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News from NCRR
Investigators Receive Greenwood Award
A scientist studying diabetes and one whose work focuses on mental health were the winners of the 2006 Greenwood Awards. The awards are presented biennially through the NCRR-funded Research Centers in Minority Institutions (RCMI) Program in recognition of research excellence involving minority health issues or long-time meritorious service to minority institutions.
(Photos by Thomas McGuire on the left and Morehouse School of Medicine on the right)
Margarita Alegría was recognized for her research on disparities in mental health and substance abuse services for Latinos and other minority populations. James R. Gavin, III was honored for his commitment to improving the management of chronic diseases, especially diabetes, in under-served groups.
Alegría, a former RCMI investigator, is a psychology professor at Harvard Medical School and the director of the Center for Multicultural Mental Health Research at Cambridge Health Alliance. Her research focuses on conceptual and methodological issues involving minority populations, risk behaviors, disparities in service delivery, and health services research. Alegría also has been a council member of the American Public Health Association and has served as faculty for various National Institute of Mental Health training programs.
Gavin is a clinical professor of medicine at Emory University School of Medicine and president of MicroIslet, Inc., a company developing cell transplantation therapies for patients with diabetes. He also is the former president of the Morehouse School of Medicine in Atlanta. He has held numerous leadership positions. He is the former president of the American Diabetes Association, former scientific officer at the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, a member of Duke University’s Board of Trustees, and a former member of the Board of Trustees for the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. Gavin also has served on numerous NIH advisory committees including the National Diabetes Advisory Board.
The awards are named in honor of the late researcher and administrator Frederick C. Greenwood, who did much to increase the ranks of minority scientists and promote research on health issues that affect ethnic minorities. They were presented at the Tenth RCMI International Symposium on Health Disparities, held in Puerto Rico in December 2006.
