The Institute of Epidemiology & Health Services Research was established through a one-year grant from the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in July 2001 and is housed in the College of Public Service at the Jackson Medical Mall—Thad Cochran Center campus. The purpose of the Institute is to improve and to promote health and to reduce morbidity and disability associated with specified chronic diseases (e.g. Arthritis, Cancer, Osteoporosis, Chronic Back Conditions, Chronic Kidney Disease, Diabetes, Educational and Community-Based Programs, Heart Disease and Stroke, Nutrition and Overweight, Physical Activity and Fitness, and Tobacco Use). More broadly, the Institute is designed to address the pervasive and substantial disparities in health and health care in African-American residents of Mississippi. These disparities affect people of all ages and cause unnecessary suffering, disability and premature mortality. The Institute will seek to develop innovative methods to study and alleviate these public health problems facing African-Americans, serving as a model system for addressing such disparities in other locations in the United States.