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Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) has been awarded a five-year, $9 million grant from the National Cancer Institute to establish a pioneering Cancer Control Equity Research Center. This initiative aims to enhance the dissemination and implementation of health promotion and cancer prevention services for individuals and families residing in Virginia's Housing and Urban Development (HUD)-administered income-based housing communities in the Greater Richmond region and Hampton Roads.

Adults in under-resourced communities are placed at disproportionate risk for cancer, facing a higher incidence of the disease compared to their more affluent counterparts. Despite this alarming trend, there is a significant gap in evidence-based methods to enhance cancer prevention services in these communities. Addressing this disparity is critical to improving health outcomes and reducing cancer rates among vulnerable populations. 

The collaborative research effort brings together experts from VCU’s Massey Comprehensive Cancer Center, School of Medicine and School of Public Health, as well as Macon & Joan Brock Virginia Health Sciences at Old Dominion University (ODU). The project will be co-led by Bernard Fuemmeler, Ph.D., M.P.H., associate director of population sciences and Gordon D. Ginder, M.D., Chair in Cancer Research at VCU Massey; Jessica LaRose, Ph.D., professor and interim chair of social and behavioral sciences at the VCU School of Public Health; and Brynn Sheehan, Ph.D., associate professor and director of the Research and Infrastructure Service Enterprise at Macon & Joan Brock Virginia Health Sciences at ODU.

Through a multidisciplinary, team science approach, they will work closely with other researchers, community co-leaders and the Housing Collaborative Community Advisory Board (HCCAB) to establish the Virginia Advancing Cancer Control Equity Research Through Transformative Solutions (VA-ACCERT) Center.

“This is a remarkable accomplishment in the history of our organization,” said Fuemmeler, who is also the director of research in the Department of Family Medicine and Population Health at the VCU School of Medicine. “I have no doubt that this center will synergize health disparities research across VCU and become a national beacon of success for advancing health equity research throughout the commonwealth and beyond.”

In this project, community members will serve as active collaborators and co-investigators, with a strong emphasis on authentic community engagement and partnership. All interventions will be designed collaboratively with HCCAB and community co-leads. In the first year, the team will develop and deliver training programs for HUD staff, with the specific goal of addressing and reducing exposure to discrimination at both the individual and community levels.

“This work is truly transformative because it centers the voices and needs of the communities we serve,” said Sheehan. “By engaging directly with residents, we’re ensuring that the solutions we implement are not just impactful, but deeply meaningful for those who live here. Through our partnerships and interventions, we aim to break the cycle of disparities and pave the way for generations to experience better health and health outcomes.”

At the core of this initiative is a multilevel intervention (MLI) rooted in an asset-based framework that targets key social drivers of health. In partnership with each income-based housing community, the project will introduce structural interventions at the built environment level, such as initiatives aimed at improving food access and affordability, and promoting physical activity. The MLI will also include individual level activities, including hotspot and tablet access and a comprehensive digital lifestyle intervention, as well as community level activities open to all residents, such as experiential nutrition events conducted by a local community partner. These efforts will be driven by a comprehensive understanding of the community's assets and needs, aiming to enhance health equity and wellbeing across multiple levels.

“Our focus on HUD is unique, and the potential for structural impact and long-term sustainability is significant,” said LaRose, who is also a member of the Cancer Prevention and Control research program at Massey. “We have the opportunity to directly address the root causes of cancer disparities and promote organizational changes within HUD to improve the lives of residents living in income-based housing.”

Additionally, the VA-ACCERT Center will serve as a hub to foster a more diverse workforce of early-career investigators, who will possess the expertise and support to guide new cancer prevention and control strategies within income-based housing communities.

The research emerging from this initiative, along with three other similarly NCI-funded projects in the U.S., will accelerate new discoveries aimed at advancing multilevel, community-engaged implementation science. These efforts are crucial to reducing cancer disparities and improving health equity nationwide.

Written by: Maggie Christ, Blake Belden