Funding for four new research projects was announced by the Center for Healthy African American Men through Partnerships (CHAAMPS), the groundbreaking research collaborative dedicated to the unique health issues of African American men.
This transdisciplinary collaborative is based out of the University of Alabama at Birmingham and the University of Minnesota in partnership with the National USA Foundation, Inc. , 100 Black Men of America, Inc., and the National Football League to develop, implement, and evaluate interventions to improve African American men’s health.
At a recent CHAAMPS national conference in Birmingham, Alabama, participants discussed health and community issues related to the unique health issues of the African American male community. Typically, African American men’s health research focuses on disease risk factors. A comprehensive interventional approach to addressing these health issues has largely been ignored, until now. CHAAMPS researchers are investigating all the factors - socioeconomic, behavioral, and biological - that drive and sustain the pronounced disparities in Black men, in such areas as unintentional and violence-related injuries, cardiovascular disease, prostate and other cancers, diabetes, and stroke. Leading the CHAAMPS research efforts are principal investigators Selwyn Vickers, MD, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Badrinath Konety, MD, MBA, University of Minnesota, and James M. Shikany, DrPH, University of Alabama at Birmingham.
Funding for four new CHAAMPS research projects was announced at the conference, bringing the total to seven research projects funded since the initiation of CHAAMPS. The following principal investigators will lead the new pilot projects:
Anne Zinski, PhD, Assistant Professor, University of Alabama at Birmingham
Characterizing Healthcare Utilization in Black Males to Improve HCV Outcomes
Kylee Funk, PharmD, Assistant Professor, University of Minnesota
Improving Diabetes Medication Management through Face to Face and Social Media Support Among African American Men
Ruth A. Lindquist, PhD, Professor, University of Minnesota
Developing and Testing a New Model to Reduce Risks for Heart Disease and Stroke
Mohammad Saleem Bhat, PhD, Assistant Professor, University of Minnesota
Novel Biomarker that Discriminates Indolent from Aggressive Phenotype in AA Men
Current CHAAMPS pilot projects underway include the following:
Larrell Wilkinson, PhD, Assistant Professor, University of Alabama at Birmingham
Healthy Eating, Activity & Resting Together (HEART) Matters
Nicole Redmond, MD, Assistant Professor School of Medicine, University of Alabama at Birmingham
Understanding Hypertension among Black Men in a Faith Based Setting
Christopher Warlick, MD, Assistant Professor, University of Minnesota
Evaluation of the CCP Score Risk-stratification Tool in African American Men
CHAAMPS is made possible through NIH grant U54MD008620.
About UAB Minority Health & Health Disparities Research Center:
In 2002, the UAB MHRC was established as a comprehensive research, training, and outreach center focused on reducing health differences resulting from social, economic, or environmental disadvantage in underserved populations locally, regionally, and nationally. By aligning research, training and community outreach, the MHRC advances scientific knowledge about the root causes of health inequalities and delivers real-world solutions to vulnerable communities. The MHRC is a University-Wide Interdisciplinary Research Center and a designated Center of Excellence in Health Disparities Research by the National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities at the National Institutes of Health. For more information, visit www.uab.edu/MHRC.