Dr. Hui Hu, an assistant professor in the department of epidemiology at the University of Florida College of Public Health and Health Professions and College of Medicine, is the recipient of the 2019 Sandra A. Daugherty Award for Excellence in Cardiovascular Disease or Hypertension Epidemiology. He was recognized during the American Heart Association’s Epidemiology and Prevention/Lifestyle and Cardiometabolic Health 2019 Scientific Sessions held last week in Houston.
The Sandra A. Daugherty Award is designed to recognize the role of junior faculty and to stimulate excellence in research by junior investigators. Applicants submit a manuscript or extended abstract and the winner is selected based on the scientific merit, quality and originality of the work.
Dr. Hu’s manuscript detailed his environment-wide association study of the geographic disparities in hypertensive disorders of pregnancy. The study examined a wide range of environmental data linked to more than 2 million pregnant women between 2005 and 2014. The study evaluated more than 5,000 factors associated with women’s natural, built and social environments, and identified more than 1,200 factors significantly associated with hypertensive disorders in pregnancy.
“Environmental exposures appear to play a critical role, both in identifications of pregnant women at increased risk of HDP and in determinations of potential target for public health interventions,” Dr. Hu said.