Stress Biology and Psychosocial stressors as mechanisms for Racial Health Disparities in Neural and Clinical Impairments of Multiple Sclerosis

项目总结/摘要 目前的F99/K 00提案概述了一个综合的博士前和博士后培训计划，将导致 申请人准备独立进行尖端的跨学科生物心理社会研究。 培训目标将增强她巩固她的优势与新兴技能，同时也参加专业 发展和职业发展。该项目提出的跨越心理社会压力相关的结果， 影响神经健康，特别是当它涉及到MS。为了达到这一目标，申请人建议培训 在（TG 1）压力生物学，这将建立在她以前的生物行为的专业知识，以扩展到新的生物标本 研究人群，并以压力和歧视的主观测量来补充压力生物学; (TG2)神经科学，特别是结构（MRI）测量，补充了她之前的EEG工作;（TG 3） 多发性硬化症是一种使人衰弱的神经系统疾病，可导致脑萎缩，但其严重程度 认知和生理临床结果继续回避该领域;和（TG 4）种族健康差异 这可以帮助阐明临床MS结果中个体差异的基础， 风化和交叉性等理论的应用。该提案跨越两个主要地点， 建立了合作的历史，使申请人能够完成创新的工作，并与 经验丰富的导师团队，他们通过“学习社区”的形式和 敏捷方法，以帮助申请人实现项目的里程碑。申请人的长期目标是 成为一个跨学科的学者谁擅长压力生物学和神经科学以及关键的种族 理论和健康差距的现象学。申请人不仅寻求增加多样性， 科学，但提出的研究也将有助于证明非常真实的，有形的， 种族主义和歧视的影响似乎难以解决。为了实现这些目标，该项目提出了三个 目标与目标F99/K 00指南一致。目标1b描述了迄今为止的论文进展， 包括获得试验数据的批准，以确定研究中心的可行性，作为申请人 研究实习，完成所有研究措施的培训，包括MRI，临床MS结果，头发 皮质醇测定和评分自我报告的措施，并收集试点数据的功率分析计算。 目标1b概述了F99期间要完成的工作，重点是概念模型（和相应的 假设），其中询问了脑萎缩和临床MS结果之间的主要关联 在健康差距的来源方面，然后提出了具体的调节剂，如头发皮质醇， 歧视目标2描述了博士后研究方向可能的下一步研究步骤和职业生涯 这些举措将以一种提高跨学科成功可能性的方式建立申请人的职业生涯 学者推进压力如何进入皮肤下影响健康的理解。

Project Summary/ Abstract The current F99/K00 proposal outlines an integrated pre- and post-doctoral training plan that will result in the applicant being prepared to independently conduct cutting edge interdisciplinary biopsychosocial research. Training goals will augment her solidify her strengths with emerging skills while also attending to professional development and career advancement. The project proposed spans psychosocial stress related outcomes that impact neurological health, specifically as it pertains to MS. To reach this goal, the applicant proposes training in (TG1) Stress Biology which will build on her prior biobehavioral expertise to extend to novel biospecimens and study populations and to complement stress biology with subjective measures of stress and discrimination; (TG2) Neuroscience, especially structural (MRI) measures which complements her prior EEG work; (TG3) Multiple Sclerosis as a debilitating neurological disease with causes brain atrophy but for whom severity of cognitive and physiological clinical outcomes continue to elude the field; and (TG4) Racial Health Disparities which can help shed light on underpinnings for individual differences in clinical MS outcomes through application of theories like Weathering and Intersectionality. The proposal spans two primary sites with an established history of working together which allows the applicant to accomplish innovative work and with an experienced mentor team who work well together through a “community of learning” format and application of Agile Methodology to help the applicant achieve project milestones. The applicant’s long-term goal is to become a transdisciplinary scholar who excels at both stress biology and neuroscience as well as critical race theories and the phenomenology of health disparities. Not only does the applicant seek to increase diversity in the sciences, but the research proposed also will be instrumental for demonstrating the very real, tangible and seemingly intractable impact of racism and discrimination. To achieve these goals, the project proposes three aims as aligned with the aims F99/K00 guidelines. Aim 1b describes the dissertation progress thus far, which includes obtaining approvals for pilot data to establish feasibility at the study site as part of the applicant’s Research Internship, completing training in all study measures including MRI, clinical MS outcomes, hair cortisol assays and scoring self-reported measures, and collecting pilot data for power analysis calculations. Aim 1b outlines work to be completed during the F99, focusing on a conceptual model (and corresponding hypotheses) in which the primary association between brain atrophy and clinical MS outcomes is interrogated in terms of sources of health disparities and then specific moderators are proposed such as hair cortisol and discrimination. Aim 2 describes the postdoctoral research direction as possible next research steps and career moves that will set up the applicant’s career in a way that enhances likelihood of success as a transdisciplinary scholar advancing understanding of how stress gets under the skin to impact health.