Su Receives Notice of Award from the National Institute of Health
Posted: 2026-09-17 12:30:37 ()
Recently CSDE Affiliate Yanfang Su (Global Health) received a Notice of Award from the National Institute of Health for her project titled, “Leveraging Existing and Accessible Data to Reduce Sodium Intake and Prevent Cardiovascular Diseases in U.S. Counties through Community-Engaged Policy Implementation (LEAD-US)”. This grant was originally developed during CSDE’s Grant Writing Summer Program. Su’s proposed research will examine how Americans consume about 3,400 mg of sodium (Na+) each day, nearly 50% higher than the limit recommended by the Dietary Guidelines for Americans. Excess Na+ is the leading dietary risk factor for cardiovascular disease (CVD), which causes roughly 950,000 deaths and accounts for 39.5% of all deaths in the U.S. each year. Reducing Na+ intake at the population level is an effective and scalable strategy for hypertension control and CVD prevention. Recent evidence shows that much of the systolic blood pressure (SBP) lowering effect comes from increased dietary potassium (K+) rather than decreased Na+. Dr. Su’s proposed project will rigorously assess healthy food policies that influence the dietary Na/K ratio. Her team’s objective is to assess the reach, effectiveness, adoption, implementation, and maintenance (RE-AIM) of pragmatic local policies that promote healthier foods. The long-term goal is to reduce CVD burden by providing institutional purchasers and food consumers with evidence to inform healthier procurement and dietary decisions.
Congratulations Dr. Su!