Project Title: Perceived Discrimination and Mental Health among African American Adolescents

PI: Eleanor Seaton

Institution: UNC Chapel Hill

Synopsis: The purpose of this study is threefold: (a) to examine the frequency of discriminatory treatment using the experiential sampling procedure, (b) to assess the influence of perceived discrimination on mental health on a daily basis and (c) to examine the moderating capacity of racial identity in the daily relationship between perceptions of racial discrimination and mental health.  African Americans (N = 50) in high school (age 14 - 18) will be recruited to participate in a daily diary study from high schools in the Chapel Hill/Carrboro school district.  The primary methodology consists of adolescent completing daily surveys assessing perceptions of racial discrimination, racial identity and depressive symptoms via the Internet for two weeks to examine the daily association among the study constructs.  Findings from the proposed project will serve as publishable data and also pilot data for a grant submission to the NIH.      

Project Title: Reducing Obesity among African American Females on a Historically Black College and University Campus

PI: Michele Sandra Blackstock

Institution: North Carolina A&T State University

Synopsis: This study will conduct a needs analysis of obesity among African American female college students on the campus of North Carolina A&T State University in Greensboro, North Carolina to determine if there is relationship between certain lifestyle behaviors and obesity in this population.  Investigators will survey African American females regarding their lifestyle behaviors, dietary habits, and exercise behaviors.  This initial investigation will constitute a vital foundational data base for developing a comprehensive action plan to combat obesity among African American females on the campus of NCA&T.  This study could also lead to models or interventions that could be replicated at other Historically Black College and University campuses.

Project Title: Network-Aware Modeling of HIV

PI: Peter Mucha

Institution: UNC Chapel Hill

Synopsis: This study will create a micro-simulation to model the spread of HIV under artificial situations where full information of the underlying sexual networks is specified.  The results from this simulation will be used to develop network-aware compartmental models which combine the use of network information (e.g., degree correlations and triad counts) with existing best practices in compartmental modeling for HIV.  The networks used to test these models will be drawn from multiple data sources.  This pilot study will also address the reality of missing data and investigate existing tools to predict and correct for missing network information.  The preliminary findings from this study can be used to direct a future study to develop more accurate models that may illuminate the reasons for ethnic disparities in HIV.

Project Title: Odors, Health, and Quality of Life in a Community Bordering a Landfill

PI: Karin Yeatts

Institution: UNC Chapel Hill

Synopsis: This project builds on an existing community-based participatory research partnership with the Rogers-Eubanks Neighborhood Association (RENA).  The aims of this project are to: (1) quantify community exposures to airborne hydrogen sulfide (H_2­S) emissions from the landfill; (2) evaluate relationships between H₂S exposures and odor, health, irritation, quality of life, and mood measures; (3) quantify microbial, chemical, and metal emissions from the landfill in community water supplies; and (4) support RENA's efforts to adapt and replicate this pilot in landfill host-communities facing similar environmental and health disparities. This pilot will provide preliminary scientific data on the health effects of landfills, uniquely positioning us to extend our approach to landfill host communities across N.C., the Southeast, and the U.S.