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Several educational institutions throughout the country have been dedicated to advancing research surrounding racial health disparities. Tuskegee University in Alabama is one of the latest schools to receive a multi-million-dollar grant that will go towards exploring why African Americans are affected by diseases at a higher rate than individuals from other racial backgrounds, WSFA reported.

The $8.5 million grant, which was given to the institution by the National Institutes of Health, will help fund health education programs hosted in local communities that can potentially prevent African-Americans from being affected by diseases like HIV and obesity, the news outlet writes.

The university plans on teaming up with local leaders to spread awareness about diseases that disproportionately impact African-Americans and find solutions to overcoming these disparities. According to the news outlet, one of the primary focuses of the research will be prostate cancer; a disease in which rates amongst Black men are two-thirds higher than white men.

“Through this NIH-funded research, we will gain a better understanding of the health differences that exist among various races and sub-populations,” professor and director of the Center for Biomedical Research, Dr. Clayton Yates told WSFA. “This in turn will enable physicians in the future to have a better understanding of which therapies will be more effective among minorities, as well as who the most vulnerable and underserved segments of our population are.”

Tuskegee University’s grant comes months after North Carolina Central University received $16.3 million to study health issues that affect African Americans. The grant, which was a part of $122 million that was allocated to seven historically Black colleges and universities by the National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities, was the largest non-Title III grant received by NCCU. It went towards the creation of a new research center that explores cardiometabolic disease, obesity, and breast cancer among African Americans.

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North Carolina Central University Receives $16.3M To Fight Racial Health Disparities

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