Federal Grant Award Summary

The National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) awarded $657,595 to the Regents of the University of Minnesota on June 22, 2026, under the Cardiovascular Diseases Research program (CFDA 93.837) to develop novel statistical methods and computational tools for high-dimensional mediation analysis. This project grant, which will be completed by February 28, 2030, addresses a critical gap in understanding the molecular pathways linking cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk factors to clinical outcomes by leveraging large-scale datasets such as those from the NHLBI TOPMed program. The research will produce three primary deliverables: (1) variance-based mediation measures capable of detecting both strong and weak molecular effects mediating multiple cardiovascular traits; (2) robust causal pathway identification methods that utilize genetic instruments while accounting for latent confounding; and (3) integrated multi-omics analysis approaches to identify complementary biological processes driving CVD.

The award will result in the dissemination of scalable, user-friendly computational tools implementing these advanced methods to the broader scientific community, enabling discovery of novel biomarkers and disease pathways while informing targeted prevention and intervention strategies for cardiovascular diseases. The University of Minnesota will conduct this research in Minneapolis and leverage its established capacity as a major research institution with extensive experience executing federally-funded biomedical research initiatives for the NIH and other federal agencies.