Research

The UAB SOPH has a long history of excellence leading, coordinating and supporting NIH funded cohort studies. These programs which represent tens of thousands of research participants have led to high impact science, supported hundreds of ancillary studies and offer important training opportunities for the next generation of public health scientists. Ongoing studies include:

• The REasons for Geographic And Racial Differences in Stroke (REGARDS) opens a new website study continues to conduct groundbreaking work to understand why Southern Americans and Black Americans have higher rates of stroke, other cardiovascular diseases and brain health issues.
• The Coronary Artery Risk Development in Young Adults (CARDIA) opens a new website is a decades-long project tracking how cardiovascular disease develops from young adulthood to middle age.
• The RURAL (Risk Underlying Rural Areas Longitudinal) Cohort opens a new website study aims to address critical gaps in knowledge of heart and lung disorders in rural communities in the southeastern US across KY, LA, MS and AL.
• Chronic Hypertension and Pregnancy (CHAP) opens a new website trial demonstrated that treating preexisting mild CHTN in pregnancy is safe for both mother and child. Longer-term maternal and child evaluation are currently ongoing.
• The Multicenter Osteoarthritis Study (MOST) opens a new website was launched in 2001 to improve understanding this major cause of disability among older individuals in the United States.
• The Researching COVID to Enhancing Recovery (RECOVER) opens a new website tracks the health of both COVID-19 survivors and individuals who have never had the virus to understand its lingering impacts.

The data coordinating and collaborative research unit (DATA CRU) serves as the coordinating center for multisite randomized trials and long-term observational studies, providing study design, data collection, statistical analysis, participant follow-up, and safety monitoring. Its current portfolio spans roughly 20+ ongoing projects, with studies ranging from small early-phase trials to cohorts of tens of thousands of participants. Learn more about the DATA CRU opens a new website. An overview of research topics include:

• Stroke and cardiovascular disease: Several major studies investigate how to prevent stroke and improve vascular outcomes. For example, CREST-2 compares carotid procedures plus medical therapy with medical therapy alone in people with asymptomatic carotid artery narrowing.
• Pregnancy, maternal health, and child development: The DATA CRU supports studies examining hypertension and treatment during pregnancy, including follow-up studies from the CHAP project that look at children's neurodevelopment and growth. Other work focuses on improving pregnancy outcomes and preventing complications.
• Lung and respiratory health: Studies include Tele-COPD, which tests whether video-based pulmonary rehabilitation can reduce hospital readmissions in people with COPD, as well as OptiSTART, which studies optimal oxygen-saturation targets and resuscitation strategies.
• Neurological and other serious diseases: The portfolio also includes research on multiple sclerosis, brain tumors, stroke, aneurysms, and other neurological conditions. Current trials range from early-stage experimental treatments for brain tumors to large studies such as WARRIORS, which evaluates management strategies for women with brain aneurysms.

The UAB School of Public Health is immersed in data science to study health records, track diseases, and build prediction tools.

Research initiatives are underway in several key areas:

• Machine Learning: Creating smart computer programs to find hidden patterns in complex electronic health records and medical images as well as interpret data from clinical trials and large population studies.
• Genetics and Genomics: Studying how genes and DNA affect disease risks across large populations using cohort studies and biobanks such as the All of Us research network.
• Data Equity: Ensuring that data tools and healthcare innovations benefit all groups of people equally, regardless of their background.
• Health Informatics: Building databases and decision-support tools to manage the massive amounts of data generated by modern hospitals and public health systems.
• Spatial Analysis: Mapping the spread of infectious and chronic diseases and understanding how local environments impact community health.

The UAB School of Public Health Environmental Health Sciences program advances research and practice aimed at understanding and addressing the environmental factors that influence human health and well-being. Using innovative approaches in exposure assessment and environmental monitoring, investigators work to identify environmental risks, protect worker health and safety, strengthen community resilience, and inform evidence-based solutions. Major themes of ongoing research programs include:

• Environmental Exposures and Human Health: Examining how people are exposed to environmental hazards—including air pollution, toxins, wastewater contaminants, and chemicals associated with e-cigarette use—and how these exposures may affect health.
• Occupational Health and Worker Well-Being: Understanding how workplace and environmental conditions, such as heat exposure, can affect workers’ health, safety, and well-being.
• Climate Resilience and Environmental Infrastructure: Developing affordable, climate-resilient wastewater solutions for rural communities, particularly in the Alabama Black Belt, while addressing geographic, economic, and environmental challenges.
• Environmental Justice and Underserved Communities: Exploring disparities in environmental conditions and access to safe, protective infrastructure, with a focus on communities that may face greater environmental health risks.
• Neighborhood-Level Environmental Monitoring: Examining differences in air quality from one neighborhood to another to identify localized pollution patterns that may not be captured by broader city- or regional-level monitoring.

The SOPH is home to leading researchers in genetic epidemiology and statistical genetics. Multi-omic analysis related to hypertension, diabetes, renal diseases and stroke are a major focus. Cross-departmental collaborations focus on polygenic risk score development (PRS), omics integration, risk prediction and biomarker discovery. Investigators combine genomic, clinical, environmental, and population-level data to better understand disease risk and advance personalized approaches to prevention and treatment. Ongoing research initiatives aim to:

• Discover biomarkers: Identify genetic, molecular, and clinical markers that are associated with diseases such as cardiovascular disease, stroke, hypertension, and pregnancy complications.
• Understand disease risk: Combine genomic data with environmental, behavioral, and social factors to better understand why some individuals or populations are at higher risk for disease.
• Develop precision medicine approaches: Use individual-level genetic and clinical information to identify which prevention or treatment strategies may work best for different patients or populations.
• Validate biomarkers across populations: Use large and diverse datasets such as Reasons for Geographic and Racial Differences in Stroke study, The Transomics for Precision Medicine Program, All of Us Network, and the UK Biobank to determine whether potential biomarkers are consistent across different racial, geographic, and demographic groups.
• Identify early indicators of disease: Analyze longitudinal data to find biomarkers that may predict disease before symptoms develop, creating opportunities for earlier intervention and prevention.

Maternal and Child Health (MCH) research at the UAB SOPH Health is a longstanding area of strength that spans policy, health services research, community engagement, implementation science, and population health. Housed primarily within the Department of Health Policy and Organization, MCH research focuses on improving the health and well-being of women, infants, children, adolescents, and families through research that informs practice and policy. SOPH is home to the Alabama Perinatal Quality Collaborative (ALPQC) opens a new website, which uses data-driven quality improvement methods to reduce maternal and infant complications, improve perinatal outcomes, and address persistent health disparities across Alabama. Key areas of investigation include:

• Maternal mortality and morbidity
• Perinatal and reproductive health
• Child and adolescent health
• Children with special health care needs
• Maternal mental health
• Health equity
• Access to care

Social and behavioral health research at the UAB School of Public Health examines how lifestyle, economic, environmental, and structural conditions in which people live, work, and play influence health outcomes across the lifespan. Faculty and research centers investigate issues such as housing instability and homelessness, food insecurity, economic opportunity, physical activity, and access to preventive services. Major themes in this research topic include:

• Physical Activity, Sleep, & Health Behaviors: Examines how physical activity, sedentary behavior, sleep, fitness, and other health behaviors influence health across the lifespan. The UAB Scoring and Classifying Outcomes for Research in Exercise (SCORES) team leverages self-report and digital health data to explore how activity and sleep contribute to cardiovascular disease, cognitive decline, dementia, healthy aging, women's health, and chronic disease disparities, particularly among populations disproportionately affected by health inequities.
• Veterans & Homelessness: Examines how housing instability, unemployment, poverty, and access to social services affect Veterans’ housing stability, mental health, and suicide risk. Research can evaluate programs that connect Veterans with housing, employment, healthcare, and other resources.
• Cardiovascular Disease: Studies how income, neighborhood conditions, food access, housing, transportation, and healthcare access contribute to cardiovascular risk and disparities.
• Cancer: Investigates how socioeconomic conditions, geography, insurance, transportation, and access to screening and treatment contribute to cancer disparities. Development and evaluation of community-engaged programs which can improve cancer prevention, screening, early detection, and treatment access.
• Rural Care Access: Examination of how rural location, transportation, healthcare availability, workforce shortages, cost, and social resources create barriers to receiving timely care.
• Sexual & Gender Health: Examines how stigma, discrimination, socioeconomic conditions, healthcare access, social support, and other structural factors influence HIV, sexual health, and LGBTQ+ health outcomes. Learn more about research at the Center for the Study of Sexual and Gender Health opens a new website.