The Coronary Artery Risk Development in Young Adults (CARDIA) Study Birmingham Field Center has been awarded a new, 10-year, $7.7 million continuation contract from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute within the National Institutes of Health. CARDIA examines the development and determinants of clinical and subclinical cardiovascular disease and their risk factors. The CARDIA Birmingham Field Center is led by the UAB School of Public Health’s Chair of the Department of Epidemiology, Cora E. (Beth) Lewis, M.D. as Contact Principal Investigator, and Principal Investigator Kelley Gabriel, Ph.D., Associate Dean for Research. UAB is also home to the CARDIA Coordinating Center, led by James M. Shikany, DrPH, in the Heersink School of Medicine’s Division of Preventive Medicine. Since the study began in 1985, CARDIA data have been published in over 1,000 papers that have generated nearly 58,000 citations.

The new, NHLBI-funded contract will support CARDIA’s core operations, including participant retention activities and follow-up for cardiovascular and other outcomes of interest to the study. The contract will also support options for a Year 40 and/or Year 45 in-person examination to serve as a platform for ancillary studies.

“CARDIA has evolved into a life course study of not only cardiovascular disease and cardiovascular health, but also brain health, health disparities, and so much more,” said Cora E. (Beth) Lewis, M.D. “The study has also served as a launching pad and training ground for early-stage investigators, including its position as a resource for publications, career development awards, and even first R01 grants. My 33 years leading the Birmingham Field Center as PI has truly been a rewarding experience. I also have had the privilege of leading my great staff, one of whom has been with me since day one of my tenure and has worked on CARDIA since it started.”

CARDIA participants were first recruited from 1985-1986 by four field centers, located in Birmingham, AL; Chicago, IL; Minneapolis, MN; and Oakland, CA. The cohort included 5,115 Black and White men and women aged 18-30 at study enrollment. Since then, study activities have involved ongoing follow-up and in-person exams scheduled approximately every 2-5 years. To learn more about the CARDIA Study, visit the CARDIA website, and to learn more about the Coordinating Center’s renewal award, see Shikany Receives 10-Year Renewal for Decades-Long Cardiovascular Risk Study.