April Carson | |
---|---|
Alma mater | University of Georgia UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health |
Scientific career | |
Fields | Cardiovascular epidemiologist |
Institutions | University of Alabama at Birmingham |
Doctoral advisor | Gerardo Heiss |
April Perry Carson is an American epidemiologist. She is an associate professor of epidemiology and associate dean for diversity, equity, and inclusion at the University of Alabama at Birmingham School of Public Health. [1] Carson is director of the Jackson Heart Study. [1]
Carson completed a B.S. in microbiology at University of Georgia. She earned a M.S.P.H. and Ph.D. in epidemiology at the UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health. [1] Carson was a postdoctoral researcher in cardiovascular disease epidemiology at UNC. [2] Her 2005 dissertation was titled Individual and neighborhood socioeconomic status across the life course and subclinical atherosclerosis. [3] Carson's doctoral advisor was Gerardo Heiss . [4]
Carson was an associate professor of epidemiology and associate dean for diversity, equity, and inclusion at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) School of Public Health. [1] On September 20, 2021, she succeeded Adolfo Correa as director of the Jackson Heart Study (JHS). JHS is the United States' largest and longest-running longitudinal study of cardiovascular health in African Americans. [5] [6]
Carson has a history of studying the disproportionate effects of disease in African Americans. [7] As an epidemiologist at UAB, she has worked to identify and address the root causes of disparities associated with diabetes and cardiovascular disease. [3] She participates in the Coronary Artery Risk Development in Young Adults (CARDIA) study, [8] which looks at the factors that contribute to the development of cardiovascular disease over adulthood in African Americans and non-Hispanic white Americans. [9] Carson served as a member of the study’s Publications and Presentations Committee and Laboratory Committee. She also served as chair of its New Investigators’ Committee, where she guided study operations, provided scientific expertise, and played a pivotal role in integrating early career scientists into the study. [5]
Atherosclerosis is a pattern of the disease arteriosclerosis, characterized by development of abnormalities called lesions in walls of arteries. This is a chronic inflammatory disease involving many different cell types, and driven by elevated levels of cholesterol in the blood. These lesions may lead to narrowing of the arterial walls due to buildup of atheromatous plaques. At onset there are usually no symptoms, but if they develop, symptoms generally begin around middle age. In severe cases, it can result in coronary artery disease, stroke, peripheral artery disease, or kidney disorders, depending on which body part(s) the affected arteries are located in the body.
Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is any disease involving the heart or blood vessels. CVDs constitute a class of diseases that includes: coronary artery diseases, heart failure, hypertensive heart disease, rheumatic heart disease, cardiomyopathy, arrhythmia, congenital heart disease, valvular heart disease, carditis, aortic aneurysms, peripheral artery disease, thromboembolic disease, and venous thrombosis.
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The lipid hypothesis is a medical theory postulating a link between blood cholesterol levels and the occurrence of cardiovascular disease. A summary from 1976 described it as: "measures used to lower the plasma lipids in patients with hyperlipidemia will lead to reductions in new events of coronary heart disease". It states, more concisely, that "decreasing blood cholesterol [...] significantly reduces coronary heart disease".
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Dr. Moyses Szklo is a Brazilian epidemiologist and physician scientist. He is currently University Distinguished Service Professor of Epidemiology and Medicine at the Johns Hopkins University, Editor-in-chief Emeritus of the American Journal of Epidemiology, and director of the Johns Hopkins Summer Institute of Epidemiology and Biostatistics. Szklo has published over 300 articles in peer-reviewed journals as well as a major textbook of epidemiology. He has led several major epidemiologic societies and studies and has been lecturing and leading courses all over the world, including Spain, Italy, Israel, Brazil, and Mexico.
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