AHA-iDIVERSE

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Training Directors:
Alex Bui, PhD 
Susanne Nicholas, MD, PhD 
Nina Harawa, PhD, MPH 

Center Directors:
Tzung Hsiai, MD
Keith Norris, MD, PhD
Joseph Kaholokula, PhD

Principal Investigators:
Zhaoping Li, MD
Arleen Brown, MD, PhD
Alejandra Casillas, MD, MSHS
Joseph Kaholokula, PhD
Claire Townsend Ing, MPH, DrPH
Amanda Boyd, PhD

Our American Heart Association Integrated Community Engaged, mHealth, and Data Science to Enhance Clinical Trial Diversity and Cardiometabolic Health (iDIVERSE) program is a collaboration between UCLA, University of Hawaii, and Washington University to establish research projects and training to advance cardiovascular health for all. This program tackles improving community, academic awareness of research ethics, demystifying academia, and addressing attitudinal barriers by enhancing clinical trial recruitment. Specific training modules are being developed to provide tailored methods for recruitment, particularly though the use of new mHealth, artificial intelligence, and biomedical data science methods.

Researchers from the University of California-Los Angeles (UCLA), the University of Hawaii (UH) in Honolulu and Washington State University (WSU) in Pullman will collaborate on projects addressing disparities in clinical research in multiple diverse populations. The center at UH focuses on Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander participants; the WSU is working with Native American participants; and the center at UCLA is concentrating on African/Black, Asian/Filipino, and Latin American participants. Each center is conducting a clinical trial to treat heart disease, diabetes or obesity, using smartphones to stay in touch with participants throughout the project. The three complementary projects aim to mitigate cardiometabolic disparities and they will be thematically connected through mHealth approaches to improve recruitment, enrollment and participation of diverse individuals in clinical trials. 

The AHA iDIVERSE team will further provide diversity training and, where appropriate, machine learning approaches to advance health equity in clinical trials. This collaborative team is led by Tzung Hsiai, M.D., Ph.D., the Maud Cady Guthman Endowed Term Chair in Cardiology and a professor of medicine (cardiology) and bioengineering at UCLA, and co-directed by Keith C. Norris, M.D., Ph.D., executive vice chair for the Department of Medicine for Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion and a professor of medicine at UCLA and Keawe Kaholokula, Ph.D., a professor and chair of the Department of Native Hawaiian Health at University of Hawaii at Manoa.

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Example iDIVERSE projects

Our iDIVERSE Center works on a range of basic science and translational research across the cardiovascular domain. A sampling of project and Fellowship training updates is shown below.

Center Name: Integrated Community Engagement, mHealth and Data Science to Enhance Clinical Trial Diversity and Cardiometabolic Health (iDIVERSE)

Center Director:  Tzung Hsiai, MD, PhD; Keith Norris, MD, PhD; Keawe Kaholokula, PhD

Center Updates: 

  • iDIVERSE has presented various posters and abstracts, including the UCLA Department of Medicine Research Day (October 19, 2024) and the Southern California Regional Dissemination, Implementation, and Improvement Science Symposium (May 30, 2024). We have also delivered keynote presentations, including a talk by Drs. Keith Norris and Zhaoping Li at the Caltech/UCLA Symposium for the NIH T32 Training Programs (iTEAM and iCMB), held on September 19, 2024, at Caltech in Pasadena. Dr. Li presentaed Revolutionize Clinical Care: The Role of Non-Invasive Multivariable Sensing, while Dr. Norris emphasized the importance of diversity in clinical research and shared insights on AI & Chronic Kidney Disease.
  • We continue to strengthen infrastructure across UCLA, UH, and WSU through shared data platforms, IRB coordination, and culturally tailored resources for multisite implementation. Fellows participate in the Stanford TRAIN program and monthly mHealth monthly trainings and discussions. We’ve expanded partnerships, including with the VA Medical Center and the AIM-AHEAD West Hub. We also engage with CERP through events like the CERP Retreat and Community Partner Awards to deepen community and AI/ML collaboration.
  • Elevated visibility of culturally tailored recruitment interventions through national conference presentations, local media (e.g., Project 1’s ʻŌlelo Community Media broadcast), and ongoing community partnership events, ensuring that recruitment materials and strategies reflect the needs of Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander, American Indian/Alaska Native, and Black/Latinx communities.

Project 1 Name: Improving Participation in Cardiometabolic-related Trials for Indigenous Pacific Peoples

PI(s): Keawe Kaholokula, PhD (MPI) & Claire Ing, DrPH (Co-PI)

Project Updates

  • Conducted focus groups and key informant interviews with Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander (NH/PI) participants and recruiters to identify barriers and facilitators to clinical trial participation.
  • Developed a culturally-informed mHealth strategy featuring an educational video, which was presented on local cable program (ʻŌlelo Community Media). Here is the link: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1syPRk8HMMrburPh3ID-BFQ9WZP7apGYF/view?usp=sharing
  • Beginning qualitative phase of the study. First cohort that received the novel mHealth materials is completing the intervention. Interviews with both intervention and control group participants will assess the perceived effectiveness and impact of the mHealth materials.

Project 2 Name: Research is Ceremony: Increasing American Indian Clinical Trial Participation to Improve Cardiometabolic Health

PI(s): Amanda Boyd, PhD (PI) & Denise A. Dillard, PhD (Co-I)

Project Updates

  • Launched a survey at Powwows and American Indian community events to assess clinical trial awareness and attitudinal barriers to participation, including tabling at the Seafair Powwow (July 19–21, 2024) to recruit health needs assessment respondents, share study findings, and engage directly with the community.
  • A manuscript based on the survey data and related data entry has been submitted to Digital Health Literacy and is currently under review.
  • Currently collaborating with the Project 1 Team to develop a culturally informed mHealth strategy. A contract has been established with a videographer to produce a multimedia intervention.

Project 3 Name: Improving Participation of Multi-ethnic Populations in Personalized Dietary Approaches to Mitigate Cardiometabolic Disease (CMD) in Los Angeles County

PI(s): Zhaoping Li, MD, PhD (PI); Arleen Brown, MD, PhD (Co-PI); Alejandra Casillas, MD, MSHS (Co-PI);

Project Updates

  • The 17-member Patient and Community Consultation Panel (PNCCP), representing various LA County communities, continues to provide feedback on study recruitment materials.
  • During our March 4th panel, we invited the PNCCP to conduct a barriers and facilitators assessment in the coming year. We’re excited they agreed, and we are now in the early stages of planning a process evaluation focused on collecting feedback and lessons learned.
  • Project 3 also recruited, as well as shared project materials and research findings at multiple community events: SoFi Stadium fitness events (March 2 & April 6, 2024), Worksite Wellness LA (August 8, 2024), Black Family Reunion (August 17, 2024), and Taste of Soul (October 19, 2024). We also disseminated the publication “Community-Engaged Approaches for Improving the Inclusion of Diverse Communities in a Nutrition Clinical Trial” to PNCCP members.

Fellowship Training Director: Susanne Nicholas, MD, MPH, PhD; Alex Bui, PhD;

Fellow(s): Juliana Garcia, PhD; Emily Makahi, PhD; Kaitlyn Fruin, MD

Fellow Updates: All of our Fellows participate in SFRN TRAIN activities, iDIVERSE center monthly meetings, bi-weekly publication discussions, regular fellow check-ins, AIM-AHEAD West Hub engagement sessions

  • Juliana Garcia, PhD Psychology, Washington State University: Dr. Juliana Garcia (Project #2 WSU) has completed her fellowship role as of January 11th, 2025. During this last year, she participated in the CHAMPIONS for Health Equity Training (Oct 2024), the HEAL Webinar: Techquity (May 2024), and AIM-AHEAD West Hub engagement sessions, building skills in digital health equity, AI/ML, and community-based research. Dr. Juliana Garcia also presented at scientific conferences, including the AHA Scientific Sessions in November 2024 and the SFRN Annual Meeting in September 2024, gaining experience in disseminating research findings. A few of our team members continue to support in-kind with her publication efforts and career development.
  • Emily Makahi, MSW, PhD Public Health Studies, University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa: Dr. Makahi was awarded a $50,000 PIKO Grant, supporting culturally grounded research to improve health equity among Indigenous Pacific Peoples and underserved communities in Hawaiʻi. While she could not be present at this meeting, we would like to honor and acknowledge her participation in the Merrie Monarch Hula Festival—an event of deep cultural and spiritual significance. Dr. Makahi is a Kanaka Maoli wahine from Honouliuli on O‘ahu, where she has spent over a decade serving her community as a Haku Ho‘oponopono (practitioner of Pono, a traditional Hawaiian healing practice) and as a dedicated haumāna (student) of hula and ulana (cultural dance and weaving). Her involvement in hula is not only longstanding but foundational to her identity and her work.
  • Kaitlyn Fruin, MD, University of California Los Angeles (Fellowship Start Date: 7/1/2024): Dr. Fruin joined Project 3 in July 2024 and is leading efforts to develop a hydroponic farm with the VA to provide fresh produce for veterans. She secured funding for a 1,000-plant garden and is evaluating its health impact in partnership with GrowGood and the VA. Her work has been featured in multiple media outlets: Fox: Sept 25 | Nov 17 and CBS: Oct 1. She also published her first first-author paper:
    Fruin K, Tung E, Franczyk J, James K, Koetz A, Detmer W. An Urban Farm-Anchored Produce Prescription Program's Impacts on Weight Reduction. Health Affairs 44.4 (2025): 475–482. Additionally, she has presented at various events, including the Health Affairs Theme Issue Briefing: Food, Nutrition & Health.