ROAR Report: Women’s Cardiovascular Health Retreat Provides New Insights for NIH-Funded Collaboration

Augusta University’s Specialized Center of Excellence in the Study of Sex Differences (Rural, Obese, At Risk: ROAR), under the leadership of Interim Provost Dean Sullivan, is pioneering efforts to gain a deeper understanding and provide effective treatment for women’s cardiovascular health, a crucial yet often overlooked area of research.

The ROAR team, a multi-institutional collaboration in the Southeast, came together to ask, “What are we doing well? What can we do better? Where can we improve? How can we best utilize our resources to revolutionize the academic and community perception of sex as a biological variable (SABV) in hypertension and cardiovascular disease?”

Since the official start of this NIH-funded collaboration in October of 2023, the ROAR team has been busy! The morning highlighted accomplishments, including publications, community outreach, education events, and pilot grants to support early career investigators.

The morning continued as Rebecca Gaylor, TGS web developer, gave the group a sneak peek at the ROAR website (coming soon!). Sam Strecker, medical illustrator, shared drafts of original artwork for the website and opportunities to elevate current ROAR materials and ongoing projects.

Jennifer Toole, the community impact director for the American Heart Association in Augusta, GA, joined the group to facilitate an active refresher on correctly measuring blood pressure and lend her expertise during the afternoon brainstorming sessions. Participants reflected on strengths, barriers, and opportunities related to community outreach, scaling efforts, and increasing visibility.

If you’d like to learn more about opportunities with the ROAR community, please contact Dr. Elena Dent at edent@augusta.edu.