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Headshots of Drs. Leigh Callahan, Melissa Gilkey, Stephanie Wheeler, Alison Brenner, and Rachel Hirschey.
(from left to right) Drs. Leigh Callahan, Melissa Gilkey, Stephanie Wheeler, Alison Brenner, and Rachel Hirschey

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has awarded Special Interest Project (SIP) grants to three projects led by HPDP researchers. The SIP-funded projects seek to improve arthritis management, immunization services, and cancer prevention and control.

The SIP grant funding has provided support over the last 4 decades for researchers affiliated with the Center for Health Promotion and Disease Prevention (HPDP) to address a wide range health promotion topics, and this year is no exception. “We believe these grants will accelerate research into practice for our communities and beyond.” said HPDP Director, Dr. Alice Ammerman.

The CDC funds Special Interest Projects (SIPs) that address a topic of interest or a gap in scientific evidence in the field of prevention research. Because HPDP is a CDC Prevention Research Center (PRC), its researchers are eligible for SIP grants.


Arthritis Management & Wellbeing Research Network Coordinating Center & Collaborating Center

More than 53 million adults in the U.S. suffer from arthritis. There are various strategies to manage arthritis, with the first-line treatments focusing on self-management activities such as physical activity and weight management. Yet many people with arthritis, especially Black, Latino, and rural populations, struggle to access arthritis management strategies and programs.

Across three PRCs, the Arthritis Management & Wellbeing Research Network (AMWRN) will establish a cohesive network of experts committed to sharing programmatic and scientific information, planning and conducting collaborative research and evaluation, translating research into practice, and widely disseminating findings. Dr. Leigh Callahan will serve as principal investigator of both the AWMRN Coordinating Center and UNC’s Collaborating Center, focused on testing and scaling a healthcare provider-driven intervention that promotes patient engagement with evidence-based arthritis interventions.

“The establishment of the AMWRN signifies the recognition by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention of the need for coordinated and collaborative research and broad dissemination of evidence-based solutions,” says Callahan. “Ultimately, we hope these efforts will improve the lives of adults with arthritis.”

Learn more about AMWRN.


Advancing Research in Immunization Services Network

Vaccination requirements for school attendance are vital for public health, but non-medical opt-outs have surged since the Covid-19 pandemic, leading to a drop in vaccination rates among kindergarteners and recent outbreaks of previously controlled diseases like measles. The new project, Advancing Research in Immunization Services Network (ARISe), seeks to address this urgent issue.

Dr. Melissa Gilkey received a SIP grant to participate with two other PRCs in the ARISe Network. Gilkey’s research project will partner with school communities in three states with below-average kindergarten vaccination rates to investigate the rising number of exemptions to required kindergarten vaccines. “Our team hopes to partner with parents and school staff to tackle this important public health issue,” says Gilkey. By first understanding barriers from parents and staff, the team will then develop and pilot school-based strategies to enhance vaccination coverage and reduce non-medical exemptions. Gilkey hopes that the findings of the project will “help improve vaccination rates among young children in these communities.”

Learn more about ARISe.


Cancer Prevention and Control Research Network (CPCRN)

For more than 20 years, the Cancer Prevention and Control Research Network (CPCRN) has been a national leader in developing community-engaged, evidence-based interventions that decrease the burden of cancer in diverse and medically underserved communities.

With this SIP grant, Dr. Stephanie Wheeler, professor of health policy and management, will continue her role as PI of the Coordinating Center, facilitating collaborations among eight PRC in the network. Dr. Alison Brenner, assistant professor of medicine, and Dr. Rachel Hirschey, assistant professor of nursing, will continue the CPCRN’s work to improve cancer prevention and control among Black, Latino, rural, and other medically underserved populations. The team will study factors that impact individuals’ and communities’ access to and implementation of behavioral interventions. They will then develop evidence-based environmental strategies and policy solutions to improve access to cancer-related care. “Our hope is that the strategies we develop ensure that care is equitable and accessible for all,” Hirschey adds.

Learn more about CPCRN.


Dr. Alice Ammerman, DrPH, is the director of HPDP and is the Mildred Kaufman Distinguished Professor in the department of nutrition in the UNC Gillings School for Global Public Health. Her research experience includes extensive cultural adaptation of nutrition and physical activity intervention materials and interventions at all levels of the socio-ecologic model.

Dr. Leigh Callahan, PhD, is the Mary Link Briggs Distinguished Professor of Medicine in the departments of social medicine and orthopaedics at the UNC School of Medicine, an adjunct professor in the department of epidemiology at UNC Gillings School for Global Public Health, and a research fellow at the Center for Health Promotion and Disease Prevention. Her research focuses on arthritis and public health outcomes.

Dr. Melissa B. Gilkey, PhD, is an associate professor of health behavior in the University of North Carolina’s Gillings School of Global Public Health and a research fellow at the Center for Health Promotion and Disease Prevention. Dr. Gilkey studies individual, interpersonal and organizational approaches to improving the delivery of adolescent vaccines, including human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine.

Dr. Stephanie Wheeler, PhD, MPH, is a Michael S. O’Malley distinguished professor at the University of North Carolina Gillings School of Public Health in the Department of Health Policy and Management. Dr. Wheeler is the associate director of community outreach and engagement for the Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center, the principal investigator for the Cancer Prevention and Control Research Network, and a research fellow at the Center for Health Promotion and Disease Prevention.

Dr. Alison Brenner, PhD, MPH, is a research assistant professor at the University of North Carolina School of Medicine in the Division of General Internal Medicine and Clinical Epidemiology. Dr. Brenner is the deputy director of the Carolina Cancer Screening Initiative, a multiple principal investigator for the Comprehensive Cancer Control Collaborative of North Carolina (4CNC), an associate member of the Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center, and a research fellow at the Sheps Center and the Center for Health Promotion and Disease Prevention.

 Dr. Rachel Hirschey, PhD, RN, is an assistant professor at the UNC School of Nursing, an associate member of the Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center, and a research fellow at the Center for Health Promotion and Disease Prevention. Her research program focuses on improving cancer outcomes and achieving health equity across populations.

 

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