Today, the CUNY School of Medicine announced that it was awarded $19.3 million from the National Institutes of Health, the University’s largest-ever National Institutes of Health (NIH) grant, to create a health equity center.

The New York Center for Minority Health, Equity, and Social Justice, to be led by the CUNY School of Medicine and anchored on its Harlem campus, will address health disparities through scientific research and outreach in Harlem and the South Bronx where deep health disparities persist. It is the federal agency’s first center in New York dedicated exclusively to this work, which will be focused on racial and ethnic health disparities and increasing the number of minorities participating in biomedical research. Although more than half of New Yorkers are Black and Latino, they represent only 16% of doctors and far fewer are engaged in biomedical research.

Alignment with the CUNY School of Medicine's Mission and Values

“The CUNY School of Medicine has long embodied the best of our University’s mission to expand opportunity for all New Yorkers through its efforts to diversify the health care workforce and confront health inequities,” said CUNY Chancellor Félix V. Matos Rodríguez. “Now, thanks to generous support from the National Institutes of Health, the CUNY School of Medicine's New York Center for Minority Health, Equity, and Social Justice will enable us to advance this mission by deepening our research expertise, expanding career opportunities in the field of bioresearch and, most critically, better enabling us to meet the needs of our neighbors across Harlem and the Bronx.”

“The New York Center for Minority Health, Equity, and Social Justice represents a pivotal moment and step forward in our fight against health disparities and eliminating them and creating a more just society. With this substantial NIH funding, we are poised to make a significant impact by supporting innovative research, fostering a diverse pool of researchers, and addressing the critical health needs of our community,” said Carmen Renée Green, MD, dean of the CUNY School of Medicine and Sophie Davis Biomedical Education Program, Bert Brodsky Chair and medical professor of community health and social medicine.

Read the full article about the CUNY School of Medicine's NIH grant at The City University of New York.