has been funded through a $6M grant, over five years, from the National Institutes of Health-National Center on Minority Health and Health Disparities (NIH-NCMHD). Project EXPORT, or the Centers of Excellence Partnerships for Community Outreach, Research on Health Disparities and Training Project, comprise 26 Centers of Excellence throughout the nation to include Hawaii and Puerto Rico.

The Minority Health and Health Disparities Research and Education Act of 2000, Public Law 106-525, established the National Center on Minority Health and Health Disparities to conduct and support research, training, dissemination of information, and other programs to support the reduction and elimination of health disparities among ethnic minority populations (NCMHD Website).

The newly formed "Partnership" between The University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill and Shaw University seeks to eliminate differences in minority health care and status at several levels.

Health Disparities, as defined by the National Institutes of Health, are differences in the incidence, prevalence, mortality, and burden of diseases and other adverse health conditions that exist among specific populations in the United States.

"By establishing these research resources at Shaw, more African American college students can become health researchers, which is a definite plus when trying to eliminate disparities."
-- Dr. Daniel Howard, center co-director at Shaw University and associate professor and director of research and sponsored programs in the department of natural and physical sciences.