Center for Population Health Research

University Of Montana, Missoula MT

Investigators

Linked publications & trials

Abstract

Summary Overall, Center for Population Health Research Rural populations suffer disproportionately from several disease burden and risk factor exposures that adversely impact quality of life, but most health promotion and disease prevention strategies are developed and tested in urban settings. Montana is within the top five most rural states in the US and the most rural state in the West region, according to the proportion of total population residing in rural communities. The Center for Population Health Research (CPHR) was established to improve health outcomes and quality of life among rural and other vulnerable populations in our state. During initial years as a Center of Biomedical Research Excellence (COBRE), CPHR achieved substantial success by mentoring and supporting early stage investigators (ESIs) that went on to obtain substantial extramural grant funding, growing our critical mass of investigators through pilot project funding and new hires, and establishing robust research cores designed to meet the needs of our research team. Our overall objective with this Phase 2 COBRE application is to further strengthen our successful Center through continued development of ESIs that add to our critical mass of population health researchers and to further enhance our research support cores, altogether translating to a sustainable, impactful Center. To accomplish our overall objective for this Phase 2 COBRE we will pursue the following strategies. First, we will continue to identify, mentor, and develop ESIs that will include: (a) three continuing ESI research project leads (RPLs); (b) two new ESI RPLs; (c) a pipeline of Pilot Project Leads (PPLs); (d) new hires; and (e) the larger community of Montana investigators affiliating with CPHR and the culture of success that we foster. Second, we will continue to strengthen CPHR Cores by providing guidance, expertise, and innovative tools to support the Center long-term goal. The Administrative Core provides grant support, professional development and mentoring support, and a pilot projects program. The Data and Modeling (DM) Core provides biostatistical consulting, sensitive data curation, and high-performance computing. The Intervention Support (IS) Core provides support for community engagement and primary data collection, including participant recruitment, clinical measures, survey support, and qualitative methods. The two research support cores continue to build their user base, implement business plans, and add innovative features in Phase 2 that are driven by the needs of the growing pool of CPHR ESIs. Upon completion of the proposed Phase 2 COBRE, CPHR will have a growing number of extramurally-funded population health researchers in early, mid, and senior career phases. Collectively, these efforts will generate evidence-based strategies and tools to improve health outcomes in the state’s rural and vulnerable populations.