# Community Engagement Core

> **NIH NIH U54** · TUSKEGEE UNIVERSITY · 2020 · $243,631

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT (Community Engagement Core)
The Community Engagement Core (CEC) purpose is to develop an education delivery format that promotes
inclusivity and awareness with the general aim of increasing research participation and retention of local
citizens through collaborations between community residents and the RCMI faculty. Our population in the
Tuskegee/Macon County area is primarily low income and African American, a group that reports high rates of
distrust in scientific exploration and in healthcare delivery. We hypothesize that residents connect with
research by understanding how scientific outcomes affect them. Therefore, in our Specific Aims, we are
proposing an education dissemination strategy that begins at the community-level. The specific aims include
the following: Specific Aim 1: Convene a council of community representatives and RCMI faculty to complete a
needs assessment containing community-based recommendations for dissemination of effective obesity and
HIV education. Specific Aim 2: Engage residents in town hall meetings serving as a medium for dissemination
of faculty research. Measure the effectiveness of these meetings through surveys. Compare survey outcomes.
Specific Aim 3: Develop a model of optimal participation based on the scientific assessment of town hall
meetings. Specific Aim 4: Promote community-engaged, interdisciplinary learning and mentorship. To facilitate
the aims, our research will leverage the organizational resources of local community foundations and human
capital resources from Tuskegee University. We will also empower a group of Health Equity Resource Officers
(HERO) to serve as liaisons between the community and research faculty.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 9985629
- **Project number:** 5U54MD007585-29
- **Recipient organization:** TUSKEGEE UNIVERSITY
- **Principal Investigator:** Lonnie Hannon
- **Activity code:** U54 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $243,631
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** — → —

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/9985629

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 9985629, Community Engagement Core (5U54MD007585-29). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-22 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/9985629. Licensed CC0.

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