Addiction Prevention and Control
Addiction research focuses on effective treatments for substance dependence, with specific areas of focus on tobacco, cocaine, and polysubstance in vulnerable populations.
Family and Adolescent Health
Research involving family and adolescent health includes the reduction of risk behaviors in disadvantaged adolescents and young adults; family interventions to promote youth health, adolescent pregnancy and childbearing; and reducing family and child/adolescent health disparities.
Homelessness
Research focuses on homelessness prevention, interventions to end homelessness among high-need veterans, and the demography, epidemiology, and services utilization of veterans experiencing homelessness.
LGBTQ Health
We take a community-based participatory approach to conducting vital basic, clinical, and population research in support of LGBTQ communities. For example, our basic research focuses on how stigma-related stress affects our biology through mechanisms such as reduced telomere length, lower immune gene expression, and other diseases that are elevated among LGBTQ adults compared to their heterosexual peers. Our clinical research works to tailor prevention, diagnostic, and treatment strategies to meet the diverse needs of LGBTQ communities. Finally, our population research assesses how diverse interventions address LGBTQ health risk and resilience.
Obesity Prevention and Healthy Active Lifestyles
Research includes a variety of systematic reviews and meta-analyses of randomized-controlled trials for various nutrition and obesity interventions; the effects of ketogenic diets on metabolism; inflammation and chronic disease; non-deceptive placebo responses; resistance exercise; and the environmental determinants of health and obesity which emphasizes the importance of early life conditions to later health.
UAB Center for the Study of Community Health
Founded in 1993, the UAB Center for the Study of Community Health (CSCH) is one of 26 Prevention Research Centers across the U.S. designated by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The center focuses on reducing health risks among underserved populations throughout the state of Alabama and plays a leading role in the development of community-based participatory research at UAB. As a designated UAB University-Wide Interdisciplinary Research Center, CSCH offers pilot grant and training opportunities through the Community Health Research Pipeline. More information is available on the CSCH website.