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September 24, 2009 -- The National Institutes of Health (NIH) announced today that it has selected Naa Oyo A. Kwate, PhD, assistant professor of Sociomedical Sciences at the Mailman School of Public Health as a recipient of its New Innovator Awards. Dr. Kwate was among 55 researchers selected nationwide for exceptional creativity and promise in their approaches to solving significant questions of biomedical and behavioral impact. She was chosen for her work exploring the effects of multiple levels of racism on the immune and metabolic function, and overall physical health, psychological well-being, and health behaviors among urban African Americans.

Dr. Kwate’s research plans include longitudinal multi-level investigations and the development and implementation of a novel structural-level intervention to reduce the negative impact of racism. Taken together, the research attempts to answer two critical questions in biomedical and behavioral research: How does racism get into the body, and what do we do about it?

“This is a wonderful honor for Dr. Kwate,” said Linda P. Fried, MD, dean of the Mailman School of Public Health. “The recognition for her innovative approaches to behavioral research and health promotion among the African American population is well-deserved. We are very proud to have her on our faculty.”

The New Innovator Awards is an initiative of the Roadmap for Medical Research, established by the NIH to facilitate and expand medical research and its application to direct patient care. This year, NIH is awarding approximately $131 million for investigators to explore new, bold ideas that have the potential to catapult fields forward and speed the translation of research into improved health. “The appeal of the New Innovators program is that investigators are encouraged to challenge the status quo with innovative ideas, while being given the necessary resources to test them," said NIH Director Francis S. Collins, MD, PhD. Accelerating the current pace of discovery through the support of highly innovative research is an ongoing effort at the NIH.

This year’s awards mark the largest number of New Innovator Awards in the Programs’ history.

“The fact that we continue to receive such strong proposals for funding through the programs reflects the wealth of creative ideas in science today,” Dr. Collins noted.

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The National Institutes of Health (NIH) — The Nation's Medical Research Agency — includes 27 Institutes and Centers and is a component of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. It is the primary federal agency for conducting and supporting basic, clinical and translational medical research, and it investigates the causes, treatments, and cures for both common and rare diseases. For more information about NIH and its programs, visit www.nih.gov.

About the Mailman School of Public Health
The only accredited school of public health in New York City and among the first in the nation, Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health pursues an agenda of research, education, and service to address the critical and complex public health issues affecting millions of people locally and globally. The Mailman School is the recipient of some of the largest government and private grants in Columbia University’s history. Its more than 1000 graduate students pursue master’s and doctoral degrees, and the School’s 300 multi-disciplinary faculty members work in more than 100 countries around the world, addressing such issues as infectious and chronic diseases, health promotion and disease prevention, environmental health, maternal and child health, health over the life course, health policy, and public health preparedness. www.mailman.columbia.edu

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