1. The Center of Excellence for Diabetes at University of Texas School of Public Health, Brownsville Regional Campus Staff and Faculty

4. POVERTY LOW EDUCATIONAL ATTAINMENT LOW IMMUNIZATION RATES LACK OF MEDICAL INSURANCE INFECTIOUS DISEASES VECTOR-BORNE DISEASES INCREASES IN CHRONIC DISEASES

5. Cameron & Hidalgo Counties = poorest in the U.S. in terms of: % of all residents + those 65 who are below poverty level % with less than a high school diploma % high school graduate or higher % with a B.A. degree or more % in labor force Median household income Median family income Percent speaking only Spanish: Texas: 27 % Brownsville: 87 %

6. Susan Fisher-Hoch, Anne Rentfro, Hossein Rahbar, Gloria Sanchez, Craig Hanis & Joseph McCormick University of Texas Houston School of Public Health and University of Texas at Brownsville MD000170 P20: Funded from the NIH National Center on Minority Health and Health Disparities.

7. Cameron County Hispanic Cohort (CCHC) Study design Current activity 5-year follow up Glucose transition study Intervention studies

9. Obesity 50% of the entire population is obese A further 31% are overweight Diabetes 19% of the entire population has diabetes Nearly 5% of diabetes is undiagnosed Half of the diabetes patients are not on medication Men are at special risk Younger men are more obese than younger women Younger men are considerably more obese than older men A cohort effect and/or obese men dying earlier? Men develop diabetes earlier than women Men are more likely to have undiagnosed diabetes than women Metabolic and Inflammatory markers Insulin resistance is above normal limits, all age groups C-reactive protein is well within normal limits, all age groups.

10. Our infrastructure Center of Excellence in Diabetes in Americans of Mexican descent, Hispanic Health Research Center and The University of Texas at Brownsville Clinical Research Unit (2,387 sq.ft) Staff & cohort participant at Valley Baptist Brownsville Hospital CRU Medical Director Rose Gowen BSL2BSL3 6000 sq ft wet lab space with qPCR, FACSCanto, Luminex system, LC/MS freezer archive, 2 full time techs and many students Classrooms with ITV Computer lab Data management Etc.