Accelerate Precision Health (CZ1)

The Chan Zuckerberg Initiative (CZI) announced a partnership with the nation’s four Historically Black Medical Colleges (HBMCs) to further support the cutting-edge scientific research they are leading to address significant gaps in genomics research, create new tools and methods to prevent and treat disease, and accelerate precision health for everyone, particularly Black people and other people of color. 

The Accelerate Precision Health program will award $46 million total in funding, or $11.5 million per institution over the next five years. Through the partnership, the HBMCs will expand research opportunities for undergraduate, graduate, and post-doctoral students; support the creation of a new Master of Science program in Genetic Counseling; support recruitment of anchor faculty in genomics; and fund state-of-the-art tools for data handling, storage, and analysis, among other elements.

Under this Partnership with Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, Meharry Medical College is funded to provide a five-year package of support for two senior faculty recruits (anchor/magnet recruits), one with a focus on clinical/translational research employing genomics to understand and treat diseases, and one that is a basic scientist, utilizing genomic discoveries to understand disease pathogenesis. In both cases, emphasis will be placed on individuals committed to focusing on diseases that disproportionately impact minority populations, and to training future generations of clinician-scientists and basic scientists from underrepresented populations.