The proposed EXPORT Center is a partnership for excellence between South Carolina State University (SCSU) and the Medical University of South Carolina. Theme: The partnership focuses on the metabolic syndrome, a cluster of disorders, including hypertension, diabetes, lipid abnormalities and obesity, which have a strong impact on health disparities. Objectives: The partnership addresses the principal objectives of interest to NCMHD: 1. Promoting the conduct of research to reduce health disparities. The metabolic syndrome is a major contributor to health disparities and has its origin in unhealthy lifestyles established early in life. Our Center is focused on the metabolic syndrome and healthy lifestyles in youth and young adults. 2. Building research capacity for health disparities research in minority-serving institutions. This EXPORT Center proposes two distinct, inter-related areas of multi-disciplinary, inter-institutional collaboration. a. Community-based activities that integrate extramurally funded programs at SCSU and MUSC, using an Empowerment Model and community-based participatory research approach to leverage existing efforts to address health disparities at the grass-roots level (Outreach Core). b. Multi-disciplinary translational research on lifestyle change and the metabolic syndrome as well as the impact of behavioral, early developmental (birth weight), and genetic factors on the expression of the syndrome and responses to lifestyle change (Research Core). This activity will leverage efforts and build capacity through: i) Developing a new Clinical Research Unit at SCSU (Shared Facilities Core). ii) Capitalizing on numerous (up to 70) minority research supplements available for career development of faculty and students at SCSU and MUSC (Training Core, Pilot Research Core). 3. Promoting participation of health disparities groups in biomedical and behavioral research prevention and intervention activities. The teaching programs on the metabolic syndrome and healthy lifestyles (Education Core), as well as the community-based activities in the Outreach Core and translational research activities in the Research Core, all center on African American youth and young adults in the community and/or students at SCSU. 4. Foster broad and collaborative investigation that increases the effectiveness and impact of the individual components. Our EXPORT Center application addresses this important objective. The talent, commitment, and leadership of the two institutions, coordinated by the Administrative Core, are in place to realize the tremendous potential for reducing health disparities through an EXPORT Center led by SCSU and MUSC.
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