Robert C. Kaplan, Ph.D.
Professor, Department of Epidemiology & Population Health
Dorothy and William Manealoff Foundation and Molly Rosen Chair in Social Medicine
Dr. Robert Kaplan is an epidemiologist with expertise in cardiovascular disease,
diabetes, obesity and other metabolic conditions. His major projects and roles include
Steering Committee chair and PI of the Hispanic Community Health Study/Study of Latinos
(HCHS-SOL) cohort of 16,425 Hispanic/Latino adults, the largest long-term study of
Hispanics ever conducted in the U.S. He has extensive experience with longitudinal
cohort studies on cardiometabolic disease funded by NHLBI and NIDDK, including the NIH
Cardiovascular Health Study, CHS, and considerable experience in genomic epidemiology
(genetics, transcriptomics, etc.). full bio>>
Funding
2014-2018
Principal Investigator, Role of innate immunity in HIV related vascular disease: biomarkers & mechanisms
PI: Kaplan
NIH/NHLBI (1R01HL126543)
$3,431,987 (total)
This proposal will a) identify mechanisms linking innate immunity with CVD in the
setting of chronic, treated HIV infection; b) develop novel serum biomarkers for
monocyte/macrophage related inflammation and coagulation that may stratify CVD risk in
the HIV-infected population; c) use global sequencing of RNAs (RNA-Seq) to define HIV-
and CVD-associated gain and/or loss of function of specific signaling pathways by
studying CD14++ and CD14+CD16+ monocyte subsets from well-characterized HIV+ and HIV-
patient groups from the WIHS and MACS NIH cohorts
2006-2019
Bronx Field Center, Hispanic Community Health Study
PI: Kaplan
NIH/NHLBI (HHSN268200625235C)
$15,734,093 (total)
The overall goal of this project is to recruit 4,000 Hispanic/Latino adults 18-74
years of age in Bronx NY and obtain long-term followup on CVD, asthma, COPD, diabetes,
cancer, and other health outcomes, as part of the multicenter Hispanic Community Health
Study.
2011-2015
Hispanic Community Children's Health: Study of Latino Youth (Co-investigator)
PI: Isasi
NIH/NHLBI (1R01HL102130-01)
The "SOL-Youth" project is an ancillary study to the Hispanic Community Health
Study/Study of Latinos (HCHS/SOL), which will enroll children of HCHS/SOL participants.
The study will examine a wide range of socio-cultural factors and biological markers
associated with obesity in a sample of 1,600 Latino boys and girls aged 8-14 years old
from the Bronx, NY; Chicago, IL; Miami, FL and San Diego, CA.
2011-2015
Epidemiologic Determinants of Cardiac Structure and Function among Hispanics (Co-
investigator/Site PI)
PI: Rodriguez
NIH /NHLBI (1R01HL104199-01)
This multicenter study will comprehensively evaluate left ventricular mass,
geometry, systolic function and diastolic function using novel techniques in a unique
nationally representative cohort of Hispanics.
2013-2015
CVD and inflammation across the lifespan in HIV infected adults and children
$363,508 (total)
PI: Kaplan/Delaney (MPI)
NIH/NHLBI (1R21HL120394-01)
This study will clarify associations between vascular disease and HIV-related and
traditional CVD risk factors in HIV-infected persons across a wide spectrum of age,
building upon a unique consortium of multiple HIV-infected and HIV-uninfected cohorts.
2010-2015
Genetic and epidemiologic predictors of glucose homeostasis measures in
Hispanics
$10,765,189 (total)
PI: Kaplan/Rotter/Wagenknecht
NIH/NIDDK (R01 DK085175-11A1)
The GUARDIAN Consortium (Genetics Underlying Diabetes in Hispanics) has the
following goals: (1) to perform a GWAS to detect loci underlying variation in glucose
homeostasis traits in a multi-cohort pedigree-based set of 4685 Hispanics; (2) to
translate/extend these findings to the relevant clinical disease, T2DM, by testing for
association in a set of ~3500 T2DM cases and ~5500 controls; and (3) to sequence up to
12 genetic loci from our GWAS in order to identify specific variants contributing to
variation in glucose homeostasis traits and susceptibility to T2DM. This project
uses data from the Hispanic Community Health Study.
2003-2016
A Study of the Natural History of HIV Infection in Women (Co-investigator)
PI: Anastos
NIH/NIAID (7U01 AI035004-11)
The major objective of this project is to study the natural history of HIV infection
in women.