R ollins researchers are dedicated to promoting human health and making people’s lives better as they work on pressing public health concerns affecting people in the United States and around the world. Chronic disease surveillance and prevention research has long been part of that work, and includes research in cancer, heart disease, diabetes, and more.
Research projects span the country—and often, the globe—and look at chronic disease from a range of angles, including the role of artificial intelligence in disease surveillance, factors impacting substance misuse, the role of exercise and relationships in heart health, and how environmental and social factors can predict cancer incidence.
Below is a small sampling of recent research activities in this space.
Heart Disease
Heart disease is the leading cause of death for Americans, with over 700,000 lives claimed each year. Almost half of all Americans have high blood pressure.
The Emory Adolescent and Adult Congenital Heart Defect Program conducts research related to congenital heart defects in children and adults, and is a partner in the CDC-funded surveillance program active in seven states across the United States. The Emory Program in Cardiovascular Outcomes Research and Epidemiology includes researchers from the Rollins School of Public Health and Emory School of Medicine who are conducting research in such areas as mind-body interactions on heart health, studies on twins, genetic epidemiology, women’s health, and more. Funding comes from a variety of sources including the National Institutes of Health and American Heart Association.
Rollins researchers have examined heart health from a variety of angles to help improve health outcomes and contribute to knowledge.
Recent scholarly publications include:
The association between alcohol consumption and irregular heartbeat in older adults
The role of pollen exposure on heart disease
An editorial on the role of recreational team sports on non communicable disease prevention (like heart disease and diabetes)
How being in a couple can impact blood pressure levels (for better or for worse)
Resistance training in people with and without heart disease
Utilizing artificial intelligence to predict heart failure
Read stories about our cardiovascular research.
Diabetes
Diabetes affects 10 percent of the global population, including a significant number of Americans. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s National Diabetes Statistics Report, 38.4 million Americans are living with diabetes (about 11% of the population), and of that number, about 8.7 million are undiagnosed. In 2021, approximately 97.6 million adults 18 and older had prediabetes. It is one of the top 10 leading causes of death for Americans and claims approximately 100,000 lives a year.
Emory’s Global Diabetes Research Center has worked to tackle this global problem since 2008 and conducts work in the United States and abroad to help understand risk factors, prevent new cases, and explore treatments to help people live healthier lives. Read about the center’s transformative work nationally and globally here and here.
The Georgia Center for Diabetes Translational Research—a collaboration between the Emory Global Diabetes Research Center, Morehouse School of Medicine, and Georgia Institute of Technology—is one of seven National Institutes of Health-funded centers for diabetes translation research in the country. It serves to translate research findings that can inform health practice and policy.
Listen to our diabetes episode of Health Wanted.
Read stories about our diabetes research.
Cancer
While substantial progress has been made in our understanding, prevention, detection, and treatment of various forms of cancer, it still remains a major killer of Americans with rates of early-onset cancers on the rise in younger Americans.
Rollins researchers have contributed knowledge to the U.S. fight against cancer with contributions to a range of topic areas including:
Environmental, social, and economic predictors of breast cancer in Black women
Radon mapping and lung cancer incidences
The role of wildfires on lung cancer recovery
Mobile technology and breast cancer medication uptake
Epithelial ovarian cancer in Black women
Surveillance and data collection are critical aspects of understanding, treating, and preventing diseases, including cancer.
Rollins operates both the Georgia Center for Cancer Statistics and the Rural Georgia SEER Registry, which serve to provide population-level data for the state in Georgia’s fight against cancer.
Additionally, members of Rollins faculty are also part of Winship Cancer Institute, a national cancer institute-designated comprehensive cancer center tasked with improving cancer prevention, diagnosis, treatment, and survival.
Read about our cancer research.
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