Project Grant R01HL178865

Federal Project Grant Award Summary

The University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) received a $735,327 Project Grant from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) under the Cardiovascular Diseases Research program (CFDA 93.837), awarded June 22, 2026, with completion targeted for March 31, 2030. This award supports a research initiative leveraging the REGARDS (Reasons for Geographic and Racial Differences in Stroke) Study to identify individual and contextual risk factors for chronic limb-threatening ischemia (CLTI), a severe form of peripheral artery disease that accounts for the majority of lower-extremity amputations in the United States. The project will examine contributors to health disparities in CLTI among community-dwelling Black and White adults across the continental United States using longitudinal cohort data enriched with detailed social determinants of health information.

The deliverables include rigorous longitudinal research outputs characterizing CLTI epidemiology, risk factors, and disparity drivers through population science analysis of the REGARDS cohort (which includes 50% female participants, more than 40% Black participants, and substantial representation of Southeastern populations where peripheral artery disease risk factors are elevated). This research directly addresses a gap identified by the American Heart Association for community-based studies examining CLTI risk factors by race and social determinants of health, with findings intended to inform clinical and public health interventions to reduce amputation and disparities in this high-burden cardiovascular condition.