(JACKSON, Miss.) - Jackson State University is among eight institutions in the country that has been awarded funds to establish a national translational research network that will focus on addressing health disparities in minority and underserved communities.
The National Center for Research Resources, a part of the National Institutes of Health, has awarded a three-year, $9.5 million grant to establish the Research Centers in Minority Institutions Translational Research Network.
Jackson State, a network member institution, received nearly $5 million of the funds to establish a state-of-the-art Data and Technology Coordinating Center, or DTCC, at the Mississippi e-Center @ JSU. Jackson State will maintain the networks computer-based integration and communication system.
"The RCMI Translational Research Network represents a ground-breaking effort to integrate clinical, biomedical and behavioral researchers with others in the network who have interest and expertise in health policy and advocacy into a geographic and ethnically diverse research partnership," said James Perkins, co-principal of the network and director of the DTCC.
Perkins leads a team comprised of biostatisticians, clinical data managers, an IT technologist and a bioinformatics specialist who will be instrumental in the developmental success of the DTCC, which aims to:
- Establish a network to integrate clinical, biomedical and behavioral researchers with external communities in partnerships that improve the outcomes of key health areas;
- Generate translational research to create a system of clusters that link members in cyber workspaces to promote intellectual exchange and generate innovative inter- and multi-disciplinary research;
- Conduct multi-site research that facilitates and encourages translational approaches to prevention, diagnosis and treatment of diseases disproportionately affecting minority and underserved communities; and,
- Ensure DTCC can provide comprehensive and coordinated support data collection, management and analysis for each of the three major network platforms clinical and biomedical research and educational activities.
A stellar external panel and steering committee comprised of leading researchers serves as advisory panel for the innovative program. The principal investigator leading the network is Dr. Keith Norris, an expert in kidney disease at Charles Drew University in Los Angeles, Calif. In addition to Jackson State, other participating institutions are Morehouse School of Medicine in Atlanta; University of Hawaii; Hunter College in New York; University of Puerto Rico, Medical Sciences Campus; Meharry Medical College in Nashville, Tenn.; and Howard University in Washington, D.C.
For more information, contact James Perkins, director of Jackson State Universitys College of Science, Engineering and Technology Office of Research, at (601) 979-2024 or james.perkins@jsums.edu.
This publication is made possible by Grant Number U54RR022762 from the National Center for Research Resources), a component of the National Institutes of Health. Its contents are solely the responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official view of the NCRR or NIH.
