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Native community experts guide tobacco cessation research - Mayo Clinic News Network

When Mayo Clinic approached Phoenix resident Kory Billie about helping researcher Annie Rusk, M.D., design a tobacco cessation intervention tailored for Native Americans, he jumped at the chance.


Billie, who has smoked most of his life, understands how using tobacco can negatively affect many aspects of a person's health. He is also a member of the Navajo Nation and has witnessed the challenges that family, friends and other members of his tribe have faced quitting tobacco. In recent years, h...
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3D models of uveal melanoma offer hope for improved treatments - Mayo Clinic News Network

Mayo Clinic researchers have developed organoid models to study uveal melanoma, one of the most common types of eye cancer in adults. Their goal is to use these models to better understand how this disease works and develop treatments for unmet patient needs.


Organoids are 3D models grown from patient tissue that accurately reflect a patient's unique genetic and biological characteristics, also known as "avatars." When derived from a patient's cancer tumor, an organoid will behave and respond...
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High blood pressure in pregnancy a risk factor for early heart disease - Mayo Clinic News Network

A new study has revealed a significant link between a common pregnancy complication and early heart disease in women.


Researchers found that women with a history of hypertensive disorders of pregnancy (HDP) were at higher risk of developing coronary artery disease at an earlier age. In addition, they found that women with these disorders were at higher risk of myocardial infarction with non-obstructive coronary arteries (MINOCA) — heart attacks that occur when the coronary arteries appear nor...
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Rochester Healthy Community Partnership celebrates 20 years - Mayo Clinic News Network

On Oct. 14, researchers, community partners and volunteers gathered to celebrate one of Mayo Clinic's longest community-academic partnerships. Rochester Healthy Community Partnership (RHCP) — a research collaboration focused on responding to community-identified health needs affecting immigrants to the U.S. — had just turned 20.


The event featured speakers from Mayo Clinic and the community who shared the story of RHCP’s beginning, its enduring connections to the community, its tremendous inf...
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Bridging the digital divide to help rural smokers quit - Mayo Clinic News Network

Rural adults are more likely to smoke than their urban counterparts. Enhancing digital literacy and improving access to the internet and digital devices may make it easier for rural smokers to quit. These are the findings of a randomized, controlled pilot clinical trial Mayo Clinic researchers published in Nature Communications Medicine.


Digital tools offer a convenient way for rural residents to access support to quit smoking. However, limited digital literacy and technology access can be ob...
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The dynamic role of clinical research coordinators - Mayo Clinic News Network

Clinical research coordinators manage the day-to-day activities of clinical trials, from recruiting and obtaining consent from participants, to collecting data and tracking adverse events. Known as "CRCs," their job is one of the most vital in research.

"The work of CRCs is highly valued and positions Mayo Clinic as a leader in clinical trials and at the forefront of providing hope and innovative treatments to patients," says Naveen Pereira, M.D., director of the Office of Clinical Trials in t...
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Training the next generation of clinical trial leaders - Mayo Clinic News Network

Clinical trials are the gold standard of medical advancement, but designing and conducting them requires a wide range of knowledge and skills not often taught in medical or graduate school.

Mayo Clinic's new Clinical Trialist Training Program teaches physicians and researchers how to design and implement clinical trials.


"We are true pioneers in this area," says Prasad Iyer, M.D., chair of the Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology and director of the new program. "Right now, there are...
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Reversing racism's toll on heart health - Mayo Clinic News Network

Researchers from Mayo Clinic and the University of Minnesota have published a paper in the Journal of Clinical and Translational Science, which provides a new framework describing how racism affects heart health among people of color in Minnesota. The researchers are focused on reversing these disparities.

"This framework will help scientists explore and measure how chronic exposure to racism, not race, influences health outcomes," says Sean Phelan, Ph.D., a Mayo Clinic health services researc...
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Women in Science Lecture champions inclusion in research - Mayo Clinic News Network

Mayo Clinic's Celebration of Women in Science featured distinguished speaker Joni Rutter, Ph.D., director of the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (NCATS), National Institutes of Health (NIH). During the lecture, she shared her passion for including people with a broad spectrum of identities and backgrounds in all parts of research. In particular, she underscored the importance of fostering an inclusive ecosystem and supporting career pathways to create a culture where women i...
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Diabetes isn't destiny for rural communities - Mayo Clinic News Network

In a new nationwide study, Mayo Clinic researchers have shed light on factors contributing to diabetes rates in rural America. Their observational study found people in rural areas were more likely to develop diabetes (higher incidence) and to already have it (greater prevalence) compared to people in urban areas. However, when risk factors that can be changed, such as inactivity and obesity, were accounted for, the gap in diabetes prevalence and incidence narrowed, and in some cases, the trend...
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Zooming in on rare bone cells that drive osteoporosis - Mayo Clinic News Network

Mayo Clinic researchers have developed a new high-resolution, analytical technique to identify the rare senescent bone cells that are known to drive osteoporosis. Senescent cells are malfunctioning cells that build up as people age or as the result of chronic diseases. Once these cells form, they can contribute to developing diseases and consequences of aging. This new method, detailed in a paper published in Nature Communications, will enable scientists to better target experimental anti-aging...
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Hypertension in pregnancy poses measurable risks for babies - Mayo Clinic News Network

Leer en españolHypertension, or high blood pressure, occurs in more than 7% of pregnancies. A recent Mayo Clinic population-based study found that babies from pregnancies complicated by hypertension were more than two times as likely to develop chronic hypertension as adults. The study supports the recognition of maternal history of hypertension as a potential cause of early-onset hypertension in their children."We studied the long-term effects of hypertension in pregnancy to quantify the risk o...
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College senior trains in research to benefit Navajo community - Mayo Clinic News Network

Leer en españolI am a senior at Dine College in Arizona, a school started by the Navajo Nation to invest in our youth so they can become “contributing members of the Nation and the world.” My major is in biomedical sciences. For the last two years, I have participated in a Mayo Clinic research training program offered through my school. I can clearly see how research training and medical knowledge can help my community.I would love to become a gynecologist or do medical research in a similar fie...
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Authenticity boosts diverse participation in clinical trials - Mayo Clinic News Network

Leer en españolAs a community health strategist, I spend a lot of my time working to develop relationships and connect with neighborhood residents to improve community health outcomes. One of the most challenging pieces of this role is to engage and talk with community members about the importance of clinical trials. These challenges are compounded by the expectations, history and myths associated with research in Black, Indigenous and people of color (BIPOC) communities. My passion and experien...
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Participants first: Shaping the future of clinical trials through digital innovation - Mayo Clinic News Network

Leer en españolClinical trials advance medicine, but the National Institutes of Health says that more than half of studies are unable to recruit or retain the necessary research participants, which can exacerbate health disparities. However, in recent years, digital technologies have helped trials become more accessible and inclusive. Clinical trials are moving out of traditional research facilities and into the everyday lives of participants.“Instead of asking participants to come to us, we're...
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Science Saturday: New standards and open access can help natural language processing - Mayo Clinic News Network

Clinical notes in medical records are rich sources of data about human health. But tapping them for medical research can be challenging because these data come from various sources—and they all look different.

"There's no standardization in how data is organized and classified across medical records systems," says Sunyang Fu, Ph.D., a Mayo Clinic biomedical informatics researcher.


Even the language people use to talk about health can insert discrepancies in how data are recorded. "If a pati...
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Clinical Trials Are Way of 'Paying It Forward' to Your Community - Mayo Clinic News Network

Floyd Willis, M.D., family medicine physician, has been at Mayo Clinic for more than 30 years and was instrumental in establishing a Community Engagement in Research Advisory Board at Mayo Clinic in Florida in 2008. The group brings together people with broad experience relevant to medical research, providing consultation and guidance to research teams. Kathi Hansberry, a quality management nurse, is one of the longest serving members of that Board.


"Kathi is a seasoned health care profession...
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National Institutes of Health renews Mayo Clinic's $48 million Clinical and Translational Science Award - Mayo Clinic News Network

ROCHESTER, Minn. — Mayo Clinic announced today that its Center for Clinical and Translational Science has successfully renewed funding for its research grant from the National Institutes of Health National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences for five more years. The funding award, totaling $48.2 million, is one of Mayo’s largest NIH grants, supporting research and education across the institution at that aims to accelerate innovation to improve patient care and health for all people....
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Religious practices, spirituality associated with higher levels of heart health among African Americans - Mayo Clinic News Network

ROCHESTER, Minn. — A research study of African Americans with cardiovascular disease suggests religious practices and spirituality may contribute to heart health. The study's authors assert that recognizing the importance of religious practices and spirituality in the lives and health of African Americans may be key to improving patient care and reducing heart health disparities in African American communities.


African Americans are disproportionately affected by cardiovascular disease, compa...
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Science Saturday: What happens in medical research before clinical trials begin? - Mayo Clinic News Network

When scientific advances burst into the news, such as a new medication to treat COVID-19 or a new concept like CRISPR for gene editing, people get a glimpse of how a scientific idea becomes a treatment or a tool.


But what's the full story?


Where did that idea come from? What happens in the research lab before clinical trials begin? How is scientific discovery transformed into a potential therapy that is ready to be tested in trials with human participants?


Get these answers and more by...
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Serving my community with an open heart - Mayo Clinic News Network

By Eula Saxon Dean, community leader working with Mayo Clinic in Arizona on the National Institutes of Health's Community Engagement Alliance Against COVID-19 Disparities


Editor's note: Mayo Clinic advances health equity by collaborating with communities in research that addresses their health concerns and aims to reduce health disparities. This article is the third in the Raising Up Community Voices in Research series. This series is written by community members who collaborate with Mayo Cli...
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Community leaders and Mayo Clinic researchers develop playbook for COVID-19 health equity, future pandemics - Mayo Clinic News Network

ROCHESTER, Minn. — Public health experts report that members of immigrant and refugee communities continue to be disproportionately affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, with higher rates of infection and death. Health disparities can be associated with job type, immigration status and English proficiency. A team of Mayo Clinic medical experts and community leaders collaborated to find ways to reduce health disparities related to COVID-19. Their playbook included how to address communication gaps,...
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Keeping translational science on the fast track to curb COVID-19 pneumonia - Mayo Clinic News Network

No champion race car driver can win without a dedicated pit crew. The same is true in medical research. Thanks to their “pit crew” Mayo Clinic researchers were able to repurpose an experimental therapy, called lenzilumab, for patients with COVID-19 pneumonia, and from there into a phase three clinical trial — all in about one year. "I think we’ve accomplished in this year what normally would take seven years," says Saad Kenderian, M.B., Ch.B., a Mayo Clinic cancer researcher. Claudia Lucchinetti...
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How clinical trials work: COVID-19 and beyond - Mayo Clinic News Network

Clinical trials help researchers discover and apply critical advances in patient care. Clinical trials follow rigorous scientific processes that usually take many years to complete. However, during the COVID-19 pandemic, people have been able to see and experience clinical trials operating on fast-forward. And a lot of people are wondering, "How do clinical trials work?"In this Q&A, the Mayo Clinic News Network Team sat down with Dr. Naveen Pereira, a Mayo Clinic cardiologist, and Dr. Andrew Bad...
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