The etiology of racial/ethnic differences in health involves dynamic interactions between
genetic, behavioral and social-environmental determinants. Despite this, the field lacks robust
datasets that integrate these determinants with clinical assessments in minority patient cohorts. The Minority Health Genomics and Translational Research Bio-repository Database (MHGRID) Network infrastructure facilitated the collection of biospecimens and related multidimensional data elements within a consortium of minority-serving clinics. This initiative expands the diversity of ancestral groups in national genomic medicine datasets and promises to accelerate the translation of personalized medicine into minority communities. The MH-GRID project was initiated by Dr. Gibbons (founding PI) prior to becoming an NIH investigator. The MH-GRID project has completed its participant recruitment activities, closed out its NIH funding and now represents an existing dataset and biorepository that is being transferred to NHLBI for ongoing secondary analyses. A variety of investigations will be conducted on this existing dataset. The primary outcome variables include severe hypertension and hypertension induced kidney damage. Secondary outcome variables include obesity, coronary heart disease and metabolic disease syndrome. Intervening variables include genetics, behavioral (i.e. sleep quality, health literacy, smoking, diet, body mass index), ancestry, social (i.e. socioeconomic status, racial discrimination, stress, social deprivation), biological (i.e. insulin resistance, cholesterol, inflammatory markers), and environmental (i.e. neighborhood, access to healthy foods, parks).
