NIMHD in the News

NIMHD is a newsmaker. View news and announcements related to NIMHD.

Here's How to Help Black Smokers Quit

October 23, 2023: Black Americans attempt to quit smoking more often than their White counterparts but are less likely to succeed, and they pay the health consequences. This knowledge has driven Kevin Choi, MD, acting scientific director of the National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities in Bethesda, Maryland, to dedicate his career to studying the patterns and disparities of smoking among these patients.

NIMHD Director, Dr. Pèrez-Stable Visits Meharry-Vanderbilt Alliance

Oct. 29, 2023: In conversation with Meharry Medical College and the Meharry-Vanderbilt Alliance faculty, students, and staff, Eliseo J. Pérez-Stable, M.D. discussed the potential of multi-disciplinary collaboration and preventative medicine, the impact of racial disparities on health, the vital role that physicians play in health education, current initiatives at NIMHD and more.

Who Is Dr. Abdallah Utumatwishima, the New Minister of Youth?

March 25, 2023: Dr. Jean Nepo Utumatwishima, the first graduate of the NIH-Rwandan Health Program, was appointed as Minister of Youth in Rwanda. In 2017, Dr. Utumatwishima became the first graduate of the NIH yearlong Rwanda fellowship program that trains a Rwandan physician to become a clinician scientist.

Dr. Eliseo J. Pérez-Stable Helps Raise Others

Sept. 15, 2022: In recognition of National Hispanic Heritage Month, Dr. Marie A. Bernard, NIH Chief Officer for Scientific Workforce Diversity, spotlights Dr. Pérez-Stable's career and research interests, the impact of diversity on health disparities research, and how COSWD and NIMHD work together.

Mental Health Support and Resources for Men

June 21, 2022: Men struggle with their mental health just like everyone else but are less likely to seek related treatment and support. Many mental health resources tailored for men are available though, including Brother, You're On My Mind, a toolkit put together by NIMHD and Omega Psi Phi Fraternity to promote mental health for Black men.

Providers Must Step Up to Meet Mental Health Needs of New Mothers

Feb. 28, 2022: Wide socioeconomic and racial disparities remain in new mothers’ access to mental health care, and both specialty mental health and primary care providers can help remedy the problem, says a leading health scientist with the federal government.

U.S. Minorities Experienced High Rates of Covid-Related Discrimination, a Study Finds

Feb. 25, 2022: People in the United States who belong to racial and ethnic minority groups reported experiencing Covid-related discrimination far more often than white people during the pandemic, and far more often than had been estimated, according to a new study that is one of the largest to date on the issue. The study, from the National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities…

My Mind Is Playing Tricks on Me: The Matter of Black Men and Depression

Nov. 14, 2021: As with most things impacting Black males, African-American men receive more than their fair share of the bad and a small portion of the positive…an initiative called Brother, You’re on My Mind shows the consequence of this unfair arrangement. The initiative, a partnership between the National Institute of Minority Health and Health Disparities and the Omega Psi Phi Fraternity...

2VIDA! Tackles COVID Vaccine Hesitancy and Barriers in Latinx, Black Communities

Sept. 1, 2021: Researchers at University of California San Diego School of Medicine have launched a medical outreach program to get COVID-19 vaccines to Latinx and African American communities in San Diego County. The program, called Project 2VIDA! (SARS-CoV-2 Vaccine Intervention Delivery for Adults in Southern California), is funded by a $3 million grant from the National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities.

UAB Professor Receives R01 Grant for COVID-19 Vaccine Hesitancy Intervention Study

June 16, 2021: A University of Alabama at Birmingham researcher was recently awarded an R01 grant for more than $3 million by the National Institute of Minority Health Disparities — one of five awards made by the NIMHD to address vaccine hesitancy, uptake and implementation among populations who experience health disparities.

The NIH Awards $33 Million to Fund Research on Coronavirus Testing in Schools

April 14, 2021: "Establishing frequent Covid-19 testing protocols for schools in vulnerable and underserved communities is essential to the safe-return-to-school effort, and these projects will inform decision makers on the best strategies to accomplish this," Dr. Eliseo J. Pérez-Stable, director of NIH’s National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities and co-chair of the RADx-UP program, said in the announcement on Thursday.

Lifelong Discrimination Linked to High Blood Pressure in Black People

Feb. 22, 2021: Enduring a lifetime of discrimination may increase the risk of high blood pressure in Black people but not in Hispanic, Chinese or white people, a new study suggests. Previous research has linked lifelong discrimination to the development of high blood pressure, also known as hypertension, in Black people. This new study, however, is among the first to look at multiple types of discrimination in a large multi-ethnic group over a period of time.

Addressing Vaccine Hesitancy Among African Americans

Jan. 22, 2021: The end of 2020 brought U.S. approvals for Pfizer and Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccines, but convincing African Americans to take them remains challenging due to historical treatment of Blacks in medical research and experimentation. NIMHD Deputy Director Dr. Monica Webb Hooper addresses the concerns on the Good Mental Health show.

America’s Salad Bowl Becomes Fertile Ground for COVID-19

Jan. 22, 2021: “It’s very easy to spread the virus in those conditions,” said Flavio Marsiglia, director of the Global Center for Applied Health Research at Arizona State University. The university was awarded a RADx-UP grant to rapidly implement testing strategies focused on populations disproportionately affected by the pandemic.

Race and Biology

Jan. 15, 2021: Researchers grapple with health disparities, systemic racism. In 2020, a confluence of events brought the ongoing legacy of structural racism front and center in the United States. As the COVID-19 pandemic spread, its lethal impact was far greater on African Americans, Latin Americans, and Native Americans than on others. NIMHD Scientific Director Dr. Anna Nápoles talks about the field of social epigenomics, the research program NIMHD initiated and its potential.


Page updated March 8, 2024