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

Fetuin-A Modulates Tumor Growth and Invasion in a Basal-like Triple Negative Breast Cancer Cell line, MDA-MB-468.
Divya B Kenchappa, Olga Korolkova, Nobelle Sakwe, Peace Odiase, Michael G Izban, Amos Sakwe, Josiah Ochieng

Demystifying Traumatic Experiences and Complex Effects in People with HIV and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder in Tennessee.
L Lauren Brown, Almariana J Acuña, Amna Osman, Lloyda B Williamson, Carolyn M Audet, Megan L Wilkins, Jessica M Sales, Samantha V Hill, Jill Foster, April C Pettit, Latrice C Pichon

Changes in the quality of life of adults with sickle cell disease following allogeneic stem cell transplantation: A mixed-methods, prospective cohort study.
Elisabeth Dovern, Sterre J A M Nijland, Annemarie M J Braamse, Maud M van Muilekom, Elisabeth M J Suijk, Gerianne M Hoogendoorn, Charlotte F J van Tuijn, Michael R DeBaun, Bart J Biemond, Lotte Haverman, Erfan Nur

Save a trip: Clinical outcomes of cardiac allografts recovered by local surgeons compared to recipient center surgeons.
Awab Ahmad, Timothy R Harris, Aaron Williams, Alexandra DeBose-Scarlett, Rubayet Kamal, Enock Atta Adjei, Hasan K Siddiqi, Chen Chia Wang, Mark Petrovic, Clifton D Keck, Shelley R Scholl, Ashish S Shah, Swaroop Bommareddi, Brian Lima, John M Trahanas

Unveiling the Molecular Crosstalk Between Periodontal and Cardiovascular Diseases: A Systematic Review.
Gunaraj Dhungana, Dollada Srisai, Chethan Sampath, Jeremiah Soliman, Regan M Kelly, Honar Y Saleh, Abdelrahman Sedik, Edilberto Raynes, Alexys Ferguson, Leela Subhashini Choudary Alluri, Pandu R Gangula

Cirrhosis Is an Independent Risk Factor for Mortality in Ischemic Stroke-A Nationwide Analysis.
Kayode E Ogunniyi, Habib Olatunji Alagbo, Oluwaremilekun Zeth Tolu-Akinnawo, Selimat Ibrahim, Oluwaseun Dorcas Adeleke, Arun Mahtani, Derek Fan Ugwendum, Indebir Padda, Meena Farid, Toluwalase Awoyemi