{"id":1922,"date":"2017-10-05T23:42:07","date_gmt":"2017-10-05T23:42:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nau.edu\/sherc\/?p=1922"},"modified":"2018-06-14T00:01:06","modified_gmt":"2018-06-14T00:01:06","slug":"funded-by-21-4-million-grant-new-nau-research-center-will-address-health-disparities-across-southwest","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/sherc\/funded-by-21-4-million-grant-new-nau-research-center-will-address-health-disparities-across-southwest\/","title":{"rendered":"Funded by $21.4 million grant, new NAU research center will address health disparities across Southwest"},"content":{"rendered":"

Kerry Bennett
\n<\/strong>Office of the Vice President for Research<\/i><\/p>\n

A region of vast expanses and unparalleled natural beauty, the southwestern United States is a land of harsh socioeconomic realities for many, especially for underserved Native American and Hispanic populations. The Southwest has some of the highest poverty rates in the country, some of the lowest rates of health care access and a widespread incidence of serious chronic diseases, infectious diseases and behavioral health problems.<\/p>\n

Health disparities\u2014defined by Healthy People 2020 as \u201ca particular type of health difference that is closely linked with social, economic and\/or environmental disadvantage\u201d\u2014are one of the most compelling social issues facing the region today, say researchers. Building on its long history of serving underrepresented populations in Arizona and beyond, Northern Arizona University has established a new research center underscoring its ongoing commitment to addressing these health disparities.<\/p>\n

Funded for the next five years through a $21.4 million grant from the National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities, NAU\u2019s Southwest Health Equity Research Collaborative (SHERC)\u00a0will focus on increasing the university\u2019s basic biomedical, clinical and behavioral research capacity to address health disparities among diverse populations of the region. Among the largest grants received at NAU, the SHERC grant will give NAU the ability to make significant strides in these areas.<\/p>\n

Professor\u00a0Julie Baldwin<\/strong>, director of the\u00a0Center for Community Health and Engaged Research\u00a0(CHER)<\/a>, and professor\u00a0Diane Stearns<\/strong>, associate vice president for research, will co-lead the collaborative center. SHERC, which will be housed within CHER, will offer researchers development opportunities that will help grow NAU\u2019s research capability in the health sciences.<\/p>\n

\u201cNAU has a strong commitment to groundbreaking research that can help people live better, healthier lives, and I\u2019m pleased the NIH recognized that commitment and the hard work of Dr. Baldwin and Dr. Stearns,\u201d NAU President\u00a0Rita Cheng\u00a0said. \u201cThese researchers are already making great strides in adding to the knowledge in their respective fields, and I\u2019m looking forward to the collaborations this funding makes possible and how it will build on their already powerful results.\u201d<\/p>\n

NAU has always been dedicated to serving the community, so the new center is exciting, Stearns said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere are so many different factors causing health disparities in the Southwest, including socioeconomic factors, environmental exposures, access to care and cultural components of lifestyle choices,\u201d she said. \u201cThis new initiative will give us the resources we need to find useful solutions to these problems.\u201d<\/p>\n

Stearns credited President Cheng\u2019s efforts to recruit research-intensive faculty with NAU\u2019s successful bid for the multimillion-dollar grant. Since arriving at NAU in 2014, the president has supported an initiative to identify and recruit high-impact, nationally known scholars in ecosystem and climate science, environmental health, health equity, cybersecurity and advanced materials.<\/p>\n

\u201cBringing Julie Baldwin to NAU\u2014as well as her colleagues, professor\u00a0Nicolette Teufel-Shone<\/strong>\u00a0and associate professor\u00a0Samantha Sabo<\/strong>\u2014made us competitive for this grant. It demonstrates how well Dr. Cheng\u2019s direction is paying off,\u201d Stearns said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are truly grateful to President Cheng for her strong institutional support of this center and for her vision to elevate health equity as a major research agenda at NAU,\u201d Baldwin added. \u201cWe are so fortunate to have such talented researchers at NAU, and dedicated community partners who are eager to work with us to attain the highest level of health for all people in our region.\u201d<\/p>\n

SHERC will be comprised of five cores directed by established researchers:<\/p>\n