The end of a year creates an opportunity for reflection. Since our last issue was released, NIMHD has made significant strides toward advancement of our goals. I am excited to announce the appointment of Anna María Nápoles, Ph.D., M.P.H., as scientific director of the Division of Intramural Research. Her knowledge, expertise, and research experience in minority health and health disparities will establish a more robust Intramural Research Program.

Our new Scientific Advancement Plan (SAP) is now available for your viewing. The SAP outlines key activities supporting our vision to advance the science of minority health and health disparities. Under this plan, we are establishing a new research approach to enhance the conduct, evaluation, and reporting of research on minority health and health disparities. We are also refining existing programs while establishing new ones, including research and training programs and outreach efforts.

On December 7, we welcomed Ana V. Diez Roux, M.D., Ph.D., M.P.H., dean and Distinguished University Professor of Epidemiology at Drexel University, for the inaugural Health Disparities Seminar Series. Her talk, “Challenges and Opportunities in Health Disparities Research,” was well received by the audience. NIMHD will continue to sponsor forums to disseminate information on current issues related to minority health and health disparities research.

We must inspire the next generation of diverse researchers. That’s why we are working with other NIH Institutes to fund training and career development activities. These opportunities are outlined under our new Research Training web page. We will continue to provide support through career development awards (K01, K08, K23, and K99), individual fellowship grants, loan repayment programs, and mentorship endeavors like the Medical Research Scholars Program.

We have created a new online portal, called HDPulse, which will provide public health professionals and researchers the ability to obtain quick access to descriptive statistics, graphics, and maps. Navigating through the data portal is easy, and now you can view health disparities information collected from public health surveillance systems at the click of a button.

Staying connected through your engagement is important to us. We are continually updating our digital subscription service. To receive email updates on various topics of interest to you, please join our listserv. I hope you enjoy this issue. We are working hard to advance the science of minority health and health disparities.

Compared with other racial and ethnic groups, African American men have higher risks of developing prostate cancer, developing it at a younger age, and having a more aggressive form of the disease. What causes this disparity, and how can it be reduced? | Read more.

Culture plays a substantial role in reducing disparities among American Indian and Alaska Native (AI/AN) populations; experts acknowledge culture’s critical importance to intervention success and sustainability. Yet many questions remain about the mechanisms that produce this protective effect. For more than a decade, researchers at the Center for Alaska Native Health Research have been collaborating with Yup’ik communities to address challenges facing Alaskan youth. | Read more.

In the early 2000s, Northwest Tribes were concerned about the impact of motor vehicle–related injuries and deaths on their communities. The Northwest Tribal EpiCenter (NWTEC) confirmed a growing disparity in motor vehicle fatalities for American Indian children, with American Indians and Alaska Natives having the highest vehicle–related death rate of any group. | Read more.

Mental health problems can make people with diabetes sicker. Countless studies have shown that depression raises the risk of all sorts of bad outcomes in diabetes—from foot numbness to premature death. A new study supported by NIMHD found that stress management classes given by community health workers helped low-income Latino people with diabetes feel better, with fewer symptoms of depression and anxiety. And it wasn’t just their feelings that improved: The approach also helped participants control their blood sugar. | Read more.

Patients with kidney failure have two options to stay alive: a kidney transplant or lifelong dialysis. With dialysis, people spend hours hooked up to a machine that cleans their blood, which needs to be done several times a week. Most people do much better and live longer if they get a transplant—and it’s more cost-effective. | Read more.

Dr. Regina James recently participated in Howard University's Interdisciplinary Policy Symposium on addressing the opioid epidemic. As a panelist during the “Epidemiology, Precision Medicine, Treatment (Research) and Regulatory Prescriptions for OUD” discussion, Dr. James talked about the historical context of opioids from a demographic lens. View video at 39:20.

On Friday, December 8, the NIH Behavioral and Social Sciences Research Festival: Connecting People to Advance Health highlighted exciting research results, emerging areas, and innovations in health-related behavioral and social sciences research. NIMHD Director Dr. Eliseo Pérez-Stable gave plenary remarks on NIMHD perspectives on behavioral and social sciences research. View the videocast.

At the 19th Annual HHS SBIR/STTR Conference, “In the Heartland of BioHealth Innovation,” Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Vincent Thomas, M.S.W., M.P.A., organized two scientific sessions to highlight successful SBIR/STTR awards from NIMHD. Xinzhi Zhang, M.D., Ph.D., delivered a talk on opportunities for eliminating health disparities using SBIR/STTR programs and served as a panel member for SBIR/STTR grants mock review. Both Mr. Thomas and Dr. Zhang spoke with potential grantees and other interested parties during the one-on-one sessions.

Innovations in biomedical research hold great promise for improving our nation’s health. To help ensure that these advances benefit all populations equally, NIMHD has developed the Scientific Advancement Plan. This plan outlines the institute’s approach to champion the fields of minority health and health disparities research. NIMHD aims to both contribute to and benefit from these advances in the interest of health disparity populations and to foster the next generation of researchers to lead discoveries that will promote health equity.

On December 12, NIMHD unveiled a new online resource, HDPulse: An Ecosystem of Health Disparities and Minority Health Resources. HDPulse will consist of two easy-to-use portals: a data portal and an intervention portal (forthcoming in Fall 2018). The data portal will help public health professionals and researchers identify, track, and study issues related to health disparities, and the Intervention portal will offer evidence-based interventions to improve minority health and health disparities.  

NIMHD is sponsoring a Medical Care supplement, "Addressing Health Disparities through the Utilization of Health Information Technology" in the journal Medical Care. The Institute invites original research papers focused on health information technologies and the science of understanding and improving minority health and reducing health disparities are invited. Special consideration will be given to innovative interventions and implementation research in clinical settings or communities that use health information technology (IT) and/or novel methodology to reduce disparities and improve health outcomes.

On December 7, 2017, NIMHD welcomed Ana V. Diez Roux M.D., Ph.D., M.P.H., dean and Distinguished University Professor of Epidemiology in the Dornsife School of Public Health at Drexel University, as the inaugural NIMHD Director’s Seminar Series speaker. Dr. Diez Roux spoke on “Challenges and Opportunities in Health Disparities Research.” View the videocast.