The University of Illinois at Chicago is getting $12 million from the National Institute of Health to continue taking part in a national study of health issues facing Hispanics.

UIC says in a news release that the money will allow it to continue to serve as the Chicago field office for a study that began in 2008 with the collection of health information from thousands of Hispanics around the United States.

The release says participants who have been examined and filled out questionnaires have given researchers a better understanding of health risk factors as well as chronic diseases prevalent in Hispanic communities.

Over the next seven years, researchers will re-examine participants in the hopes of identifying associations between lifestyle and cardiovascular disease and other health issues.