# Tuskegee University Health Disparities Biomedical Research Center

> **NIH NIH C06** · TUSKEGEE UNIVERSITY · 2022 · $7,931,772

## Abstract

OVER VIEW - Carver Research Foundation Annex – Center for Genomics and Health Disparity Research
(CGHDR)
We seek NIH support to build an annex to the existing historic Carver Research Building to locate our cutting-edge cancer
genomics research, focusing on translational computation biology research. The new addition will accommodate the
growing needs of the many biomedical researchers at Tuskegee University pursuing computational and wet-lab genomics
research and the many researchers that we will hire soon. This addition will thus provide a modern infrastructure consistent
with the sophisticated requirements of current biomedical research and the training of a diverse workforce.
Health disparities are a focus and point of distinction in biomedical research at Tuskegee University, an Institution of
Emerging Excellence. Health disparities-related diseases are the leading causes of morbidity and mortality in the United
States and are very poignantly exemplified during the current COVID-19 pandemic. African Americans continue to suffer
disproportionately from these and other chronic diseases, including obesity and diabetes – all influenced by individual
genetic predisposition and environmental and lifestyle factors, including diet, nutrition, and physical activity. Tuskegee
University is located in Alabama’s Black Belt (a term initially referring to the area’s black topsoil and now more often its
predominantly African American population). The city of Tuskegee and the Black Belt are among the poorest regions in
the U.S.
We seek to become a globally renowned center of emerging excellence in cancer genomics with a focus on health disparities.
In the last few years, our cancer research efforts have been increasingly focused on genomics, transcriptomics,
computational biology, and digital pathology, resulting in numerous grants and publications in high-impact journals.
However, our existing laboratory infrastructure in an aging building has become drastically inadequate to support such
modern research endeavors. Additionally, we have recently been awarded the prestigious NIH FIRST award in collaboration
with UAB, which will require us to hire 12 new tenure track faculty members, with three housed at Tuskegee. These new
faculty will put additional demands for sophisticated laboratory infrastructure that are not available in our current facilities.
The Biomedical Research Center at Tuskegee University is currently housed in the historic Carver Research Foundation. It
supports multiple complementary research programs, including the Research Centers at Minority Institutions (RCMI) and
the Morehouse School of Medicine/Tuskegee University/University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) Comprehensive
Partnerships to Address Cancer Health Equity (CPACHE). The Integrative Biosciences Doctoral Program (IBS) is uniquely
poised to explore the genomic profile of underserved populations within Alabama's Black Belt. Collectively, these programs
promote biomedical research t...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10606891
- **Project number:** 1C06OD032083-01A1
- **Recipient organization:** TUSKEGEE UNIVERSITY
- **Principal Investigator:** Channapatna S. Prakash
- **Activity code:** C06 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2022
- **Award amount:** $7,931,772
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2022-09-15 → 2026-08-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10606891

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10606891, Tuskegee University Health Disparities Biomedical Research Center (1C06OD032083-01A1). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-28 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10606891. Licensed CC0.

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