COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT CORE
ABOUT THE CORE
The Community Engagement Core (CEC) works with the HEALTH Center for Addictions Research and Cancer Prevention at the University of Houston (UH) to address community-identified health challenges by rapidly disseminating scientific breakthroughs and data-driven best practices that leverage sustainable and equitable partnerships with community stakeholders.
The Community Advisory Board (CAB) and Community Research Advisory Board (CRAB) are groups within the CEC comprising community stakeholders. These groups work with the HEALTH Center for Addictions Research and Cancer Prevention to strategically guide its focus and scope; provide community contribution to the design, execution, and dissemination of our sponsored research; and ensure that all of our communities have information and access to resources to promote lifelong health. The overall goal of the CEC is to develop and maintain strong community relationships and to advance the inclusion of our diverse community members in cutting-edge health research to address addictions and cancer disparities.
Resources provided by the CEC are directed toward both community members and HEALTH Center for Addictions Research and Cancer Prevention affiliated investigators. Available services and resources are broadly categorized within: (1) Project Design Expertise; (2) Project Execution Expertise; (3) Dissemination Expertise; and (4) Community Outreach.
See our “CEC one-pager” below to learn more about the services we offer to affiliated investigators and community stakeholders.
ABOUT THE CAB and CRAB
The Community Advisory Board (CAB) consists of prominent community leaders across various sectors in the greater Houston area. The CAB works closely with the HEALTH Center for Addictions Research and Cancer Prevention Administrative Core for strategic planning to ensure we are well-positioned to meet our diverse communities' needs in the areas of addiction research and cancer prevention. Click here to learn more about the CAB.
The Community Research Advisory Board (CRAB) encompasses a diverse group of community stakeholders, who are addiction advocates, cancer survivors/caregivers, or otherwise passionate about addressing unique health challenges that disproportionately burden community members. CRAB members serve as "community scientists," providing affiliated investigators with feedback about their research projects from conception (research question) and design through disseminating results.
The CRAB members receive training from the CEC regarding research ethics, design, execution, and the importance of confidentiality regarding research projects. Thereafter, CRAB members provide their knowledge, experience, and insights in the review of research projects to:
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ensure cultural appropriateness of the research questions, measures/assessments used;
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confirm relevance of the protocol to the best interests of the targeted community or communities;
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problem-solve issues and potential barriers pertaining to study design and implementation;
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optimize participant recruitment strategies and materials;
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optimize participant retention strategies; and/or
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ensure results and their implications are disseminated back to the communities in an understandable way.
The CRAB convenes two times monthly to meet with investigators. See our "CRAB one-pager" below for more information and visit our calendar to view upcoming meeting dates. Click here to learn more about the CRAB. Please note: We are currently updating our resource request system to provide new features and enhancements for improved convenience and service. If you have any questions or would like to contact us, please click here.
FAQs
Interested in learning more about the services from the CEC?
Please review our CEC one-pager, located below, for more information.
Interested in learning more about the services from the CRAB?
Please review the CRAB details form, located below.
Does your community or your agency have an upcoming event you would like us to attend? Are you seeking health promotion expertise and health screening services?
Please submit a service request here.
Does your community or your agency have specific training needs or need an expert speaker in addiction and cancer prevention?
Please submit a service request here.
Do you have other general questions not covered here?
Please send us a message by clicking here.
WANT TO GET INVOLVED?
Are you a community member who wants to volunteer for our community outreach activities?
Click here
Are you a community member or leader interested in serving on the CAB or CRAB?
Email HEALTHrcmi@central.uh.edu
Would you like to sign up to receive our newsletter to learn more about what we do?
CORE STAFF
Dr. LeChauncy D. Woodard
Director
LeChauncy Woodard, MD, MPH, is a general internist and Professor in the Department of Health Systems and Population Health Science at the University of Houston College of Medicine. She also serves as the Founding Director of the Humana Integrated Health Systems Sciences Institute, a partnership between the University of Houston and Humana, Inc. The institute’s goal is to advance the next generation of health professionals through interdisciplinary training focusing on social needs, risk factors, and determinants of health, and expanded use of value-based payment models. As a clinician-educator and health services researcher, Dr. Woodard has extensive interprofessional team-based care experience, quality improvement, and patient safety. Her research focuses on performance measurement and improving quality of care for chronically ill, multimorbid adults through team-based behavioral health interventions to enhance collaborative goal-setting. She is currently working to mitigate COVID-19 disparities as a collaborator in the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Community Engagement Alliance (CEAL) against COVID-19. For this Research Centers in Minority Institutions (RCMI) at UH, Dr. Woodard will utilize her clinical expertise to promote community health transformation and advance high-impact research dissemination efforts of the Center’s projects.
Shalalan Washington
Community Health Worker
Evan Coleman
Research Staff
Pablo Panta
Community Education & Outreach Coodinator
Dr. Damien Kelly
Community Education & Outreach Coordinator
Student Volunteers
The HEALTH Center for Addictions Research and Cancer Prevention seeks students from all levels interested in getting involved with the research projects we fund and the community-engaged outreach work that we do. Volunteers are accepted based on a competitive application and an interview. Evaluation criteria of student applications are availability, interests, and prior experience, as well as the goals, objectives, and needs of the RCMI at UH. We are particularly interested in recruiting and providing opportunities to students under-represented in the sciences (e.g., women, individuals with disabilities, and individuals from under-represented racial/ethnic groups).
Fall 2022-Spring 2023 Selectees
Taylor Jones
Taylor Jones is currently a junior at the University of Houston pursuing a B.S. in Biochemistry and a minor in Spanish. A passion of mine is to help bridge the gap in health equality. She is a member of Honors in Community Health and contributes to two projects; BREATHE and WEAR. Through these projects, she participates in building healthy. Her ultimate goal is to be a doctor who not only empowers patients but also diminishes the inequality gap in underserved populations to create quality care.
Carissa Timpf
Carissa Timpf is a senior at the University of Houston and will obtain her Bachelor of Science in Biology in Spring 2023. She has been a member of the Honors College since her first semester at the University of Houston and enjoys learning about both the scientific and ethical aspects of medicine through her Medicine and Society minor. Carissa is looking forward to following her passion for improving health equity by contributing her experience and knowledge as a part of the HEALTH-RCMI Student Volunteer Cadre.
Kim Nguyen
Kim is a third-year student at the University of Houston pursuing a B.S. in Biology and a minor in Psychology with aspirations to attend medical school. Currently, she is a research assistant at the UH Cognitive Development lab where I work with typically developing, atypically developing (Autism Spectrum Disorder and hard/non-hearing), and bilingual children. As a part of the HEALTH-RCMI Student Volunteer Cadre, she hopes to make an impact on health equity efforts through research initiatives and community engagement.
Hsiang Chi Lin
Hsiang Chi is currently working on her B.S. in Biology at the University of Houston. She completed her B.A. in Psychology with honors from Wichita State University. Hsiang Chi is also a proud Army veteran. Her research interests are substance abuse treatment, stigma and health care disparities in underserved communities. She plans to pursue a medical degree in the future.
