Interdisciplinary Research and Special Programs

Cancer Prevention and Control Research Program
Director: Susan T. Mayne, Ph.D.
The Cancer Prevention and Control Research Program (CPCRP) at the Yale Cancer Center (YCC) is a large and diverse program of research being done by nearly 30 investigators. The ongoing research is designed to seek new knowledge that aids in the prevention of cancer, the detection of cancer in its earliest stages, and for those patients who already have cancer, ways to reduce the burden of cancer, improve survival, and reduce the risk of second cancers. The research is largely population-based, with the entire state of Connecticut serving as a population laboratory for the researchers.

The CPCRP builds on the scientific resources of the Yale Schools of Medicine, Public Health and Nursing. Researchers in this program come from many different scientific disciplines including epidemiology and public health, biostatistics, cancer nursing, occupational medicine, internal medicine, psychology, psychiatry, surgery, and pediatrics.

The program is enhanced by its link to the Connecticut Tumor Registry, the oldest population-based tumor registry in the United States and an NCI-funded SEER site. The Connecticut Tumor Registry maintains data on all Connecticut residents diagnosed with cancer since 1935. Researchers have access to the YCC Rapid Case Ascertainment Shared Resource, which identifies patients with newly diagnosed cancer throughout the state on a rapid basis, facilitating research projects.

The program’s major long-term goals are 1) to establish and maintain a center of excellence in research in cancer prevention and control in Connecticut; 2) to search systematically for new knowledge that aids in the prevention and control of cancer; 3) to integrate molecular and biochemical techniques with population-based epidemiologic investigations in cancer prevention and control; and 4) to maintain a prevention program spanning all phases of cancer prevention and control research, emphasizing investigations designed to capitalize on its unique resources, including the cancer registry.

For further information contact Susan Mayne at (203) 785-6274 or e-mail susan.mayne@yale.edu.

CIRA
The Center for Interdisciplinary Research on AIDS (CIRA), funded by the National Institute of Mental Health, provides support for the conduct of research aimed at the prevention of HIV infection and the reduction of the negative consequences of the disease in vulnerable and underserved populations nationally and abroad, as well as research on related legal and policy issues. It also houses a domestic and several international training programs in HIV prevention, and sponsors a number of different HIV related conferences and seminar series.

Faculty representing 20 disciplines from seven different graduate and professional schools at the University, and scientists from The Institute for Community Research and the Hispanic Health Council participate in the Center. CIRA-affiliated projects include research on prevention interventions in prenatal care settings; microbicides; social network based and structural interventions for HIV prevention in drug users and sex workers; sexual transmission among drug users; prevention for HIV+ individuals; interventions for coping with HIV and trauma; the public health impact and cost-effectiveness of HIV interventions; acute HIV infection; HIV testing and behavior; the impact of HIV/AIDS on disabled populations; race disparities in HIV/AIDS, particularly as they relate to involvement with the criminal justice system; international HIV prevention issues, particularly in Russia, India, China, and South Africa; and religion, spirituality, and HIV risk and prevention.

Paul D. Cleary, Ph.D. serves as Principal Investigator of CIRA. For more information contact Gai Pollard at (203) 764-4342, gai.pollard@yale.edu or visit the CIRA Web site.

CENTURY/TTURC
The mission of the Center for Nicotine and Tobacco Use Research at Yale (CENTURY) and the Transdisciplinary Tobacco Use Research Center (TTURC) is to conduct research to better understand why some smokers have difficulty quitting and how to help them quit through advances in treatments and policies. The Yale TTURC, a center within CENTURY, has received funding from the National Institute on Drug Abuse, National Cancer Institute, and the National Institute of Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism. The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation funds the policy research and communication effort.

One of the primary goals is to encourage and support research that integrates theories and methods from different disciplines. TTURC is built on the expertise of a number of multi-disciplinary researchers with extensive experience in a variety of areas from cell to society, including imaging, laboratory medicine, human laboratory paradigms, clinical trials, social psychology, women's health, statistics, health economics, and public policy research. Another key objective of the center is to attract and train new investigators to the field of tobacco research. The center offers career development and funding for pilot research projects at Yale.

For further information please contact Jody L. Sindelar at (203) 785-6287 or jody.sindelar@yale.edu.

Connecticut Women's Health Project
Director: Jeannette Ickovics, Ph.D
Associate Director: Jessica Lewis, L.M.F.T
The Connecticut Women's Health Project (CWHP) has been conducting collaborative, community-based research among women and families with and at risk for HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases since 1989. In partnership with community health centers, hospital clinics, public health departments, and other community colleagues, our mission is to serve women and their families through research that informs health care and health policy. Current projects include (1) a randomized controlled trial (RCT) of a behavioral intervention to reduce HIV/STD risk for young women in a group prenatal care setting; (2) the translation of RCT to 14 Community Health Centers in New York City; (3) a prospective longitudinal study of pregnant and non-pregnant adolescent women and their risks of HIV, STDs, and repeat pregnancy; and (4) the development and evaluation of a new form of postpartum primary care for mothers and babies delivered in a group format. CWHP has been expanding its programs across the United States and internationally, most recently forming partnerships in Haiti and Pretoria, South Africa.

For more information contact Jessica Lewis at jessica.lewis@yale.edu.

Collaborative Center for Statistics in Science (C²S²)

The major goal of the Collaborative Center for Statistics in Science (C²S²) is to be a leader in fostering collaborations involving statistical methods and technologies in any aspect of scientific research, particularly for understanding disease etiologies and developing treatment and prevention strategies. In addition, this group has been developing and implementing flexible and powerful approaches to the analyses of complex data including longitudinal data with multi-dimensional responses, neuroimaging data, genetic, and genomic data.

A few of C²S²’s projects include the Statistical Methods in Genetics Studies of Substance Use, Research Training in Mental Health Epidemiology, Methodical Research on Substance Use as well as Data Management Statistics and Informatics Core.

One of C²S²’s major projects includes the Genomic and Proteomic Preterm Birth Network. The objective of this network is to investigate genetic and environmental factors for preterm birth using genomic, proteomic and metabolomic approaches. The network is funded by the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD). In addition to Yale, the other participating institutions are University of Alabama at Birmingham, University of Pennsylvania, University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston and University of Utah.

Heping Zhang, Ph.D. serves as Principal Director of C²S². For more information, please visit http://c2s2.med.yale.edu.

Center for EcoEpidemiology
Director: Durland Fish, Ph.D.
Yale Institute for Biospheric Studies Center for EcoEpidemiology (YIBSCEE) merges the boundaries between the medical and environmental sciences, and in so doing, creates opportunities at Yale for research and training in the epidemiology of agents affecting both human health and the natural environment. The Center's goal is achieved through an interdisciplinary effort among participating Yale faculty. YIBSCEE faculty includes representatives from the Schools of Public Health (Divisions of Epidemiology of Microbial Diseases, Environmental Health Sciences, and Biostatistics), Medicine (Departments of Internal Medicine and Ecology & Evolutionary Biology), Forestry and Environmental Sciences and the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences. 

Activities of YIBSCEE include symposia and seminar series on a wide range of contemporary topics relating to environment and health which are open to the Yale community. These activities are forming the basis for the creation of new interdisciplinary undergraduate and graduate courses. YIBSCEE also coordinates existing curricula among participating faculty to broaden scope and improve content. In addition, the Center provides a forum and resources for planning and acquisition of extramural funding for interdisciplinary training and research in eco-epidemiology at Yale.

Emerging Infections Program
The Connecticut Emerging Infections Program (EIP) is a joint effort between the Department of Epidemiology and Public Health (EPH), the State of Connecticut Department of Public Health, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in Atlanta, GA.

Established in 1995, the goals of the EIP are to assess the public health impact of emerging and re-emerging infections and to evaluate methods for their prevention and control. The Yale office of the Emerging Infections Program is conducting population-based surveillance for emerging and re-emerging infectious diseases including foodborne illness; chronic liver disease and Hepatitis C virus infection; and phenmonia and influenza hospitalization. The Emerging Infections Program staff are also conducting case-control studies to identify risk factors for foodborne illness to evaluate the effectiveness of influenza vaccination, and to evaluate the effectiveness of prevention behaviors and landscape modification in reducing risk of Lyme desease infection in Connecticut.

For more information contact Patty Macero at the Emerging Infections Program, Yale University School of Medicine, Department of Epidemiology and Public Health, One Church Street, 7th Floor, New Haven, CT 06510, (203) 764-4360 (phone), (203) 764-4357 (fax), patricia.macero@yale.edu.

John B. Pierce Laboratory
The John B. Pierce Laboratory, founded in 1933, is a multidisciplinary research institute devoted to studying the ways biological systems interact with their environment, especially the 'built' (constructed) environment, and with the consequences of these interactions for human health and well being. This objective is being pursued in two main thematic areas: (1) energy balance, with an emphasis on physiological responses to environmental stimuli that affect the intake and expenditure of energy and the regulation of blood flow, and (2) sensory neuroscience, with an emphasis on central neural processes that underlie perceptual and behavioral responses to environmental stimuli. Research in these areas, which is conducted at levels of analysis ranging from molecular biology to behavioral measurement, is supported by proceeds from the endowment of the John B. Pierce Foundation and by grants and contracts from public and private sources.

More information can be found at the John B. Pierce Laboratory web site or from the Laboratory at (203) 562-9901, e-mail inquires@jbpierce.org

Center for Perinatal, Pediatric & Environmental Epidemiology
Co-Directors: Michael B. Bracken & Brian P. Leaderer
Deputy Director: Kathleen Belanger
Assoc. Dir. for Data Analysis & Management: Elizabeth Triche

The Center was created in 2002 from the Yale Perinatal Epidemiology Unit (founded in 1979) to conduct population-based studies concerning the health and well-being of pregnant women, their newborns and infants. The expansion to a Center reflects increased involvement into research of broader environmental influences on the health of older children and adults, as well as the study of relationships between the health of a pregnancy and subsequent adult health, sometimes called "life course" epidemiology.

Of major, current interest are studies in asthma, including studies in pregnancy, early infancy and later childhood. These studies particularly involve examination of the interaction between the genotype with perinatal and environmental risk factors that lead to early onset and more severe asthma in children and young adults. Studies are also being conducted on the causes of pre-eclampsia, which continues to be a leading cause of morbidity in pregnancy, and the relationship between emotional health and pregnancy outcome, and other environmental factors for their influence on fetal development and survival.

For more information contact the Center at 203-764-9376 or cppee@yale.edu or visit the Center's Web site.

Prevention Research Center
The Yale-Griffin Prevention Research Center (PRC), a collaboration of the Yale Schools of Medicine and Public Health, and Griffin Hospital, is one of 33 such centers funded by the CDC. The research efforts of the PRC are intended to measurably raise the standard of health and the quality of life in the Lower Naugatuck Valley, New Haven, Bridgeport, Hartford and beyond, and to serve as a national model of comprehensive community-based disease prevention and health promotion.

Since its inception in 1998, the PRC has grown to support a core staff of dedicated research scientists, associates, study assistants, and data analysts with annual grant revenues of approximately $2.5 million. The Center is a popular site for student projects in fulfillment of M.D., M.S. and M.P.H. thesis requirements. Among the more than 15 active protocols are studies related to obesity prevention and control, nutrition effects on health, behavior change, cardiovascular risk modification, and chronic disease prevention. Current studies include a systems approach to diabetes management, the development of a nutrition impediment profiler (based on prior work), the development and testing of a food rating system, and several randomized clinical trials of nutrient effects on endothelial function. Additional information about the PRC and a current listing of all research is available on the Web at www.yalegriffinprc.org.

The center director is David L. Katz, M.D., M.P.H., F.A.C.P.M., F.A.C.P., Associate Professor Adjunct in Public Health Practice (katzdl@pol.net; 203-732-1265).

Yale Program on Aging
The Yale Program on Aging encompasses a number of research initiatives, including the Claude D. Pepper Older American Independence Center, the Yale Health and Aging Project, falls and injury prevention projects, and studies of disability, dementia, hospitalization, end-of-life care, and patient preference. The program's philosophy is based on the premise that the greatest advancement in our understanding of normal aging, diseases associated with aging, and the effective and efficient use of health services by a growing elderly population will come about when knowledge is integrated across sciences.

The Program on Aging has many opportunities for training at the pre-doctoral, post-doctoral and junior faculty level. NIH predoctoral and postdoctoral training grants in aging and psychiatric epidemiology are available for M.D.s and Ph.D.s. Masters level students have worked as paid and volunteer employees in several areas: study design, data management and analysis, field operations in community and provider settings, and information dissemination.

For more information contact Elizabeth Bradley at (203) 785-2937, elizabeth.bradley@yale.edu or visit the Yale Program on Aging Web site.

Center for Public Health Preparedness
As part of a national network of Centers for Public Health Preparedness that are funded through the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the Yale Center for Public Health Preparedness will work to ensure that frontline public health workers are prepared to respond to public health emergencies including natural disasters, acts of terrorism, and disease outbreaks. To achieve this mission, the Center will focus on the preparedness of the existing public health workforce, as well as new members of the workforce, and will offer specialty education to those who plan to focus on public health preparedness. This will be accomplished through: the development and implementation of training and educational programs to address gaps in knowledge and skills of the public health workforce; use of distance learning and other strategies to bring programs to the workforce; development of professional education focusing on public health preparedness and management; and continued evaluation and updating of ongoing programs in order to ensure that they are addressing the core competencies needed for public health workers.

For additional information, contact Linda Degutis at (203) 785-3917 or visit the Center for Public Health Preparedness Web site.

Yale Center for Statistical Genomics and Proteomics
Yale Center for Statistical Genomics and Proteomics was recently established from the Yale Biometry Unit to develop statistical and computational methods that address scientific problems arising from genetic, epidemiological, and biological studies, to collaborate with researchers who use the methods developed in the center as well as other established statistical methods, and to disseminate the methods and knowledge through the distribution of computer programs and teaching. The focus of the center is in the fast-growing areas of genomics and proteomics, and it works very closely with the Yale Center for Genomics and Proteomics, the Yale Center for Medical Informatics, and the Keck Laboratory. In addition, center members collaborate with individual faculty from many departments at Yale and other institutions, including Epidemiology and Public Health, Genetics, Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology, Molecular Biophysics and Biochemistry, Computer Science, Pathology, Dermatology, Pharmacology, Psychiatry, and Medicine. The center is currently funded by grants from the National Institutes of Health, the National Science Foundation, and other sources for both methodology developments and collaborative research.

For more information contact Hongyu Zhao at 203-785-6271 or hongyu.zhao@yale.edu.