Steve Sartino – Forge AHEAD Center

Inaugural Forge AHEAD Seminar – A Meaningful Start

Forge AHEAD kicked off the Center’s monthly seminar series on April 26, 2023 as twenty-one attendees from 3 states and multiple institutions gathered on Zoom for a presentation by Drs. Tina Kempin Reuter and Casey Herman. These two presenters shared the results of our their mixed-methods research on the Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic for family members and caregivers of people with disabilities and chronic diseases. The presentation included sobering feedback from the caregiver community and shed light on the needs of the high-risk population that feels unseen and underrepresented. The summary of Drs. Kempin Reuter and Herman inspired discussion of actionable points, the need for community partner input in research, and advocating for human rights as a motivator for change.

Thank you to our presenters and attendees for the meaningful hour together!

View the recording of the presentation below.

Forge AHEAD Center Requests Applications – 2023

Forge AHEAD (Advancing Health Equity Across the Deep South) Center is pleased to announce a new request for applications for its Pilot and Feasibility Scholars Program.

The Center is a collaboration between the University of Alabama at Birmingham, Tuskegee University, the University of Mississippi Medical Center, Pennington Biomedical Research Center and non-academic regional partners with funding from the National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities.

The Pilot and Feasibility Scholars Program was established to prepare and mentor investigators to develop innovative health equity research to understand and address contextual factors and social determinants of health that contribute to regional health disparities in cardiometabolic disease. Funding is available for up to 10 pilot awards per year. Designated funding is also available for up to 3 additional pilot awards focused specifically on disparities in cardiometabolic disease in people living with HIV. This program will provide seed support for research projects focused on stakeholder-engaged intervention development, clinical outcomes, implementation and dissemination (T3) and outcomes and effectiveness in populations (T4). Letters of intent are due April 25, 2023, and detailed instructions can be found in the RFA document. Please reach out to Dr. Trudi Horton at trudihorton@uabmc.edu if you have questions or would like additional information.

Click here to see the projects funded in previous cohort(s).