The projects of three USF Health researchers are among the 23 chosen across USF to explore issues in systemic inequality, economic and health disparities, Black history and contemporary challenges for funding.

The projects were chosen by the USF Research Task Force on Understanding and Addressing Blackness and Anti-Black Racism in our Local, National and International Communities, and are part of an effort to address racial issues and attitudes on a local, national and global scale.

Below are overviews of the three USF Health projects; click here for the complete list of projects :

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Exploring Unique Experiences and Needs of African American/Black Pregnant Women.

Principal Investigator: Vanessa Hux, Morsani College of Medicine

Community Partner: Tampa General Hospital

Black women have higher rates of pregnancy complications and maternal morbidity and mortality. Interpersonal and systemic discrimination may contribute to these differences though the exact mechanisms remain unclear. In this pilot study, the project explores the interpersonal and systemic experiences of Black women and their contribution to pregnancy outcomes and prenatal care. Fifty self-identified Black pregnant women in the late second to early third trimester of pregnancy will be asked to complete a survey on trauma history and gendered racial microaggressions. The researchers will also collect hair samples to measure cortisol, a hormone used to examine biologic mechanisms of stress. This pilot work will aid in characterizing the associations between trauma, microaggressions and the production of cortisol; assessing the pathways by which trauma and microaggressions influence pregnancy outcomes; and determine the specific needs and experiences of Black women in prenatal care.

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Gut Microbiota Composition and Function During Pregnancy and Lactation in Rwandan Mothers.

Principal Investigator: Adetola Louis-Jacques, Morsani College of Medicine

Community Partner: Rwanda Medical Research Center

The postpartum period is a window of opportunity to address prevention of cardiometabolic diseases (CMD), a leading cause of mortality among Black women in all countries. Breastfeeding has been associated with a decreased risk of CMD. The project will investigate the impact of lactation on gut microbiota function in Rwandan mothers in the postpartum as a step towards understanding the underlying mechanism of lactation’s long-term benefits.

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Increasing Job Opportunities for Young Black Fathers to Improve Child and Community Health.

Principal Investigator: Ronee Wilson, College of Public Health

Community Partner: REACHUP, Inc.

Inconsistent employment and unstable finances hinder young Black fathers’ ability to develop healthy relationships with their children. This project seeks to address unemployment and underemployment among young Black fathers by providing the infrastructure for these men to fill employability skills gaps in manufacturing industries. Through interviews with young Black fathers and human resources professionals and executives at manufacturing firms, the researcher will examine how family health practices of young fathers differ in times of stable employment compared to unemployment and underemployment; what employability skills do young Black fathers possess; and to what extent are employers actively committed to and engaged in recruiting and hiring young Black men.

Can the community of microbes in our digestive track influence our mental state and, if so, how?

That’s a focus of study by Monica Uddin, PhD, a professor in USF’s College of Public Health, where she contributes to the Genomics Program within the Center for Global Health and Infectious Disease Research, focusing on the genomics of stress-related mental disorders. As part of USF’s ambitious Initiative on Microbiomes, Uddin wants to better understand how gut microbiota is linked to the symptoms of depression.

Monica Uddin, PhD

“Historically, we’ve always thought about our organs as working independently from one another, so it’s a bit hard to wrap your mind around this,’’ said Uddin, whose research just won a $150,000 seed grant from USF.  Her USF Health coprincipal investigators are Glenn Currier, MD, professor and chair of psychiatry, and Adetola Louis-Jacques, MD, assistant professor of obstetrics and gynecology.

“We now know that the gut microbiota can make neurotransmitters that influence mental health in ways that can cross the blood/brain barrier.”          

Monica Uddin, PhD, professor in the USF College of Public Health

Major depressive disorder (MDD) is a disabling mental condition worldwide. Treatment resistant depression (TRD) is a particularly severe form in which antidepressant trials have failed. Resistance occurs at a high rate, with more than 35% failing to respond to two different classes of antidepressant.

Recent research, however, is shedding light on the role of microscopic organisms such as bacteria, fungi and viruses on human health, both physical and mental. Such work reveals that a person’s intestinal florae is strongly associated with depressive symptoms and MDD. Work from animal models indicates that microbiota is causally linked to depressive behaviors.

Currently, very little is known about the relationship between the microbiome and TRD, and how patients respond to treatment depending on their microbiota. Researchers need to know more about how this florae differs in patients who respond to anti-depression treatment versus those who do not respond despite multiple attempts.

Up to one-third of adults with major depression battle symptoms that do not respond to several treatment attempts.

To address this significant health need, Uddin is working with a team that focuses on patients electing a treatment known as transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS), which has shown some promise in treating TRD. The treatment uses magnetic fields to stimulate brain nerve cells to improve depression symptoms. While it has been effective in treating certain types of depression, it does not provide relief to all patients.

Uddin is studying microbiome-related biomarkers that could one day be used to inform treatment choices and, ultimately, enhance therapy response. Her work is part of a collaboration across professions in which diverse research and solutions can move from the laboratory to the patient bedside.

“The science is at the stage of being more than just descriptive; we’re moving toward function,’’ she said. “And by understanding the function, the hope is 10 or 20 years down the road we can potentially engineer the gut microbiota of people who get depressed.’’

Uddin’s seed grant will help her provide the preliminary results needed to pursue full National Institutes of Health or National Science Foundation grant applications.

-Story by Kurt Loft