Established in 1999, the UCLA Research Center at Alhambra was created to support research about common chronic diseases such as diabetes and how such diseases vary in occurrence and progression among diverse populations. Located in the San Gabriel Valley, the RCA has been at the forefront of research that includes ethnic groups who have been traditionally under-represented, including African-Americans, Hispanics, and Chinese-Americans.
High percentages of minorities are members of cohorts for several studies funded by different Institutes of the National Institutes of Health are being conducted at the RCA. Notably, two multi-site longitudinal studies are underway at RCA: the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis (MESA) Study funded by NHLBI and the Diabetes Prevention Project-Outcomes Study (DPPOS) funded by NIDDK. MESA is using state-of-the-art imaging technologies such as CT and ultrasound to detect the early signs of cardiovascular disease. DPPOS is examining the long-term effectiveness of the successful lifestyle intervention demonstrated with the original DPP.
The most outstanding resource at the RCA is the staff. Over the years, a core group has developed that is well-trained and experienced in a wide range of common clinical research procedures including phlebotomy, anthropometry, spirometry, and blood pressure as well as nutrition and diabetes management education. A majority of the recruitment and interviewing staff are bilingual in English and Spanish, Mandarin Chinese or Cantonese Chinese. The facility has equipment for several types of imaging, including DXA, ultrasound, ECG, and fundus photography. In addition, the RCA has two passenger vans that can be used to transport participants to the Westwood campus for specialized procedures such as MRI.
The RCA is administratively managed by the Division of Geriatrics as a resource available to the Department of Medicine and other affiliated faculty. Linkages are being built with the UCLA General Clinical Research Center, the Office of Clinical Trials, and the Jonsson Cancer Center.
A PowerPoint introduction of the center can be seen here.