October 5, 2009

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has announced continued funding for the Emory Prevention Research Center (EPRC), a program of Emory University that focuses on cancer prevention and reducing health disparities in rural communities of southwest Georgia. The Southwest Georgia Cancer Coalition, as the EPRC's primary partner, provides local coordination and implementation of research and training activities.

According to EPRC Director Michelle Kegler DrPH, more than $1,089,000 has been designated for core EPRC and Cancer Prevention and Control Research Network (CPCRN) funding through 2010. The total five-year grant renewal was funded in the amount of $6.2 million. Funding will support the program's infrastructure at Emory as well as research, training and evaluation projects directed at changing community environments and evaluating the effects on southwest Georgia residents' cancer risk behaviors.

"We've enjoyed working closely with the Southwest Georgia Cancer Coalition and with a Community Advisory Board (CAB) made up of residents of the local communities. The CAB provides valuable guidance to the EPRC and linkages to southwest Georgia's communities and organizations," states Kegler.

"Our partnership with the EPRC allows southwest Georgia residents the opportunity to participate in important research projects that ultimately may lead to improvements in health across our region," says Diane Fletcher, Chief Executive Officer of the Southwest Georgia Cancer Coalition. "We look forward to continuing these collaborative efforts that help to fulfill the Cancer Coalition's mission to serve the people of our communities."

Among the local activities will be further research to refine the Healthy Homes Healthy Families project, during which trained health coaches work with participants in their homes and teach them to make changes in their environments that support healthy behaviors.

Funding will also be used to identify the training needs of local organizations and provide activities to meet their needs; technical assistance to help local organizations with program planning, implementation and evaluation; and dissemination of research findings from the studies conducted in southwest Georgia.

In addition, funding will allow the CPCRN to continue annual awards of mini-grants to support additional programs to improve health in southwest Georgia. In 2008, $20,000 was awarded to community organizations in Nashville, Sparks, Cordele, Valdosta, and Albany.

"We're excited about continuing our mini-grants program because it's a practical way to translate research findings into real-life programs that benefit community members," says Kegler.

Currently, the CPCRN at Emory is one of seven network centers across the United States made up of academic researchers, public health agencies and community members conducting applied research in disease prevention and control under the collaboration of the CDC and the National Cancer Institute. CPCRN members seek to apply relevant research to local cancer prevention and control needs.

The Southwest Georgia Cancer Coalition is a regional non-profit organization whose mission is to ensure that southwest Georgians have access to the highest quality cancer education, prevention, screening, treatment and research. To learn more about the Cancer Coalition, visit www.swgacancer.org. To learn more about the EPRC, visit http://www.sph.emory.edu/EPRC>http://www.sph.emory.edu/EPRC>.