The Maryland Center for Health Equity

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Center for Health Equity The University of Maryland Center for Health Equity (CHE) began its work in earnest this fall with the arrival of Dr. Stephen Thomas, Professor of Health Services Administration, as center director. He is joined by Dr. Sandra Quinn, Associate Dean for Public Health Initiatives and Professor of Family Science as senior associate director along with Dr. James Butler, Dr. Craig Fryer, and Dr. Mary Garza, all Assistant Professors in Behavioral and Community Health and associate directors in the new center. Together they represent the largest cluster hire in the history of the University of Maryland, College Park. The CHE is a designated TIER 3: Campuswide Research Initiative Program (CRI) charged with providing support for development of broad, multidisciplinary research initiatives that will position the university to become a national leader in elimination of racial and ethnic health disparities aimed toward achieving the nation’s Healthy People 2020 goal of health equity. The CHE is DGPLQLVWUDWLYHO\ KHDGTXDUWHUHG LQ WKH 63+¶V 2I¿FH RI WKH Dean. 'UV 7KRPDV DQG 4XLQQ EULQJ WZR VLJQL¿FDQW 1,+ JUDQWV to the Center for Health Equity. They are the Principal Investigators on Building Trust between Minorities and 5HVHDUFKHUV $ 1DWLRQDO %LRHWKLFV 5HVHDUFK ,QIUDVWUXFWXUH ,QLWLDWLYH JUDQW DZDUG 0 IXQGHG E\ WKH 2I¿FH RI WKH 1,+ 'LUHFWRU DQG WKH 1DWLRQDO ,QVWLWXWH RQ 0LQRULW\ +HDOWK DQG +HDOWK 'LVSDULWLHV 1,0+' $GGLWLRQDOO\ Dr. Thomas (PI) and Dr. Quinn (coPI) bring the Comprehensive Research Center of Excellence in Minority Health Disparities grant award ($2.2M), also funded by the 1,+1,0+' 7KHVH WZR JUDQWV SURYLGH LQLWLDO VXSSRUW IRU D VFLHQWL¿FDOO\ VRXQG IRXQGDWLRQ WR FRQWLQXH WKHLU community engagement and research activities locally and across the nation. Drs. Thomas and Quinn also bring their commitment and expertise in training postdoctoral fellows and faculty committed to academic careers in minority health and health disparity research. In addition to serving as coinvestigators on the two grant awards above, Drs. Fryer and Garza are each recipients of new Mentored Research Career Development Awards to 3URPRWH )DFXOW\ 'LYHUVLW\ . IURP WKH 1,+1DWLRQDO Cancer Institute. Dr. Fryer’s new 5year K01 award, HQWLWOHG &RUUHODWHV RI 1LFRWLQH 'HSHQGHQFH DPRQJ 8UEDQ African American Youth, examines critical social, cultural, and environmental factors of addiction and symptoms of withdrawal among urban smokers utilizing mixed methods research. Dr. Garza begins her new three year KO1 award entitled African Americans and Colorectal Cancer: Risks and Screening in Urban Populations with a focus on understanding individual level factors and neighborhood level factors using multilevel modeling techniques. Dr. %XWOHU EHJLQV \HDU WZR RI KLV ¿YH \HDU . DZDUG WLWOHG ³$VVHVVLQJ 3V\FKRVRFLDO )DFWRUV ,QÀXHQFLQJ &LJDUHWWH Smoking Among African American Public Housing Residents with a focus on understanding contextual factors (physical and cultural) driving tobacco related health disparities in this population. 7KH WKHRUHWLFDO DQG VFLHQWL¿F WKUXVW RI WKH QHZ FHQWHU is described in a forthcoming article, Toward a Fourth Generation of Health Disparities Research to Achieve Health Equity, scheduled for 2011 publication in the SUHVWLJLRXV $QQXDO 5HYLHZ RI 3XEOLF +HDOWK :LWK RI¿FHV RQ WKH WKLUG ÀRRU RI WKH 6FKRRO RI 3XEOLF +HDOWK VWLOO XQGHU construction, Dr. Thomas hopes to host an open house in late January or early February to welcome the university community to the CHE and for the CHE leadership team to express their thanks and appreciation for the warm Terp welcome they have received since arriving on campus. Spring 2011 University of Maryland, College Park School of Public Health

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Center story from School of Public Health magazine

Transcript of The Maryland Center for Health Equity

Center  

for  

Health  

Equity  

The  University  of  Maryland  Center  for  Health  Equity  (CHE)  began  its  work  in  earnest  this  fall  with  the  arrival  of  Dr.  Stephen  Thomas,  Professor  of  Health  Services  Administration,  as  center  director.    He  is  joined  by  Dr.  Sandra  Quinn,  Associate  Dean  for  Public  Health  Initiatives  and  Professor  of  Family  Science  as  senior  associate  director  along  with  Dr.  James  Butler,  Dr.  Craig  Fryer,  and  Dr.  Mary  Garza,  all  Assistant  Professors  in  Behavioral  and  Community  Health  and  associate  directors  in  the  new  center.  Together  they  represent  the  largest  cluster  hire  in  the  history  of  the  University  of  Maryland,  College  Park.

The  CHE  is  a  designated  TIER  3:  Campus-­wide  Research  Initiative  Program  (CRI)  charged  with  providing  support  for  development  of  broad,  multidisciplinary  research  initiatives  that  will  position  the  university  to  become  a  national  leader  in  elimination  of  racial  and  ethnic  health  disparities  aimed  toward  achieving  the  nation’s  Healthy  People  2020  goal  of  health  equity.      The  CHE  is  

Dean.  

to  the  Center  for  Health  Equity.    They  are  the  Principal  Investigators  on  Building  Trust  between  Minorities  and  

Dr.  Thomas  (PI)  and  Dr.  Quinn  (co-­PI)  bring  the  Comprehensive  Research  Center  of  Excellence  in  Minority  Health  Disparities  grant  award  ($2.2M),  also  funded  by  the  

community  engagement  and  research  activities  locally  and  across  the  nation.    Drs.  Thomas  and  Quinn  also  bring  their  

commitment  and  expertise  in  training  post-­doctoral  fellows  and  faculty  committed  to  academic  careers  in  minority  health  and  health  disparity  research.

In  addition  to  serving  as  co-­investigators  on  the  two  grant  awards  above,  Drs.  Fryer  and  Garza  are  each  recipients  of  new  Mentored  Research  Career  Development  Awards  to  

Cancer  Institute.    Dr.  Fryer’s  new  5-­year  K01  award,  

African  American  Youth,  examines  critical  social,  cultural,  and  environmental  factors  of  addiction  and  symptoms  of  withdrawal  among  urban  smokers  utilizing  mixed  methods  research.  Dr.  Garza  begins  her  new  three  year  KO1  award  entitled  African  Americans  and  Colorectal  Cancer:    Risks  and  Screening  in  Urban  Populations  with  a  focus  on  understanding  individual  level  factors  and  neighborhood  level  factors  using  multilevel  modeling  techniques.  Dr.  

Smoking  Among  African  American  Public  Housing  Residents  with  a  focus  on  understanding  contextual  factors  (physical  and  cultural)  driving  tobacco  related  health  disparities  in  this  population.

is  described  in  a  forthcoming  article,  Toward  a  Fourth  Generation  of  Health  Disparities  Research  to  Achieve  Health  Equity,  scheduled  for  2011  publication  in  the  

construction,  Dr.  Thomas  hopes  to  host  an  open  house  in  late  January  or  early  February  to  welcome  the  university  community  to  the  CHE  and  for  the  CHE  leadership  team  to  express  their  thanks  and  appreciation  for  the  warm  Terp  welcome  they  have  received  since  arriving  on  campus.

Spring  2011University  of  Maryland,  College  Park  School  of  Public  Health