The Multiethnic Cohort study that follows a diverse group of 215,000 residents of Hawaii and Southern California has been awarded $12.1 million in a five-year renewal grant by the National Cancer Institute.

The grant will enable additional studies on health conditions more common in Hawaii, such as visceral obesity and liver cancer, while expanding on new areas of study such as the health effects of climate change, social determinants of health and genetic risk prediction, according to a University of Hawaii news release.

“It’s very valuable because of our ethnic groups here,” said Loic Le Mar­chand, a UH Cancer Center researcher and principal investigator of the MEC study. “Many studies require very large sample sizes, so we complement all studies by providing data.”

The Multiethnic Cohort was established by Dr. Laurence Kolonel of the UH Cancer Center and Dr. Brian Henderson of the University of Southern California Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center, who recruited residents of Hawaii and Los Angeles from 1993 to 1996 to participate in the study. The study includes men and women of five main ethnic groups: Japanese Americans, African Americans, Native Hawaiians, Latinos and whites.

Now in its 28th year, the MEC offers the largest study of Native Hawaiians as well as the only U.S. prospective study that includes Japanese Americans, Le Marchand said.

Data and samples from the study have been used by researchers from more than 85 academic institutions, including those in Europe and Asia, Le Marchand said. It has also resulted in more than 950 peer-reviewed scientific articles on numerous topics including smoking, diet, physical activity, obesity and genetic predisposition, according to the news release.

These days, the USC Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center and the UH Cancer Center continue to work closely together on their research through shared data. While USC focuses more on genetics, UH focuses more on lifestyle, nutrition and social determinants of health, according to Le Marchand. However, both work together in addressing one another’s research questions, he added.

Since the MEC’s inception, the National Cancer Institute has continued to grant central funding for the study, which this new grant will continue to do, Le Marchand said.

“This funding is really to support the infrastructure to keep in touch with the participants, to send questionnaires, to do linkages with cancer registries, to find new cancer cases and to also maintain our biorepository,” he said.

The unique ethnic makeup of the study adds to the value of the research by focusing on populations that wouldn’t be accessible in other places, Le Marchand said.

“We are really trying to understand issues that are very relevant to the health of our community and other groups,” he said. “So it’s really unique and we are really pleased to see that we are able to get funded in the continuous study.”

Linsey Dower covers ethnic and cultural affairs and is a corps member of Report for America, a national service organization that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues and communities.