Doctoral Dissertation Research: Local Biologies and the Epidemiologic Paradox

科学家们观察到一个流行病学悖论，其中一些人群的生理结果比其他人更好，尽管收入和教育水平较低，通常会预测发病率和死亡率较高。然而，有许多复杂的因素可能混淆这些发现，如组内异质性。这个博士论文项目将使用和扩展本地生物学的理论，即人类生物学是由个人的背景塑造的，以研究遗传相似人群的生理健康。这项研究将推进人类文化和生物学界面的知识，最大限度地减少人口异质性的潜在混淆影响。该项目将支持来自STEM领域代表性不足的群体的学生的培训，以及基于项目调查结果的公共和社区科学宣传和公共卫生信息。这个博士论文项目探讨了物理和社会文化环境如何塑造北美西班牙裔人口中生理疾病的发展。该项目结合了使用心脏代谢疾病的生物标志物对生理健康的严格检查，以及对不同地区Purepecha个人的社会文化和物理环境的人种学探索。纳入标准化的工具来衡量文化适应和其他变量将允许与类似的研究进行比较。这项研究是重要的，因为它关注的是在更广泛的西班牙裔/拉丁裔背景下研究不足的人群。这个奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并被认为是值得通过使用基金会的智力价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估的支持。

Scientists have observed an epidemiologic paradox in which some populations have better physiological outcomes than others, despite having lower income and education that normally would predict higher morbidity and mortality. However, there are many complex factors that potentially confound such findings, such as within-group heterogeneity. This doctoral dissertation project will use and expand the theory of local biologies, the idea that human biology is shaped by an individual's context, to examine physiological well-being for genetically similar populations. The research will advance knowledge about the interface of human culture and biology, minimizing the potentially confounding effects of population heterogeneity. The project will support training for students from groups underrepresented in STEM fields, as well as public and community science outreach and public health information based on the project findings. This doctoral dissertation project explores how the physical and sociocultural environment shapes the development of physiologic disorders among Hispanic populations in North America. The project combines a rigorous examination of physiological well-being using biomarkers of cardiometabolic disorders and an ethnographic exploration of the sociocultural and physical surroundings of Purepecha individuals in different areas. The incorporation of standardized instruments to measure acculturation and other variables will permit comparison with similar studies. The research is significant in its focus on an understudied population within the broader Hispanic/Latinx context.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.