Mission
Our mission is to introduce breakthrough diagnostic technologies
for the detection and monitoring of emerging infectious diseases.
We plan to train healthcare professionals throughout the
world to implement effective and efficient disease countermeasures.
Vision
Our Research
Institute will accumulate the funds, develop the reputation and technical expertise, and assemble the faculty of scientists
needed to develop a Premier Medical
School. We will strive for excellence in medical education and medical
research.
Executive Summary
In 2002, a group of Houston Community, educational and medical
leaders organized a task force to work to develop a Biomedical Research Institute, which would eventually evolve into a Premier Medical School.
Subcommittees were formed in Endowment, Medical Education,
Medical Research, Political and Community Relations. Committee chairpersons were selected and given mandates to establish,
bold and state of the art approaches to carry at their individual committee missions. They were also directed to provide full
accountability and responsibility for the actions and performance of their committees. Finally, they were informed that ethical,
financial, and moral decisions had to remain above reproach at all times.
Medical Research
We feel that
outstanding medical research is the foundation for developing excellence in providing breakthrough clinical changes. We plan
to initiate dynamic research studies in Cardiovascular Diseases, Diabetes, HIV-AIDS, Hyperlipidemia, Nano-Technology, Nutrition,
Obesity, Pharmaceutical Manufacturing, Robotics, Space Medicine and Stem Cell Research.
We currently
are conducting more than thirty-five stage three and four medical research studies on a wide variety of conditions and diseases.
It is our goal to continue to enhance our research curriculum and increase the number of our Research Associates.
We plan to transfer
to a larger facility in the fall of 2007. That move will allow us to establish a larger and better equipped research facility.
We will also be able to recruit additional researchers and support staff.
The Southeast Texas
Heart Studyä
This study is the most ambitious project developed by the
Southeast Texas
Biomedical Research Institute to date. The Southeast Texas Heart Study™ (STHS) is a multi-site prospective epidemiological
investigation of cardiovascular disease (CVD) among African Americans, Anglo-Americans, Hispanic Americans, and Native Americans
in underserved populations in rural, suburban and urban areas of Southeast
Texas.
Design
The idea to conduct
a study of Heart Disease in Southeast Texas developed out of a Community Racial Disparities
Program conceived by The Southeast Texas Biomedical Research Institute™ (STBRI). It provided the unique opportunity
to study four diverse populations, which include members of the African American, Anglo American, Hispanic American, and Native
American Groups. Many of our subjects would be classified as living below the established poverty level for our nation.
Our study represents
an expansion of the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities Study (ARIC) already in progress in other communities in the United States. The ARIC Study included a comprehensive baseline
examination, and three subsequent follow-up examinations occurring at approximately three-year intervals for several years.
We
have formally invited both Lamar University
in Beaumont, TX and Sam
Houston State University
in Huntsville, TX to join
us in this large research project. They have both agreed to become Collaborating Partners and to establish Undergraduate Training
Centers on their respective campuses.
Prior to the initial examination, we propose to conduct a series of community meetings, focus
groups, and surveys to determine the best way to enhance participation. We plan to also invite the County Health Departments,
and the County Medical Societies along with their Physician Members, to make suggestions, and participate in helping us to
strengthen the awareness of CVD prevention.
The STHS™ plans to include up to 3,000 men and women between the ages of 35 and 80.
Participants will be randomly selected in order to represent the four groups we plan to study. Family members will be included
in order to permit future studies of familial and genetic contributions to CVD.
The initial examination
phase of the study will begin in the fall of 2008, and will take approximately two years to complete. The extensive examination
will include a series of questionnaires including (lifestyle habits, medical history, medications, social and cultural factors),
physical assessments including (height, weight, body size, abdominal girth, body mass index, blood pressure, electrocardiogram,
ultrasound measurements of the heart and arteries in the neck and pulmonary function), and laboratory measurements including
(cholesterol, Lp-PLA-2, and other lipids, glucose levels, and a Hb-A-1-C determination).
The information collected in our study will include both conventional risk
factors, and new or emerging factors that may be related to CVD. Some of the newer areas of focus include early indicators
of disease, genetics, and socio-cultural influences such as socioeconomic status and discrimination, and Physiological relations
between common disorders such as high blood pressure, obesity, diabetes, and their influences on CVD.
The STHS™
is actively seeking sponsorship by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI), and the National Center on Minority Health and Health
Disparities (NCMHD) section at the National Institutes of Health (NIH).
We are encouraging
the NHLBI to establish a field site in Cleveland, Texas
to provide scientific investigation and support staff similar to the one associated with the Jackson Heart Study, the Framingham
Heart Study, and the Honolulu Heart Program. We would like to work closely and collaborate with other investigators and scientists
from other institutions to conduct and expand the research opportunities associated with Heart Disease.
Rationale
Despite encouraging declines over the past three decades, CVD remains
the number one cause of death in the U.S.
A number of risk factors for Coronary Heart Disease (CHD) and stroke have been identified; however, relatively few population-based
studies have examined CVD in a large group of African-American, Hispanic American, and Native Americans. Existing evidence
indicates that death rates for CVD in the U.S.
are considerably higher among these groups. Furthermore, between 1980 and 1995, the decline in CVD death rates have been the
slowest among African-American men and women relative to other groups in the United
States.
Objective
The primary
objective of the STHS™ is to investigate the causes of CVD in our targeted groups, and to learn how to best prevent
these diseases in the future.
Coordinating Center
Southeast
Texas Biomedical Research Institute has established a Coordinating
Center where all data collected from the STHS™ is analyzed, reviewed,
and stored. This center coordinates all study activities and study sites and maintains multiple community outreach programs.
Undergraduate Training
Center
We have
established the undergraduate training centers where selected university students will be given the unique opportunity to
participate in epidemiological research. This exposure will increase their skills in biostatistics and public health. It will
also encourage and prepare them to enter careers in the healthcare area.
