RESEARCH CORE

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The MHDRC Research Core will increase scientific knowledge and awareness about minority health and health disparities in chronic disease, specifically in cancer screening and diabetes. The research and pilot projects funded under this Core will concentrate on understanding the mechanisms underlying these health disparities, and on developing and testing interventions to reduce, and ultimately eliminate, them. Specifically, the RC will: 1) oversee the conduct of three fully developed research projects; 2) implement a pilot project program, 3) assist MHDRC investigators in the development and submission of new research projects for extramural funding, and 4) integrate multiple UAB sources of expertise pertinent to minority health and health disparities research with the MHDRC and the over 220 Faculty forming its research base, for intellectual collaboration and continued research. Catarina Kiefe, MD, PhD and Jamy Ard, MD, MPH will lead the Research Core. Experience from our current Project EXPORT (RESPECT) has produced notable findings, particularly in colorectal cancer screening and diabetes, and has provided a foundation for an extremely successful community-based intervention. Thus, the research and pilot projects within the MHDRC Research Core will be based on this foundation. The first research project, "Ancestral Genetic Admixture and the Metabolic Syndrome", is an observational study that will investigate the impact of European and African genetic admixture on the insulin resistance trait cluster. The second project, "Communication Training for Minority Patients: A Way to Improve Outcomes?", is a randomized controlled trial of ambulatory, low-income minority patients with diabetes and hypertension, testing whether a theory-grounded intervention to teach patients effective communication with physicians will improve glycemic and blood pressure control. The third research project, "A Church-Based Intervention to Increase Cancer Screening", uses a quasi-experimental design to evaluate a multi-component intervention to promote breast, cervical, and colorectal cancer screening in African American women over 50. Finally, the initial pilot project, "The Role of UCP3 in Fat Oxidation in African American (AA) women", is a gene sequencing project that will contribute to the understanding of racial differences in obesity and diabetes. Additional pilot projects will be funded through combined MHDRC and philanthropic funds to attain a "steady state" of 3 pilot projects at all times.