA (www.kidenga.org). The intention of Kidenga is to both collect data on syndromes that may be consistent with Aedes-borne diseases and to provide timely and accurate risk information back to the user. As part of this work the Kidenga team will build upon existing Kidenga mobile application development to provide a “Spanish-version” for use along the Arizona and Texas borders to enhance surveillance and education for Zika, dengue and Chikungunya disease and their mosquito vector, Aedes aegypti (yellow fever mosquito). In addition, a preliminary assessment of the acceptability of Kidenga mobile application with end-user groups and a prioritization of modifications or enhancements to increase the usability and acceptability of Kidenga.  

Polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs):  A series of PBDEs will be measured at trace levels (ng/g lipid weight) in breast milk provided by volunteers.  Breastmilk collection:  Participants will provide breastmilk samples (100 ml ideally) within chemically clean, 120 ml foil-wrapped glass jars, prepared by the University of Arizona (UA) or certified by the UA to be free of target chemicals within the sensitivity of the methods applied.  Several collection sessions may be required to fill each jar.  The samples will then be refrigerated and frozen when collection is completed (volume met).  Participants are advised to minimize skin contact with the jar (lip and lid) and to minimize the possibility of contamination by skin, hair, or dust.   Once received by the UA, samples will be stored at -20ºC until analysis. Polybrominated diphenyl ether analysis: The analytical approached follows methods successfully applied by the State of California and the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The UA team is currently conducting research using Enhanced Matrix Removal (EMR) protocols that have been specifically developed to allow for lipid removal without loss of analyses and have been applied numerous times for analysis of trace organic chemicals in milk. In general, the EMR tubes contain a mixture of solid-phase extraction (SPE) sorbents and MgSO4, that will absorb the matrix material and excess water. Our team will only apply EMR upon successful performance evaluation that demonstrates equivalency, or better, to previously published work using the method Instrumental analysis will be performed using gas chromatography (GC) with mass spectrometric detection (GC-MS).  PBDEs will be separated using a DB-5MS column (15 m x 0.25 mm I.D. x 0.1um film thickness, Agilent J&W, USA).

Prenatal exposure to organophosphorus pesticides (OPs) has been associated with a wide range of adverse childhood outcomes [1]–[7]. However, most of these studies rely on OP biomarkers in the general population. These biomarkers disproportionately reflect non-toxic dietary ingestion of metabolites and cannot distinguish between parent pesticides. Exposure metrics that use agricultural pesticide applications may overcome these limitations, but such studies are limited to California. We propose to prepare Arizona’s Pesticide Use Registry as a resource for future studies of exposure to pesticides and childhood health outcomes, and to enhance exposure assessment by incorporating birth certificate-reported farmworker occupation into analyses. Farmworkers are at higher risk of pesticide-associated health risks due to occupational exposures, but farmworkers are difficult to identify and are highly transitory. Thus, we also propose a pilot study of prenatal exposure to OPs and preterm birth among farmworkers to assess the feasibility of this approach for future studies. The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health and the University of California, Davis fund this project. 

For over two decades, the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities (ARIC) study has made many and important contributions to cardiovascular disease epidemiology. That effort will continue during the renewal. Dr. Shahar, a co-investigator on this project for over 20 years, has served on the study’s morbidity and mortality classification committee; designed and implemented ancillary studies; authored or co-authored almost 100 ARIC manuscripts; and internally reviewed ARIC manuscripts for the publication committee. Dr. Shahar has worked closely with investigators and staff at the ARIC coordinating center for many years. He will continue to support blinded endpoint classification in the ARIC cohort through a subcontract with the University of North Carolina. Subaward –University of North Carolina Chapel Hill  

Infections with Legionella have been steadily increasing over the past decade. Current strategies regarding Legionella have been focused on response-based approaches rather than prevention-based. The purpose of this study is to bring together the resources to create a comprehensive, interactive online training focused on preventative interventions. The training will include multiple modules aimed towards creating an understanding of Legionella, how it survives, thrives and moves throughout complex water systems, identifying critical control points and a variety of interventions. The content for the training will be delivered in multiple formats to maximize user engagement. Providing in-depth training on prevention of Legionella in complex water systems will help to decrease the number of infections throughout the United States.

The goal of this project was to develop a community-based participatory surveillance application and educational platform for arboviral diseases in the United States. Financial support from the Skoll Global Threats Fund (STGF) was used to support a University of Arizona developer migrate to a new push notification platform and convene 3-4 meetings of key stakeholders. These funds supplemented the CDC grant funding for the development of Kidenga and previous SGTF funding used for marketing of the tool.

The purpose of this project is to develop and test a framework for establishing a long-term firefighter multicenter prospective cohort study focused on carcinogenic exposures and effects.  The specific aims are to: 1) Establish an oversight and planning board to provide study oversight, foster communication among fire organizations and help develop a long-term funding plan; 2) Create and test a cohort study data coordinating center and harmonized survey data protocols; 3) Develop and evaluate an exposure tracking system paired with quantitative exposure data to construct a firefighter carcinogen exposure matrix; and 4) Create a biomarker analysis center and evaluate the association between cumulative firefighter exposures and epigenetic effects. Relevance: Cancer is a leading cause of fire service morbidity and mortality, and a recent National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) study demonstrated an excess mortality rate for cancer in firefighters compared with the general population (Daniels et al., 2014).  Firefighters are exposed to multiple carcinogens in the workplace through skin contamination and inhalation.  However, we currently do not understand which individual exposures are responsible for cancer in firefighters, the mechanisms by which these exposures cause cancer, or effective means of reducing exposures.  Since cancer has a long latency period, biomarkers are also needed that can measure the effects of carcinogen exposure well before the development of cancer, when interventions to prevent disease could be effective.  Development of a large (>10,000 firefighter) multicenter firefighter cancer prospective cohort study will address these needs, but the framework for such a study needs to be first developed and tested among a smaller initial set of fire service partners.  Methods: The study will build on recent and developing firefighter cancer prevention studies in Arizona, Florida and Massachusetts, adding volunteer and combination fire departments.  1) An Oversight and Planning Board will be established by the Fire Protection Research Foundation (FPRF) in association with the National Fallen Firefighter Foundation (NFFF) Fire Service Occupational Cancer Alliance (FSOCA) to provide oversight of the study through collaboration among fire service organizations, academia, and government agencies, and develop a long-term funding and sustainability plan.  2) A Data Coordination Center will design, develop and evaluate a framework for a multicenter prospective cohort study of firefighters and cancer risk, including standardized participant survey data collection tools and analysis protocols sufficient to address the short- and long-term study objectives as well as linkage with long-term outcome data including cancer development.  3) An Exposure Assessment Center will develop a carcinogen exposure matrix using information gleaned from self-reported and quantitative exposure measurements to provide improved occupational exposure data for comparison with epigenetic outcomes and eventual cancer outcomes.  Carcinogen exposures associated with specific fire types and job tasks will be evaluated across fire departments through exhaled breath monitoring and analysis of urine for absorbed contaminants, providing information to guide exposure reduction strategies.  4) The Biomarker Analysis Center will carry out pilot studies of epigenetic markers of cancer effect and cancer risk comparing firefighters with a range of cumulative exposures and non-firefighter controls.  For these purposes, blood and buccal cells will be collected during annual medical surveillance evaluations.  Anticipated outcomes: The proposed research will: establish the framework necessary for the subsequent development of a large multicenter cohort study of cancer in the fire service; advance our understanding of firefighter exposures to carcinogens; and help identify biomarkers of carcinogen effect and cancer risk.

Purpose and Aims: The purpose of the proposed research is to identify effective methods of reducing firefighter exposure to carcinogens and associated toxic effects through completion of the following specific aims: 1) Evaluate exposure to carcinogens throughout the work shift; 2) Measure biomarkers of carcinogenic effect in relation to workplace exposures; and 3) Within a risk management framework, test the effectiveness of interventions to reduce fire service carcinogen exposure and effects. Relevance: Cancer is a leading cause of fire service morbidity and mortality.  Exposure to carcinogens occurs through skin contamination, through the lungs when respiratory protection is not worn during all phases of fire suppression and overhaul, and through inhalation during standby, operation of apparatus and off-gassing of equipment.  In addition to fire smoke, diesel exhaust exposure can occur from operation of apparatus at the fire ground and in the station.  Since cancer has a long latency period between exposure and disease onset, measurements are needed that can determine the effectiveness of new interventions on a much shorter time interval.  Methods: Exposure to particulates and volatile chemicals will be measured at the fireground and in-transit.  Diesel particulate matter monitoring during responses and in the fire station will also be completed.  Blood and urine collected during annual medical surveillance evaluations and post-fireground activities will be analyzed for chemical contaminants.  Biomarkers of carcinogenic effect will also be analyzed pre- and post-exposure, and evaluated for association with measured chemical contaminants.  The extent to which firefighter chemical exposures and biomarkers of effect can be reduced by following risk management steps will be determined.  Anticipated outcomes: The proposed research will identify carcinogenic exposures throughout the fire shift and measure the effectiveness of interventions designed to reduce cancer risks. 

In the U.S., Hispanic males have the highest rate of overweight and obesity when compared to males of other racial/ethnic groups. Obesity contributes to the risk for certain cancers in Hispanics. For example, obesity is associated with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), which is 1.4 and 1.9 times more common in Hispanics than in Non-Hispanic Whites (NHW) and African Americans, respectively. While not all individuals with NAFLD develop liver complications, nearly 30% will develop nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) and be at risk for hepatocellular carcinoma, the most common form of liver cancer in adults. Consequently, Hispanic males have the highest rates of liver cancer incidence in the U.S., twice those of NHW men. Weight loss is considered the first line of prevention for NAFLD progression. Yet, current research is lacking to inform best practices to engage Hispanic males in weight loss and/or to promote a successful weight loss trajectory. Without this information, the health disparities associated with obesity related cancer will continue to increase. Using existing practice guidelines and evidence from our qualitative assessments in overweight/obese Hispanic males, we will test a novel intervention approach to address this knowledge gap. We propose to 1) assess the feasibility, acceptability and preliminary efficacy of a gender- and culturally-sensitive weight loss intervention in 20 overweight/obese Hispanic males ages 18-64 over 24 weeks; and 2) examine pathologic changes in the liver (NAFLD, NASH, fibrosis, or cirrhosis) in 20 overweight/obese Hispanic males ages 18-64 over 24 weeks using a non-invasive Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) of the liver. This project will be the first gender and culturally-sensitive weight loss intervention of which we are aware to explicitly target Hispanic males with an emphasis on reducing body weight. In addition, the intervention will provide highly impactful formative research on the effects of a weight loss lifestyle intervention on liver histology. Given the Hispanic population is the fastest growing in the U.S., efforts to identify strategies to promote weight control among Hispanic males has potential to significantly impact obesity-related cancer health disparities.

Located in the Mel and Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health at the University of Arizona and funded by the state tax on tobacco products, The Arizona Smokers’ Helpline (ASHLine) is one of over 50 quitlines across the United States. Established in 1995, it is also one of the oldest and most seasoned quit lines in existence.  As a member of the North American Quitline Consortium, ASHLine is actively engaged in collaborations, research, evaluation and quality improvement to assure all Arizonans have access to high quality, evidence-based tobacco cessation services and support. Nationally, quit rates reported among North American quit lines vary, averaging around 30%.  The Arizona Smokers’ Helpline (ASHLine) has been helping people quit tobacco since its inception in 1995. We are a comprehensive quitline, offering free telephone (both reactive and proactive) and web-based quit services and four to twelve weeks Nicotine Replacement Therapy (NRT). In addition, we have fax and electronic provider referral program and provide free training and technical assistance to healthcare providers and community partners statewide. The Arizona Smokers’ Helpline (ASHLine) is a service entity well-positioned to contribute to ongoing tobacco control efforts by providing effective, evidence-based support to individuals in their effort to end tobacco use.

Residents of rural communities and Latinos continue to experience significant health disparities for chronic disease such as diabetes and cardiovascular disease.  The residents in these communities have significant disparities due to multiple social determinants of health including but not limited to a lack of access to opportunities for physical activity and other resources necessary to prevent chronic disease. Bike Ajo is a community-campus coalition with diverse membership including community health. Bike Ajo’s goal is to create a sustainable cycling hub that educates, trains, provides resources, and builds health-based partnerships within the Ajo community. The asset-based coalition includes community residents, Desert Senita Community Health Center, International Sonoran Desert Institute, Ajo Chamber of Commerce, Arizona Planning Association, Mel and Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health, UA Department of Mexican American studies, Pima County Parks & Recreation, Pima County Health Department, and Pima County Department of Transportation. The Bike Ajo works to increase access to environments promoting physical activity opportunities through the creation of the1) Bike Ajo Cycling Hub (ReaCH); and 2) expanding community-clinic linkages to chronic disease prevention resources for Desert Senita Community Health Center patients.  Successes, lessons learned, and process/implementation strategies will be shared through the Arizona REACH network as well as at local and national conferences.  Digital stories will be utilized to help community members tell their own compelling stories of the personal impact of inequities in public health. This project was funded by the National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion and the Arizona Chapter of the American Planning Association. 

The goal of this project is to 1) to demonstrate utility and feasibility of detection of LTBI among migrant farmworkers, and to compare outcomes in the US and Mexico and; 2)To assess follow-up of workers detected with LTBI and ability to link individuals to care. Through additional funding, we have been able to expand the work to include further care for participating migrant farmworkers in conjunction with the Migrant clinicians Network.

The goal of this project is to examine the association between stress and asthma morbidity, using our preliminary work from the Children’s Respiratory Study, and within the context of an ongoing school-base randomized clinical trial, to determine to what degree variations in asthma control and morbidity are associated with chronic school stressors. Eyal Oren was a contributor on this project but has since left the University of Arizona. 

The goal of this project is to determine whether texting can serve as a low cost technology for improving low LTBI adherence rates. This work is being completed in partnership with the Pima County Health Department TB Clinic in Tucson, AZ. Specifically, the project will focus on these aims: Aim 1. To determine the effectiveness of text reminders for improving adherence in latent TB patients using a randomized controlled single blinded trial. Aim 2. To establish the costs associated with text messaging. Aim 3. To determine patient experiences with the texting intervention. You can learn more about TXT4MED and its progress at http://txt4med.arl.arizona.edu  

R25T Cancer Prevention and Control Training Grant. More information about this program and associated funding can be found here: https://cancercenter.arizona.edu/researchers/research-programs/cancer-prevention-control

Abstract not available. 

Abstract not available. 

Honoring Your Gift is a pilot collaboration between the University of Arizona Mel and Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health, Freedoms Gate Ministries, and Ministerios Getsemani.  The project offers a program of health promotion strategies targeting specific modifiable risk factors for heart disease in multiethnic southwest Tucson. Freedoms Gate Ministries and Ministerios Getsemani will provide the supportive environment for the intervention.  This church-based intervention addresses the common heart risk factors shared by residents of this community across ethnic groups: physical inactivity, poor nutrition, diabetes, and high blood pressure.  Residents of this community will be recruited into the program, regardless of their church or religious affiliations.  Family participation will be encouraged. African American, American Indian, and Latino American ethnic groups are experiencing increasing incidence and prevalence of heart disease. Honoring Your Gift will center on the risk factors of heart disease, which is the number one cause of death for all population groups in the United States. The program, Honoring Your Gift, teaches the value of taking care of ones body and preventing heart disease through a twelve week intervention for changing eating behavior,  increasing physical activity and managing stress through health instruction, demonstrations and applications of food preparation, walking and dance, prayer and meditation. Program aims are: To conduct a baseline assessment designed to describe the health indices and health behaviors related to modifiable risk factors for heart disease among multi-ethnic study participants in a southwest Tucson church-based program. To assist program participants in achieving healthful modifications in behaviors that are associated with heart health through a culturally relevant church-based To explore changes in health indices such as blood pressure, cholesterol, blood sugar, and health behaviors (diet, physical activity, and stress management) among the Honoring Your Gift program participants.

Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities (ARIC) is a  study to investigate the etiology of atherosclerosis and its clinical sequelae and variation in cardiovascular risk factors, medical care, and disease by race, sex, place, and time. In each of four US communities--Forsyth County, North Carolina, Jackson, Mississippi, suburbs of Minneapolis, Minnesota, and Washington County, Maryland--4,000 adults aged 45-64 years will be examined twice, three years apart. ARIC has coordinating, ultrasound, pulmonary, and electrocardiographic centers and three central laboratories. Three cohorts represent the ethnic mix of their communities; the Jackson cohort, its black population. Examinations include ultrasound scanning of carotid and popliteal arteries; lipids, lipoproteins, and apolipoproteins assayed in the Lipid Laboratory; and coagulation, inhibition, and platelet and fibrinolytic activity assayed in the Hemostasis Laboratory. Surveillance for coronary heart disease will involve review of hospitalizations and deaths among community residents aged 35-74 years. ARIC aims to study atherosclerosis by direct observation of the disease and by use of modern biochemistry. This study received support through a subcontract to the University of Minnesota.

Abstract not available. 

Limonene is a major component in the essential oils of citrus fruits. It has demonstrated promising breast cancer preventive and therapeutic effects in preclinical model systems. This goal of this study is to evaluate the distribution of limonene to the breast tissue and its associated biological activities after 2 to 6 weeks of limonene dosing in women with a recent diagnosis of breast carcinoma in situ or atypical ductal hyperplasia scheduled to undergo definitive surgery by conducting an early phase clinical trial. This study will help evaluate the potentials of developing limonene as a breast cancer preventive agent. The long-term goals are to conduct long-term intervention trials to determine the breast cancer preventive activity of d-limonene and to conduct translational clinical research in understanding the effect of d-limonene on arresting/inhibiting/reversing the breast cancer carcinogenesis process. This project was funded by the National Institutes of Health.

Osteoporosis is a major public health problem. Women are at a particularly high risk for osteoporosis, and 50% of women age 50 or older may suffer from a fragility fracture in their remaining lifetime. Hip fractures are the most detrimental type of fractures. Research has been conducted to assess hip fracture risk so prevention methods could be used to reduce this risk in the growing number of older women. However, previous risk assessment approaches are limited to a few variables and linear combinations of these factors. Also, there is an increasing number of available measures, such as bone structures and skeletal muscle mass, and no reliable risk prediction model exists based on this wealth of information. The overall goal of this study is to develop a comprehensive and flexible model to assess the risk of hip fracture for a specific woman. There are three specific aims. The first aim is to generate a risk model, based on clinical data that accounts for the coupling effects of the factors involved in hip fracture. This research introduces a new approach in the field of hip fracture, Support Vector Machines (SVM), which explicitly identifies the configurations of factors that are likely to lead to hip fracture. The second aim is to refine the prediction/decision model from the first aim using both the SVM classifier and finite element modeling. A scheme has been developed to select, in a high dimensional space, data points that would improve the accuracy of the SVM-based risk prediction model. These data points would be evaluated (fracture or not) using a finite element model. The novelty of the proposed finite element model stems from its full parameterization so that the variability of the bone response can be studied with respect to variations (even small) of structural geometry and material parameters. The third aim is to validate and compare the SVM-based risk with and without the use of finite element analysis and develop a hip fracture risk calculator for the web. A cross-validation will be performed using data sets from the WHI as well as other cohorts. The flexibility of the SVM classification approach makes it easily deployable on the Internet. This study will be carried out using existing cohorts by an interdisciplinary team with experience in epidemiology of osteoporosis research, DXA measurements including hip structures and sarcopenia, fracture assessments, biostatistics approaches for large datasets, high dimensional analysis and finite element modeling, thus making this study highly feasible. The study results will have an extremely significant public health impact by providing an innovative tool for hip fracture risk assessments. This study will use innovative approaches, existing cohort resources, and interdisciplinary expertise to address a significant public health challenge: assessing the risk of hip fracture, the most detrimental type of fragility fractures. The study aims for a better risk assessment tool on the web that can be used by researchers and clinicians to assess an individual's hip fracture risk. This research will test new predictors and use the assumption free modeling approach to capture complex and non-linear relationships of predictors with fracture risk This study was funded by National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases of the National Institutes of Health. 

This center involves innovative and current models of research, service, and training within Arizona, and is part of a national network of Prevention Research Centers funded by the CDC. There is focused research in 4 border counties but the PRC community action board reflects statewide (including tribal) issues. This research project, Unidos: Linking Individuals’ to Social Determinant and Community Health Services will result in a model intervention to improve overall health and quality of life among predominantly Mexican-origin Latinos in Arizona. Principal Investigator: Scott CarvajalDeputy Director: Maia Ingram

A subcontract to the U of MN.

This project was an evaluation subcontract for part of a $16 million CDC-funded cooperative agreement awarded to Pima County Health Dept. to focus on policy and environmental strategies to prevent obesity. Evaluation teams included the following roles: Co-PI, Sr. Research Specialist, Sr. Program Coordinator, Research Specialist, 2 GRAs, and data input specialist. Maia Ingram served as the Co-PI for this subcontract, and co-lead team in primary and secondary data collection activities. She also served as Youth Risk Behavior Survey Coordinator for the project. This project successfully obtained weighted YRBS data for Pima County by surveying over 1300 students in 21 high schools. 

AZCC/NAU partnership to address cancer disparities in American Indian Cancer Disparities in collaboration with Navajo, Hopi, and Tohono O'odham.

This project focuses on work with farmers in rural communities for the promotion of safe animal practices to prevent infectious agent spread. Rural communities involved are located in Arizona. This project is a part of a subcontract. Project funding comes from the United States Department of Agriculture's Agriculture and Food Research Initiative (USDA - AFRI). 

In close partnership with the Great West Division of the American Cancer Society (ACS), we propose to develop a program focused on increasing CRC screening rates in the state of Arizona, with an overall goal of increasing  to 75% by the year 2010 the proportion of the Arizona population aged 50 years and older who undergoes CRC screening.  Maria Martinez was the Principal Investigator on this project but has since left the University of Arizona. 

Subcontract of ARRA Prime Award with Vanderbilt University.  Bonnie LaFleur was a contributor on this project but has since left the University of Arizona.

This project aims to develop statistical methods to analyze data from colorectal neoplastic prevention trials. This project ended on 6/30/2012.

This program focused on texting intervention among youth in middle-schools of Tucson. Focus groups consisted of teens. Prior to enrollment of students, all students had completed Project Students Are Sun Safe (Project SASS), a community service from the College of Public Health to schools. 

We are taking soil samples, dust samples and TSP samples from near Saginaw Hill. The samples are being analyzed for crustal elements and other heavy metals. These results will help us to develop, validate and revise a model soil contaminant transport. Ultimately this model could be used to assess relative contribution of soil particles to the indoor environment and aid with decision of appropriate mitigation procedures.

The Canyon Ranch Center for Prevention and Health Promotion (CRCPHP) is dedicated to helping people achieve and maintain healthy lives by providing a variety of opportunities that facilitate and support growth in all aspects of health and well-being: physical, social, mental, spiritual, environmental, and emotional. The CRCPHP fosters the collaboration of academic, community and public health stakeholders by using research, education, advocacy, awareness, and service delivery to improve the health and well-being of the Tucson community by facilitating the practical application of strategies that can assist individuals, communities, and societies in adopting and maintaining healthy lifestyles. The Center houses diverse projects and activities that have been guided by community-based participatory action research to focus on the prevention of chronic disease in the border region. Each project within the Center relies on extensive community involvement and outreach. The Center houses the Arizona Prevention Research Center, which is funded by the CDC's Prevention Research Center (PRC) Program. The PRC Program is comprised of 37 academic institutions and is an interdependent network of community, academic, and public health partners that conduct prevention research and promote practices proven to promote good health.

The goals of this study are to utilize existing and archived population-based questionnaire and biological data that describe food and water consumption histories and exposures to construct predictive models for urinary arsenic biomarkers that can be used as indicators of arsenic exposure and health effect outcomes. Five publications were published in relation to this study. This was an EPA funded study.