UAB establishes Comprehensive Healthy Living Research Center to address burden of chronic disease

In continued commitment to helping all people live healthy and productive lives, the University of Alabama at Birmingham has established the UAB Comprehensive Healthy Living Research Center as a University Wide Interdisciplinary Research Center.

The Healthy Living Center extends the efforts of UAB academic units and UAB Medicine to address the burden of chronic disease in all populations. It focuses on the involvement of community members, organizations, and patients as partners in research and interventions with a mission to prevent disease and improve health for all.

“There are far too many people living with chronic diseases like heart disease, diabetes and high blood pressure in Alabama and beyond,” said UAB President Ray Watts, M.D. “Many may not even know they have these conditions or that they are at high risk to develop them. Prevention is a key to addressing the high rates of these diseases, and this center will play a vital role in advancing our mission to improve and save lives.”

The Healthy Living Center is UAB’s only University-Wide Interdisciplinary Research Center that offers a comprehensive infrastructure for chronic disease prevention and control through community-engaged and population health approaches.

“The Healthy Living Center is designed to specialize in research with strong community and partner participation, a vital aspect of this work,” Watts said. “We look forward to seeing the positive impact it has on countless lives.”

Mona Fouad, M.D., MPH, professor in the Division of General Internal Medicine and Population Science, serves as director of the Healthy Living Center, and Irfan Asif, M.D., associate dean for Primary Care and Rural Health and professor and chair of the Department of Family and Community Medicine serves as the Center’s associate director.

“To help people who have or are at risk for chronic conditions live healthier lives, you have to involve them in the research and interventions as partners, not just as participants,” Fouad said. “The Healthy Living Center is a platform for this kind of transformational life-changing and life-saving work”. 

UAB faculty interested in working with the center can apply for membership. Fouad says this type of research increases trust and transparency and helps ensure that research is responsive to the needs, priorities and concerns of the public.

The Healthy Living Center is a platform built on three complementary programs: research, partnerships/engagement and education/career development. The Center provides services through collaborative cores, offering expertise in study and clinical trial participation, measurement/evaluation, community health coaching and community-based participatory research.

This integrated infrastructure reinforces and streamlines the research process, reduces complexity, and increases transparency across complex, multi-level, multi-partner studies.

“Through the Comprehensive Healthy Living Research Center, we can bring together scientists, health care professionals, community residents, patients, and others,” Asif said. “We encourage and enable research that supports population health, prevents chronic disease, and helps communities in Alabama flourish. I look forward to working with colleagues from across the institution, as well as local partners, on meaningful, impactful work that builds trust among everyone we serve and leads to better health for all.”

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