Interdisciplinary Health Equity Research (IHER) Center

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Interdisciplinary Health Equity Research (IHER) Center Summary The COVID-19 pandemic put a spotlight on our nation’s stark disparities in health and the disproportional burden of disease related to race, ethnicity, and socioeconomic status. Delaware is an ideal state for a health disparities-focused research center as it represents the whole of the USA in a compact form. The population of Delaware (~978,000) mirrors the US population in ratios of urban-to-rural, old to young, and ethnic/racial diversity. Thus, studies involving a cross-section of Delaware are easily generalizable to the national population. In addition, Delaware is ranked 35th out of the 50 states for overall health outcomes, a low ranking that reflects high disparities in health status for low-income and minority populations. The urgency to address health disparities in Delaware is clear, and promoting health equity through a social determinants of health approach is a state priority. Delaware State University is well-positioned to lead that effort. DSU’s Interdisciplinary Health Equity Research Center has the overall goal to develop DSU as a leader in biomedical, behavioral and social research related to health conditions that have a disparate impact on underserved individuals and communities. The Center will build a supportive scientific community that brings together faculty investigating the social and behavioral determinants of health with faculty using biomedical approaches to investigate health conditions that have a disparate impact on underserved populations. The IHER Center will build a research-enabling infrastructure at DSU by: a) providing access to core facilities in biostatistics, qualitative methods, microscopy and electrophysiology; b) providing investigators working with human subjects support for managing the IRB process, and an infrastructure for secure collection, analysis and storage of human subject data; and c) immersing researchers in a supportive professional network. We will also build our IHER Center by recruiting two new faculty members with expertise in behavioral and social research related to health equity, and supporting them to work with other DSU scientists in interdisciplinary research teams. Through mentorship, career enhancement activities, and a Pilot Grant Program for early-stage investigators, our IHER Center will develop faculty at DSU into independent investigators who can successfully lead interdisciplinary research teams and compete for external funding DSU is currently engaged in robust initiatives to promote health equity, including DSU’s Center for Neighborhood Revitalization and Research, Health Disparities Center; and an NIH RADx-UP grant. Our IHER Center will leverage Delaware State University’s expanding human and research resources in biomedical research, our state-wide partnerships with other Delaware institutions and community based organizations, as well as the nationwide RCMI Translational Research Network to promote health equity, social awareness and economic development among local communities.