Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. is often quoted as saying, “Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter.” Having served as the NIMHD director for almost three years, I am able to view our Institute from a unique lens. What I see is a modest but mighty force uniting the vision to advance minority health, reduce health disparities, and promote health equity through scientific discovery.

Strengthening our Division of Intramural Research is a priority focus for us. We recently added two new tenure-track investigators with experience and potential. Their background and years of work with disparities populations provide great opportunities for in-house minority health and health disparities science.

On July 23–27, we hosted the Health Disparities Research Institute (HDRI) on the main campus of NIH. Fifty selected scholars heard from several prominent presenters who covered topics such as sexual and gender minority health research at NIH, what works for reducing health disparities, and the role of big data and augmented intelligence in addressing health disparities. HDRI also included meetings with NIH program officials, mock grant reviews which the scholars seemed to especially appreciate, and an opportunity for scholars to network among themselves.  

And finally, in remembrance of the Honorable Margaret M. Heckler, who played a major role in the publication of the Heckler Report, which prompted action in the area of minority health that eventually led to NIMHD, I offer a special message.

We remain steadfast and will not become silent, for health equity matters! 

NIMHD’s Scientific Advancement Plan is a transformative agenda that champions the fields of minority health and health disparities research. Its purpose is to contribute to the scientific advances that are improving public health. Research in precision medicine, genomics, and health information technology, for example, holds promise for more effective chronic disease management, treatment and personalized prevention measures that will improve health outcomes. Read more.

Rwanda is among the world’s poorest countries and has been recovering from the 1994 genocide in which about 800,000 people, mostly of the Tutsi minority, were killed. Over the past two decades, Rwanda has introduced universal health care, and life expectancy has greatly improved. The country continues to modernize. With a growing economy, however, Rwanda is also facing Western health problems...Read more.

From a young age, growing up in rural northern Wisconsin and the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, Amy Kind, M.D., Ph.D., witnessed and understood how a person’s environment can influence their health—for better or for worse.

“I grew up in areas in which socioeconomic disadvantage was, and still is, commonplace,” Dr. Kind says. “The impact of poverty on health is profound.” Read more.

Faustine Williams, Ph.D., M.P.H., M.S., comes to NIMHD as a trained transdisciplinary researcher with a focus on cancer prevention and control and health disparities. Her recent research aims at improving breast cancer outcomes in rural Appalachia. 

 Sherine El-Toukhy, Ph.D., M.A., returns to NIMHD with a research focus on reducing health disparities through technologies-based public health interventions. She has a multi-disciplinary theoretical and methodological training in communication, psychology, and public health. She is also experienced in epidemiological and clinical research. 

Are you or a colleague looking for lay-friendly health-related materials in languages other than English? We’ve added three health topics to our Language Access Portal (LAP), which now covers nine topics (cancer, cardiovascular disease, dementia, diabetes, HIV/AIDS, immunizations, infant mortality, mental health, and substance abuse) in multiple languages. All materials were produced by NIH and other federal agencies. Visit the Language Access Portal.

NIMHD honors the Honorable Margaret M. Heckler, former Congresswoman (R-MA), Secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, and U.S. Ambassador to Ireland, who passed away on Monday, August 6, at the age of 87. Lauded as a champion for her commitment and dedication to addressing the dire health status of the nation’s minority populations, Ms. Heckler commissioned a task force to report on the state of health of Blacks and minorities. Read more.

In observance of National Minority Mental Health Month, NIMHD hosted a Twitter #MinorityMH chat on July 26 with Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc., the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Minority Health, and the Food and Drug Administration Office of Minority Health. Researchers, community organizations, and other public health professionals joined the chat to discuss current issues and opportunities to improve minority mental health. Read highlights of the discussion.

NIMHD has partnered with the Asian Pacific American Officers Committee (APAOC)’s Healthy Mind Initiative to increase awareness of mental health, reduce stigma, and encourage Asian American/Pacific Islander (AAPI) parents and youth to seek help when needed. The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration provided the first Train-the-Trainer session to U.S. Public Health Service officers, collaborators, and partners of the initiative on June 15. Read more.

The NIH Science, Health, and Public Trust section published a blog post by Dr. Eliseo J. Pérez-Stable, director of NIMHD, on June 27: Until recently, researchers assumed that what they learned about White male participants could be safely applied to anybody, regardless of gender, race, ethnicity or other variables. We now know that this isn’t true. When you’re communicating about research results, it’s vital not only to explain how a study was done, but who was being studied. Read more.

NIMHD held its annual Health Disparities Research Institute (HDRI) July 23–27, 2018, in Bethesda, Maryland. As in previous years, the selection process was very competitive, with nearly 300 applications received from early-stage investigators. Fifty scholars from 24 U.S. states, the District of Columbia, and one U.S. territory were accepted to HDRI. Selected scholars shared one common attribute: a strong commitment and desire to build a research career focused on minority health and health disparities research. Read more.

Asthma, one of the most common childhood illnesses and a leading cause of work and school absences, continues to cause symptoms for nearly 25 million Americans. As a board-certified allergist and immunologist, my most frequent patients were individuals with this adult and pediatric inflammatory, chronic lung disease of the airways. This inflammation causes repeated episodes of wheezing, breathlessness, chest tightness, and nighttime or early morning coughing. The prevalence of asthma, with marked disparities between various populations, continues to increase within the United States. Read more.