UTMB Health SHARED
UTMB Health SHARED is an online community space for Scholarship, Historical Archives, Repository, & Electronic Dissertations. This digital service is an important tool for preserving the organization’s legacy and facilitating scholarly communication.
Communities in UTMB Health SHARED
Select a community to browse its collections.
- Completed capstone projects from students of the School of Health Professions
- Publications by degree candidates from the Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, the School of Nursing, and the School of Public and Population Health
- Profiles of UTMB faculty and staff, including selected works.
- Historical images and documents from Moody Medical Library special collections
- Public documents produced by university departments
Recent Submissions
The Prevalence of Cardiovascular Disease and Associated Risk Factors among Sexual and Gender Minorities in Texas: Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System 2015, 2017, and 2019
(2023-05) Rodriguez, Robert Anthony 1989-; John D. Prochaska; Xiaoying Yu; Kyriakos S. Markides; Jason Flatt; Adrian Juarez
Sexual and Gender Minorities (SGM’s), commonly referred to as the LGBTQ+ community, have a higher prevalence of cardiovascular disease than their cisgender heterosexual peers in the United States. In addition, there is mounting evidence that suggests SGM adults have an increased exposure to cardiovascular disease risk factors throughout their lifespan, and these exposures are further exacerbated by negative experiences associated with minority stressors. Texas is home to the second-largest SGM population, however due to a lack of state-level data collection on sexual orientation or gender identity, very little is known about the well-being of this population. The purpose of this dissertation is to determine the prevalence of cardiovascular disease and associated risk factors between SGM’s and non-SGM (or cisgender, heterosexual) persons in Texas by investigating cross-sectional data from the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) in 2015, 2017, and 2019. Results showed that SGM Texans reported had similar rates of self-reported cardiovascular disease compared to non-SGMS. However, adult respondents who identified as an SGM, who were older, racial and ethnic minorities, current smokers, had more than one healthcare provider and were unable to afford healthcare in Texas were more likely to self-report having a cardiovascular complication.
Congenital Chagas Murine Model Development and Nanovaccine Efficacy Against Maternal-fetal Trypanosoma cruzi Pathogenesis
(2023-08) Rios, Lizette E 7/17/1989-; Ramkumar Menon, PhD; Nisha Garg, MBA, PhD; Ramkumar Menon, MS, PhD; MinKyung Yi, PhD; Antonio Ortega-Pacheco, PhD, MVSc, FRVCS, DVM; Imran Chowdhury, PhD
Maternal infection with Trypanosoma cruzi (Tc) parasite can lead to the vertical transmission from mother to fetus known as congenital Chagas’ disease (cCD). The objective was to develop a murine model of cCD to test the efficacy of a DNA nanovaccine developed by our laboratory. In this dissertation, we demonstrate that Tc infection in female mice delayed the initiation of pregnancy, reduced fertility rate, and resulted in vertical transmission of the parasite to the offspring. Pups born to infected dams showed lower survival rates, decreased birth weights, and impaired growth rates. Moreover, these pups exhibited significantly elevated levels of inflammation, necrosis, and fibrosis in their cardiac and brain tissues. A higher initial dose of the parasite had more detrimental effects on both fertility rates and the health of the pups, regardless of whether the dams were acutely or chronically infected. We have also established that Tc infection triggered delayed and insufficient activation of T cells, resulting in low levels of effector molecules that are needed for controlling the spread and replication of the parasite in both pregnant and non-pregnant dams. The nanovaccine showed enhanced immunity in pregnant mice compared to non-pregnant mice. Following challenge infection, the vaccine effectively enhanced the splenic differentiation, maturation and polyfunctional activation of CD4+ and CD8+ effector/effector memory and central memory subsets, with increased production of interferon gamma, perforin and granzyme B that exhibit cytolytic activities against the infected cells. Further, nanovaccine immunized pregnant mice exhibited effective control of the parasite burden in maternal tissues and inflammatory infiltrate, necrosis, and fibrosis in maternal (heart, skeletal muscle) and fetal placentas. Consequently, maternal fertility rate and pregnancy outcomes were improved in vaccinated infected mice. Together, we demonstrate that nanovaccine offers a valid strategy to elicit protective immunity against Tc infection during pregnancy, leading to improved control of maternal Tc infection and favorable fetal outcomes.