Research Overview

The VCU CoHD is an interdisciplinary center that facilitates multi-disciplinary, multi-level, integrated research projects. The primary research purpose is to interpret the complex interactions of the social and physical environment and mediating behavioral factors, and biologic pathways which determine health and disease.

To achieve this goal, the VCU CoHD:

• Provides an infrastructure to facilitate collaborative intervention research among health disparities investigators
• Creates synergy and facilitates the development of health disparities researchers by providing , and mentoring from experts
• Supports interdisciplinary collaborations to facilitate the development, implementation and evaluation of health disparities interventions. These interventions are designed to advance scientific knowledge that contributes to the reduction and elimination of health care disparities in the Commonwealth of Virginia.

Vision
The VCU CoHD supports the NIMHD Research Strategic Objective to advance the understanding of the development and progression of diseases and disabilities that contribute to health disparities in racial and ethnic minority populations and other health disparity populations, including the medically underserved, by increasing and diversifying biomedical, behavioral, social science, and health services research, as well as cultural, linguistic and social epidemiology research conducted and supported by the National Institutes of Health.

Research portfolio overview
Boasting more than $8 million from 10 directly-managed projects, as well as 12 new grant applications submitted in the past 12 months, the CoHD is directly affiliated with more than 25 principal investigators. A total of 19 publications  came from CoHD research initiatives in the past year, and five new grants were funded within the past year.

The CoHD research portfolio currently focuses on:

•  Infant mortality
•  Research training
•  Drug abuse
•  Cancer

Current funding opportunities
We seek to connect our members and partnering community organizations with current funding opportunities for both federal and non-federal funding sources.

Active Projects

The VCU CoHD continues to seek opportunities to minimize health disparities in the Commonwealth. To accomplish this we collaborate with a broad panel of experts from the academic and research communities of VCU, as well as the Richmond Community.