Perceived Discrimination, Geography, and Demographic Effects on Immune Cell Function and Regulation

PROJECT SUMMARY – Project 2 Immune-mediated inflammatory diseases are a health burden for approximately seven percent of the population of Western nations. Our preliminary data suggest variations in ethnic identity and/or geography influence discrimination experiences and inflammatory response trends. This study investigates how geography, ethnicity, and a laboratory manipulation of discrimination experiences affect immune cell function and genomic regulation. Flow cytometry and immune cell challenges will test monocytes from peripheral blood, and next-generation transcriptomics will assess genomic and epigenetic mechanisms. We will test the hypothesis that geography, self-identified race, and ethnicity, interacting with discrimination conditions, significantly affect immune cell function through genomic and epigenetic mechanisms, with perceived discrimination as a moderating factor in immune cell outcomes. The transdisciplinary nature of the proposed study will incorporate cutting edge behavioral, epigenetic, and genomic techniques that can serve as a guide for other researchers interested uncovering biopsychosocial mechanisms leading to poor health across diverse populations. The valuable insights on differential susceptibility to immune-mediated inflammatory diseases that will be uncovered in this project can inform feasible interventions for these diseases in different population groups.