Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death in women. There are risk factors specific to women such as pregnancy complications and menopausal status that may play a role in the development of cardiovascular disease in women. The American Heart Association (AHA) recently launched the Research Goes Red registry in collaboration with Verily’s Project Baseline. Verily is a corporation owned by Alphabet (Google’s parent company). The Research Goes Red registry is a novel online platform designed to be participant-focused. Dr. Brooke Aggarwal is Principal Investigator of the Research Goes Red Weight Study, a new 1-year prospective observational study to determine links between weight changes and novel physiologic and behavioral outcomes related to cardiovascular disease in women. The study, a collaboration between AHA and Verily, is conducted primarily remotely. Online questionnaires are completed via an app, and tailored to optimize the experience for research participants. Participants log their waist circumference, body composition via scale, and home blood pressure via the app. An in-person visit to a local LabCorp facility is required to obtain blood samples and blood pressure measurements. All data is synced into the AHA-Verily online platform for the study team to download files with coded data, in real-time. This study is the first of its kind to demonstrate the feasibility of collecting data from the Research Goes Red registry in a decentralized way. We have a rich dataset ready to be analyzed among 300 women across the US, including markers associated with adverse weight gain: body composition, glucose, lipids, insulin resistance, inflammation (C-reactive protein, interleukin-6), as well as correlates of weight gain during the menopausal transition including meal timing, meal frequency, reproductive history, physical activity, perceived stress, and sleep patterns.

This project is eligible for a matching fund stipend from the Data Science Institute. This is not a guarantee of payment, and the total amount is subject to available funding.

Faculty Advisor

  • Professor: Brooke Aggarwal, EdD, MS, FAHA
  • Center/Lab: Cardiology/Medicine
  • Location: 21 Audubon Avenue (at W. 166th St)
  • In our laboratory, we are evaluating the risk of cardiovascular disease in diverse populations of women in various life stages (e.g., child-bearing, post-menopausal).

Project Timeline

  • Earliest starting date: 10/17/22
  • End date: 8/31/23
  • Number of hours per week of research expected during Fall 2022: ~8

Candidate requirements

  • Skill sets: Preferred skills include experience conducting cross-sectional and longitudinal data using linear and logistic regression models, as well as making graphs and figures using the data. We typically use SAS in our lab, but are open to other software. Familiarity with mediation analysis is a plus.
  • Student eligibility: freshman, sophomore, junior, senior, master’s
  • International students on F1 or J1 visa: eligible
  • Academic Credit Possible: Yes
  • Additional comments: We will meet one day per week in person for lab team meetings. The rest of the work may be conducted remotely, if preferred.