Community Engagement Core

The Meharry Community Engagement Core connects community members and organizations with Meharry researchers to conduct research and share results that will improve health for communities that experience the poorest health outcomes.

Vision

To eradicate health and healthcare disparities through long-term, collaborative, mutually beneficial community/academic research partnership.

Mission

The mission of the Meharry Community Engagement Core is to “combine the passion, knowledge, and skills of community partners and academic researchers to carry out research, share research results, and put into practice research findings that advance health equity and improve health for communities that experience the poorest health outcomes.”

Apart from efforts to increase community capacity to engage in research and partner with them in advancing their own health-related priorities, the Community Engagement Core provides direct support to Meharry researchers, including:

  1. providing community-engaged research training;
  2. identifying and facilitating collaborators with various community members, such as community-based organizations;
  3. identifying potential research study participants; and;
  4. providing assistance for sharing research study results beyond traditional academic venues.

A Community Advisory Board, including representatives form health advocacy, health equity, and faith-based organizations, provides guidance to the Community Engagement Core and serves as one avenue for researchers to get community feedback about their research and explore potential community-academic research partnerships.

Resources

  • Consultations for researcher and community members/organizations
  • Partnerships with more than 100 community members and organizations
  • Community Advisory Board
  • Training modules for researchers and community member
  • Research Volunteer Database
  • Community Engagement Studios
  • Community/Academic partnership development support
  • Lay Research Dissemination Procedures and Methods

For any inquires contact, Community Engagement Core Director, Stephania Miller-Hughes PhD MS, smiller@mmc.edu or Co-Director, Leah Alexander PhD MPH, lalexander@mmc.edu or Program Manager, Mariah Chambers MHA, mchambers@mmc.edu

Partnership Opportunities

To learn more about the Community Engagement Core, visit their website below.

Community Engagement Core Publications

Risk perception and mpox vaccine acceptability among people living with HIV in northern Nigeria.
Zubairu Iliyasu, Aminatu A Kwaku, Nafisa S Nass, Amina A Umar, Taiwo G Amole, Hadiza M Abdullahi, Fatimah I Tsiga-Ahmed, Abubakar M Jibo, Brittany R Fontana, Hamisu M Salihu, Muktar H Aliyu

Enhancing Data Science and Genomics Capacity of a Historically Black Medical College Through Interdisciplinary Training and Research Collaborations.
Qingguo Wang, Vibhuti Gupta, Aize Cao, Pandu Gangula, Hua Xie, Rajbir Singh, Todd Gary, Samuel E Adunyah, Aramandla Ramesh, Anil Shanker

The impact of persistent organic pollutants on fertility: exposure to the environmental toxicant 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin alters reproductive tract immune responses.
Victoria R Stephens, Kensley B Horner, Walter M Avila, Sabrina K Spicer, Riya Chinni, Emily B Bernabe, Antentor O Hinton, Steven M Damo, Alison J Eastman, Monique M McCallister, Kevin G Osteen, Jennifer A Gaddy

Presentation, management, and outcome of traumatic spine injuries in Africa: a systematic review and meta-analysis.
Kwadwo Darko, Ishav Shukla, Taimur Hassan, Mohammad Mirahmadi Eraghi, Muhammad Ammar Haider, Mina Guirguis, Michael Farid, Peace Odiase, Umaru Barrie, Salah G Aoun, Mabel Banson, Teddy Totimeh

Cannabis Use and Trajectories of Depression and Stress Across the Prenatal Period.
Anna Constantino-Pettit, Rebecca Tillman, Jillian Wilson, Nicole Lashley-Simms, Naazanene Vatan, Azaria Atkinson, Shelby D Leverett, Shannon Lenze, Christopher D Smyser, Ryan Bogdan, Cynthia Rogers, Arpana Agrawal

The Role of Fetuin-A in Tumor Cell Growth, Prognosis, and Dissemination.
Peace Odiase, Jonathan Ma, Sruthi Ranganathan, Olugbemiga Ogunkua, Winston B Turner, Dana Marshall, Josiah Ochieng