Assistant Professor of Research in the Department of Biostatistics and Epidemiology Receives Two NIH Grants

Jessica A. Reese, PhD, Assistant Professor of Research in the Department of Biostatistics and Epidemiology, was recently awarded two grants by the National Institute of Health (NIH).

Grant #1: NIH Loan Repayment Grant for the research in the Strong Heart Study. Dr. Reeces is specifically looking at subclinical atherosclerosis in adolescents and young adults and the risk of fatal and non-fatal cardiovascular disease (CVD). She and her colleagues hope to establish that atherosclerosis begins early in life and interventions in adolescents and young adults to slow the progression of disease could prevent or delay CVD events later in life.

Grant #2. NIH administrative supplement grant for research on women’s health in the IDeA states. With this grant, Dr. Reese and her colleagues plan to describe preeclampsia and gestational diabetes among the American Indian population of the Strong Heart Study. They also plan to examine the effect of these pregnancy complications on cardiometabolic health later in life. This project, which involves collaboration among investigators from Oklahoma, Louisiana, North Dakota, and Arizona, will contribute to the understanding of reproductive history and the development of cardiovascular disease among a high risk population.