Sacramento, CA – The California Initiative to Advance Precision Medicine (CIAPM) at the California Health and Human Services Agency announced the launch of its Representative Research Partnerships Program, awarding $6.2 million to support a cohort of research teams performing precision medicine research with a dedicated academic or community partner.
The final four awarded teams come from four academic institutions: Children’s Hospital Los Angeles (CHLA), Stanford University, University of California, Davis (UCD), and University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), in partnership with 6 community or academic partners, who were recommended for award by the Representative Precision Medicine Research through Partnerships Expert Selection Committee in June.
CIAPM will fund projects for a 2.5-year project term for investigators performing ‘representative research,’ focused on populations that have been underrecognized or historically excluded from the medical research ecosystem as participants, so that research ultimately benefits all Californians and reduces health disparities.
“Research that incorporates meaningful community engagement or adds needed expertise through authentic relationships ensures the ultimate success of research and community impact. The selected projects demonstrate well integrated partnership plans that together aim to reduce health disparities in California across genomic and rare diseases, dementia, nutrition, and liver disease within underrepresented and underserved communities,” said David Reiner, PhD, Chief Science Officer of CIAPM.
Research will include projects focused on: (1) precision treatment tools using sequencing and community engagement for Latino/Indigenous children with rare diseases, (2) studying social determinants of health and genetic factors for Latinos with disproportionate risk for liver disease, with a focus on nutrition and diet, (3) rural community-focused genomic screenings and interventions for highly hereditary disorders, and (4) community-centered, AI-powered, whole-person care interventions for African Americans with Alzheimer’s Disease or dementia.
Why Is this Important?
The Representative Research Partnerships program demonstrates California’s concerted effort to strengthen and diversify the type of health research conducted in the state, especially in the face of significant decrease in federal research funding on health equity among underrepresented groups.
“Even as the federal landscape for research funding becomes more challenging, California is continuing to invest in health research that reflects California’s diverse communities. Research that is community-engaged and considers the whole person and their lived experiences benefits a larger segment of the population and society as a whole,” said Kim Johnson, Secretary of the California Health and Human Services Agency.
In total, CIAPM received 91 Letters of Intent from 20 non-profit California academic research institutions. The program further received 68 initial applications from researchers at 17 research institutions for this funding opportunity. 17 applications from 12 institutions were selected to submit full applications to the Selection Committee.
CIAPM thanks the members of the selection committee for their time, expertise, and recommendations and applicants for their thoughtful, innovative applications and interest in CIAPM.
Congratulations to the four research teams, their institutions, and their partners selected to receive these grants from CIAPM!
Award Recipients and Research Projects
Children’s Hospital Los Angeles (Lead Principal Investigator: Dr. Bridget Fernandez) & Partner – Comunidades Indígenas en Liderazgo (CIELO)
Award: $1.69M
Advancing ancestry-aware genomic medicine for Indigenous, Hispanic and ancestrally admixed children in a safety net setting
Existing genomic databases underrepresent Indigenous and Hispanic populations, leading to less accurate genetic diagnoses and early treatment for children in these groups. In this project, CHLA and team will aim to improve diagnostic accuracy and community-first genomic education to expand equitable access to precision medicine options for historically underrepresented children.
Stanford University (Lead Principal Investigator: Dr. Lisa Goldman Rosas) & Partners – The Latino Cancer Institute, City of Hope
Award: $1.64M
Detection Intervention Education Treatment Access (DIETA): A Precision Medicine Approach to Addressing the Burden of Liver Disease Among Latinos
Latino populations experience disproportionately high rates of liver disease due to the existing interaction of genetic, environmental, and social risk factors; of which are poorly represented in current research. In this project, Stanford and team aim to detect liver disease earlier and personalize prevention strategies that could reduce liver disease burden while creating equitable standards of care to improve outcomes for Latino communities.
University of California, Davis (Lead Principal Investigator: Dr. Luis Carvajal Carmona) & Partner – Ampla Health
Award: $1.7M
Advancing Equitable Precision Medicine in Federally Qualified Health Centers: A Community-Engaged Approach to Hereditary Genomic Conditions
Most individuals with hereditary cancer and cardiovascular risk conditions remain undiagnosed, particularly in underserved communities with limited access to genomic screening. The UCD team aims, in collaboration with Ampla Health, to identify hereditary conditions earlier to increase preventive care use and establish scalable models for equitable precision medicine in rural safety-net settings, which most often engage under-represented populations and reduce health disparities.
University of California, Los Angeles (Lead Principal Investigator: Dr. Timothy Chang) & Partners – Optimistic People in a Caring Atmosphere (OPICA) Adult Day Program & Counseling Center, Actively Caring Through Sharing (ACTS)
Award: $1.2M
Community-in-the-loop Reinforcement Learning for Precision Dementia Diagnosis
Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias are frequently underdiagnosed, especially among historically underserved populations, delaying access to treatment and worsening outcomes. The UCLA team aims to use artificial intelligence for more accurate and rapid diagnosis to accelerate dementia identification, improve access to emerging therapies, and reduce disparities in cognitive healthcare.
For more about the award recipients and their projects, please visit the CIAPM Demonstration Projects page.
About the California Initiative to Advance Precision Medicine (CIAPM)
Launched in 2015, CIAPM supports patient-focused research demonstration projects and connects health and medicine stakeholders across California. CIAPM, formally part of the Governor’s Office of Planning and Research and now housed within CalHHS, facilitates cross-sector collaborations among the state’s scientists, clinicians, entrepreneurs, and patient participants, enabling them to translate available large data sets and technical innovation into better and equitable health outcomes. To learn more about the initiative, please visit the Precision Medicine webpage.