Effects of Acculturation on Gestational Biology in Mexican-American Pregnant Women

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ABSTRACT THIS PROPOSAL seeks additional salary support to compensate for career development activities missed due to COVID-19 disruptions from campus and daycare closures. There are no proposed changes to the research plan. RESEARCH SUMMARY. An important issue relates to the underlying cause(s) of epidemiologic observations that Latino immigrants exhibit a progressive decline in health (particularly obesity) over time and across generations. I suggest that the intergenerational escalation in obesity rates could be a consequence of acculturation-related biological changes in women. During pregnancy, these changes may be transmitted to the next generation (fetus) to influence offspring phenotypes that determine susceptibility for obesity (adiposity). A necessary step towards investigating this hypothesis is determining whether acculturation is associated with changes in aspects of gestational biology involved in fetal programming of adiposity. Also, I suggest that inconsistencies in the acculturation-health literature may relate to limitations of operationalization of the acculturation construct and failure to consider the modifying role of social context. Findings from this project will reveal new information about health status of vulnerable populations, which could lead to new avenues for early identification of at-risk individuals and prevention strategies to limit intergenerational perpetuation of disadvantage and poor health. I am on track to complete all the original K01 project aims by end of the award period. I already acquired NIDDK R03 funding and published 12 papers during my K01 period, with 2 more in peer review. ENVIRONMENT SUMMARY. At UCLA, I have my own biological laboratory located in the Life Sciences building, where I can process and store biosamples collected in my K01 research activities. Based in the UCLA Department of Anthropology and the Cousins Center for Psychoneuroimmunology, I have myriad resources, including an inter-disciplinary team of senior investigators to provide an intellectually productive environment, research staff, office, and laboratory facilities, and experiential education in state-of-the-art methods in human biology. CANDIDATE SUMMARY. I am primarily interested in the concepts of biological embedding of socio-ecological conditions, and the fetal origins of health and disease paradigm. My career goal is to become an independent investigator in human developmental biology with R01 funding, addressing key questions related to how an individual’s social and environmental ecology influences biological systems, and how biological links between generations affect the development of homeostatic mechanisms associated with chronic disease risk. CAREER DEVELOPMENT PLAN SUMMARY. I conducted formal coursework during Years 1-2 of the K01 award period. I am mentored by a team of prominent experts in their respective fields, led by Profs. Pathik Wadhwa (pre-transition of K-award from UCI to UCLA) and Christine Dunkel Schetter (post transition), leaders in the field of prenatal stress biology and fetal origins of disease, and receive specialized short-term training from a team of distinguished faculty at other universities.