Christian Brothers University (CBU) in Memphis, TN received the second segment of a $1 million grant from the National Institute of Health (NIH) for the university’s Minority Health International Research Training (MHIRT) program. The new release of $242,208 will fund the project in 2011.
The five-year grant continues the training of undergraduate and graduate students in basic science, qualitative and clinical research. NIH has funded for CBU and the Mid-South Coalition for National Center on Minority Health and Health Disparities since the organization was founded in 2000. CBU leads the coalition, which also includes St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital and Tennessee State University, in this innovative science and research initiative.
Students from all over the country apply for this program, which includes all-expenses paid summer work for their biomedical, behavioral, or qualitative research in Brazil or Uganda. Students and professors travel to these countries for their projects to benefit those who are frequently underserved in health care. Approximately 15 students go on a MHIRT trip every year in the summer after completing preparation work the prior spring. Following the trips, they present their work at CBU.
The majority of participants in the MHIRT program at CBU are students from local colleges and universities throughout the Mid-South. In the past ten years, more than 175 students mainly from the Mid-South region have participated in the MHIRT program.