The RESTORE (Addressing Social Determinants to Prevent Hypertension) Health Equity Research Network Coordinating Center, led by Gbenga Ogedegbe, MD, MPH and Tanya M. Spruill, PhD, is providing centralized management and coordination of scientific, administrative, and financial aspects of the network, its cores, and research projects. We are enhancing synergy and data harmonization, ensuring dissemination of findings, and advancing the career development of early-stage scientists.

The coordinating center, based at NYU Langone’s Institute for Excellence in Health Equity, has established five integrated cores that bring together experts from across the network to provide resources, foster collaboration, enhance the rigor of each project, and increase the impact of the network.

Blood Pressure Measurement Core

The Blood Pressure Measurement Core provides a common blood pressure measurement protocol, annual training and certification to study staff for measuring blood pressure at each site, guidance on issues related to the blood pressure devices, continuous monitoring and feedback to sites on the quality of blood pressure readings, and advice to the Statistical Core on management and analysis of blood pressure data.

Core leader: Daichi Shimbo, MD, Columbia University Medical Center

For more information, please contact Dr. Shimbo at ds2231@cumc.columbia.edu.

Statistical Core

The Statistical Core is developing a standardized data entry environment for each RESTORE project, monitoring data collection, creating randomization assignments, and conducting quality control and statistical analyses. The core provides full-service electronic data capture, data management, and statistical analysis and reporting through server-based SQL databases developed at University of Alabama at Birmingham for the RESTORE Network. The core generates quarterly reports of enrollment and data quality. The core also includes cost and policy components, which are developing a RESTORE Network standard intervention-costing instrument and will complete cost and cost-effectiveness analyses of all five projects.

Core leader: Paul Muntner, PhD, University of Alabama at Birmingham

Cost and policy component leaders: Andrew Moran, MD, MPH, Columbia University Irving Medical Center, and Joanne Penko, MS, MPH, University of California San Francisco

For more information, please contact Dr. Muntner at pmuntner@uab.edu.

Intervention Core

The Intervention Core is collaborating with project principal investigators to select validated measures of intervention targets, tailoring intervention components for the target communities, and assessing the impact of the interventions using the RE-AIM framework. The core is applying the RESTORE approach to develop new research projects focused on preventing hypertension in other settings. The core also includes a community health worker component, which develops training and treatment fidelity protocols for community health worker interventions for use across the network, as well as in new projects.

Core leader: Tanya M. Spruill, PhD, NYU Grossman School of Medicine

Community health worker component leaders: Chidinma A. Ibe, PhD, Johns Hopkins University, and Ijeoma Opara, MD, Wayne State University

For more information, please contact Dr. Spruill at tanya.spruill@nyulangone.org.

Community Engagement Core

The Community Engagement Core is working with each project to implement validated community-based participatory research principles and practices. The RESTORE Community Engagement Committee includes community members across all projects; local and national stakeholders from healthcare, business, faith, educational, nonprofit, and governmental sectors; and project investigators. In addition to engaging with their own community partners, the research teams consult with the core and committee during the protocol, instrument, and intervention development stages. Among other activities, the core maintains communication with the committee, hosts quarterly committee meetings, creates a quarterly newsletter with updates about the network’s activities and the efforts of partners, and supports research teams in communicating their results to participants and communities.

Core leader: Lisa Cooper, MD, MPH, Johns Hopkins University

For more information, please contact Dr. Cooper at lisa.cooper@jhmi.edu.

Training Core

The RESTORE Network mentors three to five fellows each year. The Training Core uses a competitive selection process to identify top postdoctoral fellows and junior faculty members with interest and experience in hypertension, health equity, implementation science, and community-based participatory research. All trainees participate in RESTORE Network projects, conduct their own research project, and travel to other sites on mini rotations to gain additional experiential learning and networking. The Training Core supports these activities by hosting monthly meetings with trainees to review their individual development plans and training progress, holding quarterly meetings with each trainee and their mentors, and conducting monthly professional development lectures and workshops.

Core leader: Daichi Shimbo, MD, Columbia University Irving Medical Center

For more information, please contact Dr. Shimbo at ds2231@cumc.columbia.edu.