A team of NAU researchers is studying the relationship between blood sugar and blood pressure and how those factors contribute to the development of diabetes, hypertension and heart disease in historically underserved populations.<\/p>\n
Sara Jarvis<\/strong>, an associate professor in the Department of Biological Sciences, is working with two graduate students and 10 undergraduate students on this project, which is focused on health disparities in the Hispanic population. And they need help in the form of willing and eligible participants. Could that be you?<\/p>\n Un equipo de investigadores de la NAU est\u00e1 estudiando la relaci\u00f3n entre el az\u00facar en la sangre y la presi\u00f3n arterial y c\u00f3mo esos factores contribuyen al desarrollo de diabetes, hipertensi\u00f3n y enfermedades card\u00edacas en poblaciones hist\u00f3ricamente desatendidas.<\/p>\n Sara Jarvis, profesora asociada en el Departamento de Ciencias Biol\u00f3gicas, est\u00e1 trabajando con dos estudiantes graduados y 10 estudiantes universitarios en este proyecto, que se enfoca en las disparidades de salud en la poblaci\u00f3n hispana. Y necesitan ayuda en forma de participantes dispuestos y elegibles. \u00bfPodr\u00edas ser t\u00fa?<\/p>\n Para obtener m\u00e1s informaci\u00f3n y ver si califica, visite el sitio web del laboratorio<\/a>.<\/p>\n Jarvis said no one is immune from high blood pressure or the risk of diabetes, but we know enough now to know that some demographic groups do have a greater risk of these health conditions, which in turn increase the risk of more life-threatening conditions like heart disease.<\/p>\n \u201cWe want to better understand the relationship between glucose regulation and hypertension risk,\u201d Jarvis said. \u201cIf we can unravel this, we can begin to propose better intervention and treatment strategies that are more tailored to these groups.\u201d<\/p>\n The premise of the project is that people who do not process sugar well will demonstrate larger changes in blood pressure when they are exposed to challenges in the laboratory. This suggests that those who are predisposed to developing diabetes are at risk for the development of hypertension and cardiovascular disease. And this risk is correlated with racial and ethnic demographics; the American Diabetes Association reports that minority groups at greater risk for developing diabetes, which thus increases the risk down the line.<\/p>\n Jarvis\u2019 team isn\u2019t studying why<\/em> minority groups are at greater risk\u2014it\u2019s an important question, but not one for a biologist to answer. Instead, she wants to understand the mechanics of how<\/em> they are at greater risk, which can lead to knowing how to better treat these populations.<\/p>\n To do this, the team needs people willing to be a part of the study. If you are:<\/p>\n Then this study might be for you. Visit https:\/\/cvlab-nau.mozello.com\/<\/a> for more information. Anyone interested in participating should contact CVLab@nau.edu<\/a> for more information.<\/p>\n Jarvis\u2019 team also wants to be part of the communities they study. They will present the results of the study to participants, but their outreach goes beyond that. They do blood pressure screenings and community clean-ups and volunteer at the Flagstaff Family Food Center and the Literacy Center.<\/p>\n \u201cWe very much want our lab\u2019s involvement to be rooted in the Flagstaff community, as well as build a relationship between the scientific community and the community at large,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n In addition to this research, which is funded by the National Institutes of Health, Jarvis\u2019 lab has obtained funding through the NASA internship program and the URDEA collaborative research award.\u00a0 The NASA project examines the impact of COVID-19 on the cardiovascular system and the URDEA award examines the effect of e-cigarette usage on the vasculature (blood vessels).<\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
\n
\n\n