How race and social conditions relate to epigenetics and bladder cancer outcomes
Racial and social contextual factors in relation to epigenome and bladder cancer outcome.
This project looks at how race, neighborhood conditions, and life history connect with biological changes and outcomes in people with bladder cancer.
Quick facts
| Grant type | NIH-funded research |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Baylor College of Medicine NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Houston, United States) |
| Project ID | NIH-11143682 on NIH RePORTER |
What this research studies
You would take part in a partnership between Baylor College of Medicine and Texas Southern University that asks about your housing, work, smoking, and access to care and links those answers to your medical records and tumor biology. An interviewer will ask questions about socioeconomic background, smoking history, healthcare access, and residential and workplace history, and Baylor staff will collect or use existing clinical samples for molecular (epigenetic) testing. Researchers will combine your survey, clinical outcomes, neighborhood-level data, and lab measurements to see whether social factors leave biological marks that relate to disease progression and survival. The goal is to better understand why certain groups have worse bladder cancer outcomes and to inform future prevention or treatment approaches.
Who could benefit from this research
Good fit: Adults with a bladder cancer diagnosis who are receiving care at Baylor or affiliated clinics in the Houston area and who can consent to surveys and share medical records and samples.
Not a fit: People not treated at participating clinics, unwilling to provide survey or sample information, or unable to consent are unlikely to participate or benefit directly.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this work could identify social and biological drivers of bladder cancer disparities that help tailor prevention and care for affected communities.
How similar studies have performed: Prior studies have linked social conditions to epigenetic changes and health disparities, but applying this combined social-and-epigenetic approach specifically to bladder cancer in underserved populations is relatively new.
Where this research is happening
Houston, United States
- Baylor College of Medicine — Houston, United States (Active)
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Li, Yi — Baylor College of Medicine
- Study coordinator: Li, Yi
About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page below.