UR Deaf Health Disparities Group Wins National Excellence Award
UR Deaf Health Disparities Group Wins National Excellence Award
- left to right: Antonio Tovar, NCC chair; Steven Barnett, Carlene Mowl, Thomas Pearson, John T. Reid, and Matthew Starr, from the NCDHR
The purpose of the award was to recognize and stimulate excellence within the diverse group of CDC Prevention Research Centers across the country. The NCDHR was established in 2004 at the University of Rochester Medical Center with CDC funding. Its mission is to conduct the nation’s first comprehensive health studies within the underserved deaf and hard-of-hearing population, in collaboration with many local institutions and advocacy groups.
One of the guiding principles of the NCDHR has been to adhere to the premise that deaf people share a common language and culture, instead of the traditional, clinical model that focuses on restoring hearing loss. As a result, the NCDHR has been able to successfully promote health research programs in deaf communities throughout the Rochester, N.Y., area, and elsewhere.
Thomas A. Pearson, M.D., Ph.D., M.P.H, is the principal investigator and director of the NCDHR. The award application was coordinated by Matthew J. Starr, M.P.H., communications and administrative core manager and community liaison at NCDHR. He accepted the award on April 12, 2011, on behalf of the entire NCDHR team in Atlanta at a CDC Prevention Research Center meeting.
* The above story is reprinted from materials provided by University of Rochester Medical Center
