‘Information alone is not enough’: New Jackson Heart Study leader commits to putting research into action
There’s a reason why the nation’s largest and longest-running study of cardiovascular disease in African Americans calls Jackson, Miss., home. That community, like others in the southeastern United States, has long experienced disproportionately high rates of cardiovascular disease.
Since its founding in 1998, the Jackson Heart Study has followed more than 5,300 participants to better understand the role of biological, environmental, and genetic factors in disease development. The study, jointly funded by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute and the National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities, also emphasizes involving the community in how it approaches research and preparing young African American other students of color for careers in health sciences.
