The UVA Precision Health Initiative (PHI) will support transdisciplinary research and training to optimize health outcomes for individuals and entire populations, across a wide range of complex and chronic diseases. While Precision Medicine measures genes and disease factors to help doctors identify unique disease risks and find treatments that will work best for a person, Precision Health adds assessment of environments and lifestyles and identifies treatments or prevention strategies that will work best with the fewest side effects, based on each person’s unique background and conditions. Precision Health for Populations is even broader, including precision medicine, disease prevention, and health promotion for whole communities, outside doctor’s office or hospital settings. Precision Health for Populations collects data that can identify how everyone can protect their own family’s health, and strategies experts can take to promote health and well-being at individual, family, community, state, or national levels.
Goals:
- Advance transdisciplinary Pan-University research in precision health for populations.
- Train the next generation of precision health for populations scientists and support their development.
- Develop transformative long-term community-university partnerships
- Study and intervene on Virginia’s health challenges in two initial focus areas: prevention, detection, and treatment of cancer in vulnerable communities, and understanding and improving youth mental health across Virginia.
- Grow UVA’s national profile in Precision Health Research
Leadership Team
Karen Ingersoll, Ph.D.
Associate Director, Youth Mental Health, Catherine Bradshaw, Ph.D. M.Ed.
Catherine Bradshaw, Ph.D. M.Ed.
Associate Director, Health Equity, Keith Keene, Ph.D.
Keith Keene, Ph.D.
Associate Director, Cancer, Kara Wiseman, M.P.H, Ph.D.
Kara Wiseman, M.P.H, Ph.D.
Health Data Enclave Liaison, Teague Henry, Ph.D.
Teague Henry, Ph.D.
Training Programs
Post-doctoral trainees will be trained in a primary and/or secondary field related to precision health. The program’s goal is to amplify opportunities for students and faculty to be on the frontlines of science and technology in precision health. Faculty working in cancer and youth mental health will be prioritized and at least 2 postdocs per year will have a research focus in one of our priority areas. The 1st year of the program will include a core curriculum with readings, symposia, and lectures that are foundational to precision health, followed by a second year with training in grant writing, whereby the trainees prepare a grant proposal that will be helpful as they enter the job market. The postdoc program provides up to 3 years of mentored support from PHI core or affiliated faculty to ensure quality training in precision health, with applications in one or more substantive areas, such as cancer or youth mental health. All trainees will participate in an annual symposium where they present on their research projects and receive feedback from the core and affiliated faculty.
Postdoc Program Job Postings:
Graduate Student Awards: Coming Soon!
Trainee Travel Awards: Coming Soon!
PHI Grant Funding
Faculty Grants (More Info Coming Soon!): The Collaborative Faculty Research Grant Program for research projects with partners from at least 3 different fields of study and expertise. The program’s goal is to build new opportunities for research collaboration on Precision Health topic among researchers and clinical leaders at UVA via transdisciplinary research funding. This program will jumpstart research that will drive innovation and facilitate the translation of research findings into clinical practice and provide benefits to communities. At least 50% of collaborative faculty research grants will be funded for groups who address topics related to cancer and/or youth mental health to support these focus areas. In addition to new funding, we will establish procedures for conducting annual review of funded projects and criteria for continued funding.
Spring 2024 Funding Announcement
Please direct questions to PHI Program Officer, Casandra Hoffman, clh4he@virginia.edu
Postdoc/Student Grants (More Info Coming Soon!): Establish seed funding research grant program for graduate and postdoctoral scholars to conduct pilot studies across areas of Precision Health. At least 50% of Seed Grants will address focus areas of Cancer or Youth Mental Health
Community Engagement Grants (More Info Coming Soon!): Accelerate foundational and translational research in various areas of Precision Health enabled by Community-University Partnership Grants with joint leadership by a UVA faculty member or team, and a community leader or group. This milestone will require investment by UVA in communities and community leaders to be successful. While community engagement and a focus on health equity will be started earlier, each component of community engaged studies will undergo formal agreements and approvals at many levels, from community leaders, to residents, to businesses, and to educators, parents and students
Events
Grand Rounds:
Grand Rounds series with invited local, regional, and national Precision Health for Populations scholars and other experts including community-based representatives. Starting September 2024
Research in Progress:
Speaker series for PHI funded researchers, postdoctoral fellows, and graduate students to share ongoing and proposed projects. Starting October 2024
Annual Symposium:
Annual university-wide transdisciplinary research symposium to showcase faculty and trainee research projects in precision health, and research conducted using precision health data. To Be Announced.