Current Research Projects
Together, through our research and your participation, we are putting the puzzle pieces together, to create a bigger picture of solutions to health disparities that we hope can be implemented in communities near and far.
ON THE RISE
Primary Researcher: Edith Chen, Ph.D.
On the Rise (OTR) is a 5-year study funded by the National Institutes of Health. OTR focuses on African American youth, ages 14-19, to explore how their unique life experiences, challenges, and triumphs shape academic success and health. Ultimately, OTR aims to better understand risk and protective factors that influence resilience as youth transition into adulthood. We are currently recruiting participants. Interested youth or families can learn more or sign up below.
STRESS, PREGNANCY, AND HEALTH STUDY
Primary Researcher: Greg Miller, Ph.D.
In partnership with Northshore University HealthSystem, the Stress, Pregnancy, and Health (SPAH) is funded by the National Institutes of Health and explores how experiences during pregnancy affect health and the health of babies. SPAH hopes to better understand how different lifestyle factors, such as parents’ education,relationships with friends and family, and mood states affect the course and outcome of pregnancy. SPAH is currently recruiting participants! We are looking for women aged 18 years or older and who are less than 25 weeks pregnant. Learn more or sign up below.
MY WORLD, MY HEART
Primary Researcher: Greg Miller, Ph.D.
My World My Heart (MWMH) is a 5-year study funded by the National Institutes of Health. MWMH intends to develop a more comprehensive understanding of the emergence of socioeconomic disparities in cardiovascular heart disease (CHD) risk. To that end, we focus on an economically diverse sample of youth, and investigate disparities at multiple levels in multiple systems (immunologic, neural, and psychosocial).
MENTORING AND HEALTH
Primary Researcher: Edith Chen, Ph.D.
In partnership with The Cities Project at DePaul University, an after-school program created to support Chicago Public Schools students, the Mentoring and Health Study investigates the health effects of mentoring on both mentees and mentors, as well as the psychosocial pathways explaining these effects. This is a 5-year study funded by the National Institutes of Health.
FAMILY ASTHMA STUDY
Primaryl Researcher: Edith Chen, Ph.D.
The Family Asthma Study (FAS) was a 5-year study funded by the National Institutes of Health. This study explored how socioeconomic disparities relate to childhood asthma. Specifically, the project sought to better understand the social and environmental factors that affect childhood asthma.