$1.2 Million Cancer Institute Grant to Reduce Cancer Health Disparities, Latinos to Benefit

A $1.2 million grant from the National Cancer Institute’s Center to Reduce Cancer Health Disparities will support NU NEIGHBORS, a partnership between the Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center of Northwestern University and Northeastern Illinois University (NEIU) to help reduce inequalities related to cancer care.

This collaboration between a minority serving institution (NEIU) and a NCI-designated Comprehensive Cancer Center (Lurie Cancer Center) is one of 12 in the nation, and the first in Illinois funded by the Comprehensive Partnerships to Reduce Cancer Health Disparities (CPRCHD) program.  The program will foster community-engaged cancer disparities research, build a platform for improved public health-related curriculum, and further the development of well-trained and experienced cancer researchers and students who choose health and science-related careers.

NEIUS is the only four-year public institution in the Midwest that is federally designated as a Hispanic Serving Institution (HSI), NEIU was ranked as one of the most ethnically diverse universities in the Midwest in U.S. News & World Report’s 2011 “Best Colleges” edition. Serving more than 11,000 students, NEIU has four campuses located in Chicago and Lake County communities facing large disparities in health and access to healthcare.

One of only 40 NCI-designated Comprehensive Cancer Centers in the nation, the Lurie Cancer Center’s breadth and depth of innovative basic, clinical, cancer prevention, and population-based research complement NEIU’s strengths. In addition, the partnership is enriched by the Lurie Cancer Center’s deep-rooted commitment to training the next generation of clinicians and scientists, and reducing the cancer burden in all populations.