Welcome To The Center On Health Disparities
As you navigate our site, we hope you gain a better understanding of health disparities and how the initiatives developed by the Center are helping to eliminate inequities in health care.
We appreciate your interest, and we urge you to take an active role alongside us in eliminating health disparities throughout the Commonwealth of Virginia. Click here to participate in our community engagement survey, and/or click here to join our MATCH volunteer program.
Center News
VCU Massey returns to the White House today for Minority Health Forum
Today, VCU Massey Comprehensive Cancer Center along with health leaders, advocates, physicians, researchers and administration officials will meet at the White House Minority Health Forum in recognition of April as National Minority Health Month, to highlight progress and challenges, and bridge connections from the federal level and private sector to improve health outcomes and reduce health inequities.
Portions of the forum will be livestreamed on the White House YouTube channel from 11:30 a.m.-12:45 p.m. ET, including the presentation, Access to Care & Social Drivers of Health, where Massey director and Lipman Chair in Oncology, Robert A. Winn, M.D. is a panelist. Please tune in!
Massey will also participate in impactful conversations to spur action and models across all sectors during closed breakout sessions, where:
- Winn will be participating in the session, Addressing Cancer Disparities from Screening to Survivorship.
- Katherine Tossas, Ph.D., M.S., Massey director of Catchment Area Data Analytics, will participate in the session, Making Innovation & Research Work for Everyone.
Additional sessions include discussions on public health, access to care and social drivers of health, and community driven solutions to local structural and environmental drivers of disparities.
In 2022, Massey reignited its role in the Cancer Moonshot program under the Biden Administration, with Winn participating in talks at the White House with oncology and health leaders across the U.S.
2024 Summer Immersion Scholars Program
VCU's newly formed School of Population Health (SPH), led by Interim Dean Vanessa B. Sheppard in partnership with the VCU Center on Health Disparities (CoHD) is excited to host its 2nd Annual inaugural Summer Immersion Scholars Program Week June 24 – 28, 2024. During this week-long event the scholars will be introduced to the exciting world of population health through lectures, experiential learning and hands-on activities. The purpose of this program is to provide students interested in population health with interactions designed to develop an understanding of the role population health plays in ensuring all people have equitable capacity for health. Dr. Vanessa B. Sheppard (SPH), Dr. Marcie S. Wright (CoHD) and Ms. Alisa Brewer (CoHD) will lead the charge for the week. Please save the date and share this information with any undergraduate scholars who may be interested. For more information contact cohdresearch@vcuhealth.org.
"A budding scientist goes to Washington"
VCU PREP Alumni Stanley Cheatham recently gave an excellent interview with VCU News. Cheatham is 1 of 10 graduate students nationwide to be named a 2023 Washington Fellow by the American Society of Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics (ASPET). Click the link to read in full https://medschool.vcu.edu/news/stories/a-budding-scientist-goes-to-washington/ Congratulations Stanley!
NIH Recognizes Award-Winning Safety Training videos developed by Virginia Commonwealth University’s Center on Health Disparities
Congratulations Dr. Rita Shiang, subject-expert Larry Mendoza and team for developing a top tier training series designed to educate and prepare future scholars in laboratory safety practices. Click the link to view the full article.
Changing the Face of Science
The future of biomedical research depends on a diverse pool of well-trained scientists. Yet there is a clear disparity in the number of underrepresented individuals who become biomedical researchers.
Through our programs and community partnerships, the VCU Center on Health Disparities (CoHD) addresses this issue by identifying, preparing and nurturing underrepresented scholars for highly competitive doctoral programs and research careers in the biomedical sciences. Click on the link to see how we are Changing the Face of Science
Congratulations VCU CoHD Scholars and Alumni
As a student-athlete on a track and field scholarship, Karah Moore never had the chance as an undergraduate to study abroad, something she always wanted to do. But as she graduates from Virginia Commonwealth University, the standout runner might be on the right track.
Click Here to Read the Full Article
By day, Mychal Smith stands at the front of a Virginia Commonwealth University chemistry classroom, teaching his students about enzymology and biophysical techniques. By night, he focuses on more physical pursuits, lifting the heaviest objects he can find.