Rutgers IFH receives $11.6 million to develop Center for Asian Health Promotion and Equity with NYU

The Rutgers Institute for Health, Health Care Policy and Aging Research (IFH) recently received $11.6 million from the National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities to develop the Rutgers-New York University (NYU) Center for Asian Health Promotion and Equity (CAHPE), according to a press release.

XinQi Dong, director of the Rutgers IFH and inaugural Henry Rutgers Distinguished Professor of Population Health Sciences, said the institute is grateful to receive this clinical research center grant and will use it over the course of the next five years.

“Of all the grants awarded following this request for applications, our center is the only one focused on Asian health equity,” he said. “We are especially excited because this is the first P50 grant awarded to Rutgers Biomedical and Health Sciences.”

Bei Wu, dean’s professor in global health and director of global health and aging research at the NYU Rory Meyers College of Nursing, will serve alongside Dong as principal investigators for the CAHPE.

Dong said they wanted to create the Center in order to focus on cardiometabolic disease and mental health issues among Asian individuals in the New Jersey and New York area. While people don’t usually think that Asian individuals are at higher risk for certain health issues, there are notable concerns, he said.

For instance, Dong said Asian populations are at high risk for hypertension, diabetes, stroke, depression and suicidal behaviors, with New Jersey and New York being home to almost 3 million Asian-Americans who may suffer from these conditions.

“Asian communities in the (U.S.) face significant health disparities, especially when it comes to the relationship between heart health and mental health,” he said. “Asians are the fastest-growing yet most understudied minority group in the (U.S.), yet less than 1 percent of research funding from the National Institutes for Health in the last 10 years was focused on Asian populations.”

The Rutgers IFH has a history of partnership with NYU, and both establishments have worked with local Asian populations in the past, he said. The CAHPE will use targeted research to focus on managing the relationship between cardiometabolic health and mental health, as well as other disparities.

Specifically, the CAHPE’s goal is to develop a central location for scientists to conduct studies on diabetes, stroke, cardiovascular and mental health issues among the region’s Asian population, Dong said. They will also involve community partners and members of the community in these research projects to make the research more meaningful.

He said the grant was received in late September, and researchers have already begun working. The Center is based at the Rutgers IFH in New Brunswick, and researchers will collaborate significantly with those from the NYU Rory Meyers College of Nursing. 

“The Center aims to put infrastructure in place to support research and provide funding for up to 30 research projects over the five-year grant focused on different aspects of ‘Heart-Mind’ connection, such as nutritional, emotional and dementia caregiving interventions,” Dong said. “Our long-term goal is to share our findings with decision-makers on local, regional and national levels to inform future prevention and intervention strategies.”