Press Release

For Immediate Release

Contact:
Susan Preston
UMDNJ
973-972-7265

Ellen Wayman-Gordon
NJCU
201-200-3426

A $1.2 Million Grant from NIH Will Fund an Initiative by Three Institutions
To Establish a Center of Excellence in Health Disparities in New Jersey

2/23/05—The National Institutes of Health has awarded a $1.2 million grant to the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey (UMDNJ) to develop a Center of Excellence in Health Disparities in New Jersey.

The announcement was made today (Feb. 23) by Congressman Robert Menendez (D-N.J.) at a news conference hosted by New Jersey City University, whose faculty is collaborating with UMDNJ and The Cancer Institute of New Jersey, on the initiative.

Entitled "Addressing Cancer Disparities in New Jersey Communities,"the project will focus on the development of resources and infrastructure for cancer research, training, community education and outreach to minority communities. The grant, awarded by the NIH's National Center on Minority Health and Health Disparities, provides funding for three years to develop the resources and infrastructure required for consideration by the NIH as a Center of Excellence.

Congressman Menendez said, "This grant is a significant step in addressing health disparities among minority populations in our state. New Jersey is the most racially and ethnically diverse state in the nation and is consistently ranked among the top ten states in the nation with the highest cancer morbidity and mortality among minority populations."

Also in attendance at the news conference were U.S. Senator Jon S. Corzine (D-N.J.) and Steven Rothman (D-N.J.).

Senator Corzine said, "I applaud UMDNJ and NJCU for their hard work to secure this critical grant to reduce the gross disparities in cancer detection, treatment, and prevention that minorities in New Jersey face. New Jerseyans are extremely fortunate to have some of the best minds and hearts at these two institutions, working toward improving health care for those who have been underserved by our health care system. I look forward to not only supporting their efforts, but also taking an active role in furthering this cause."

Congressman Rothman said, "I'd like to commend UMDNJ and the New
Jersey City University for their hard work, their vision, and their commitment to develop a Center of Excellence for health disparities, with a focus on cancer, right here in New Jersey. New Jersey consistently has some of the highest cancer rates in the nation, and I was proud to help UMDNJ and NJCU obtain this important grant from the National Institutes of Health to develop the Center of Excellence."

Dr. Diane Brown, executive director of the Institute for the Elimination of Health Disparities at the UMDNJ-School of Public Health, will lead the effort, which is being called Project EXPORT. "We are delighted to have been selected for this prestigious award.

"Newark and Jersey City will be the initial focus of the program because both cities have a large and diverse African American and Latino populations. As the Center develops, other New Jersey communities will be included,"Dr. Brown said.

The goals of Project EXPORT are to build research capacity at UMDNJ and NJCU to conduct health disparities research designed to reduce cancer rates among minorities in New Jersey and to increase the participation of African-Americans, Latinos and other health disparity groups in biomedical and behavioral research as well as prevention and intervention activities.

Dr. John Grew, chairman of biology at New Jersey City University, said, "New Jersey City University is an urban institution that serves a diverse spectrum of individuals, many of whom belong to groups that experience higher rates of cancer incidence and mortality than the general population.

"Project EXPORT's goals are closely aligned with NJCU's mission of service to urban communities. It also affords NJCU the opportunity to strengthen its partnership with UMDNJ and provides opportunities for NJCU students and faculty to participate in meaningful outreach activities and research in the area of cancer disparities."

Dr. Ronald Morton Jr., director of urologic oncology at The Cancer Institute of New Jersey, said, " The broad long-term goal of the research undertaken by Project EXPORT is to understand the underlying causes that result in disparate cancer outcomes and develop interventions to alleviate them.

"The effort will include cancer epidemiology, behavioral health sciences and basic sciences as each potentially plays a role in resolving the dramatic disparity observed for cancer outcomes in New Jersey,"he said. Dr. Morton, who is also professor of surgery and chief of the Division of Urology at UMDNJ-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, will lead the research core of Project EXPORT.

Marcia Pinkett-Heller, associate professor of health sciences at New Jersey City University, will direct the community outreach and information dissemination of the program.

Dr. Brown cited the following statistics to support the critical need for developing this initiative:

• African-Americans of both genders have a higher mortality rate from cancer than Caucasians.
• Latinos have a higher incidence of multiple myeloma, and cancers of the stomach, cervix, liver and gall bladder, compared to the overall population.
• African-American men in New Jersey are two and one half Minority populations are less likely than the general population to access services for early screening, and the resulting later diagnosis leads to a less treatable stage of cancer.
  

--February 23, 2005