SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Healthcare technology company Komodo Health today announced the recipients of the 2024 Diet-Related Health (DRH) grant. Through the DHR program, which is funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF), selected researchers gain free access to Komodo’s Healthcare Map™, the industry’s largest and most complete repository of de-identified real-world patient analytics and insights, to study the impact of diet on health and advance new research to inform strategies that will mitigate disease incidence, increase health equity, and improve patient outcomes.
The DRH program supports diverse, solution-oriented research. A competitive call for proposals opened in January 2024, encouraging applicants from across the country to develop scientifically rigorous submissions designed to deepen understanding of the prevalence, treatment, and barriers to health equity surrounding diet-related diagnoses (such as obesity, diabetes, and cardiovascular disease), as well as how diet and nutrition may affect patient outcomes in other diseases, such as cancer. The winning DRH grant proposals include:
- Social Safety Net Generosity Effects on Adverse Diet-Related Health Outcomes Among Patients With Type II Diabetes (Benjamin Chrisinger and Wenhui Feng, Tufts University) will study dietary disturbances in patients with Type II Diabetes Mellitus (T2DM) to explore connections among access and food insecurity, food assistance programs, and T2DM outcomes, including individual, institutional, and structural factors.
- Assessing the Impact of Novel Therapeutic Agents on Equity in Obesity Care (Andrew Stokes, Boston University) will characterize the obesity patient care journey, examining how the introduction of novel anti-obesity medications is changing patterns of obesity treatment utilization among different subgroups. Researchers will also leverage machine learning to estimate the unmet need for obesity treatment.
- Nutritional Support for Lung Cancer Patients (Yumie Takata, Oregon State University) will compare the patterns of nutritional support among patients with lung cancer, including subgroups, as they relate to health equity and investigate the association between this support and survival.
- Weight (Loss) and Risk of Urologic Disease: Shedding Light on Health Disparities Through Komodo Health Data (Lulu Wei, SUNY Downstate Health Sciences University) will investigate the links among: common urologic conditions and obesity; the impact of diabetes and weight loss drugs on reducing urologic disease incidence; and racial disparities in diet-related diseases and treatments access among urological patients.
- Computer-Aided Medical Decision-Making to Revolutionize Diabetes Care (Amaris Williams, The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center) will use medical decision-making algorithms to identify modifiable risk factors for diabetes-associated complications and mortality, and evaluate preventive therapies that minimize cost of care.
“We’re excited to offer researchers access to Komodo’s platform to explore how diet influences health outcomes across various diseases and conditions,” said Web Sun, President and Co-Founder, Komodo Health. “The insights derived from hundreds of millions of patient journeys, powered by our Healthcare Map and studied at scale using our platform, can play a meaningful role in pinpointing care delivery and outcomes disparities and inform targeted solutions to close critical gaps in care for those who need it most.”
“Diet is a huge driver of health outcomes,” said Katherine Hempstead, Senior Policy Adviser, RWJF. “By connecting researchers with the Komodo insights and analyses, we can deepen our understanding of how patient outcomes are affected by diet and nutritional factors, as well as learning more about comorbidities and use of treatment services by patients with diet-related disease.”
Researchers initiated their projects in September 2024 and will continue through March 2026.
About Komodo Health
Komodo Health is a technology platform company creating the new standard for real-world data and analytics by pairing the industry’s most complete view of patient encounters with artificial intelligence to connect the dots between individual patient journeys and large-scale health outcomes. Across Life Sciences, payers, providers, and developers, Komodo helps its customers unearth patient-centric insights at scale — marrying clinical data with advanced algorithms and AI-powered software solutions to inform decision-making, close gaps in care, address disease burden, and help enterprises create a more cost-effective, value-driven healthcare system. For more information, visit Komodohealth.com.
About the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation
RWJF is a leading national philanthropy dedicated to taking bold leaps to transform health in our lifetime. Through funding, convening, advocacy, and evidence-building, we work side-by-side with communities, practitioners, and institutions to get to health equity faster and pave the way together to a future where health is no longer a privilege, but a right.
