CENTERS AND PROGRAMS
The Alcohol Research Group has been engaged in epidemiological studies of alcohol and health services research since 1959. ARG is the home of one of fifteen National Alcohol Research Centers funded by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA). While the majority of ARG grants are funded by NIAAA, other grants have been awarded from the National Institute on Drug Abuse, the National Institute for Mental Health, the Centers for Disease Control, the Center for Substance Abuse Treatment, and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. Current research focuses on alcohol and drug use and related problems, health services research, policy analysis, and the study of community responses and interventions. Groups studied include the general population and specific populations, such as individuals in treatment, welfare recipients, pregnant women, emergency room patients, and homeless persons.
Arsenic Health Effects Research Program
The Arsenic Research Program is directed by Allan H. Smith, M.D., Ph.D., professor of epidemiology, School of Public Health, and is based at the University of California, Berkeley. The program's arsenic research activities began more than 12 years ago with a risk assessment focusing mainly on cancer. This work revealed the cancer risks from inorganic arsenic in drinking water to be potentially very high. As a result, the Arsenic Health Effects Research Program was initiated to study the health risks from exposure to inorganic arsenic. Currently it involves international research projects in Argentina, Chile, India, and Bangladesh, as well as U.S.-based investigations in California and Nevada.
Bay Area International Group (BIG)
The Bay Area International Group focuses on the quantitative aspects of family planning and reproductive health. Its overall goal is to expand family planning and improve reproductive health in developing countries by using limited resources as effectively as possible. The group draws on the cross-disciplinary skills of a number of academic institutions in the San Francisco Bay Area, and includes economists, public health professionals, epidemiologists, as well as international experts in business, reproductive health and AIDS prevention.
Berkeley Center for Health Technology (BCHT)
BCHT's principal function is to support research and the development of new knowledge and methods for coverage, reimbursement, and management of innovative technologies. The center's initial research activities cover the identification of current industry practices with respect to the reimbursement and management of clinical technologies, the analysis of best practices, and the development of new practices through cooperative endeavors involving leaders from technology firms, health insurance plans, and health care delivery organizations. BCHT also conducts intensive one-day workshops on topics such as the structure and strategy of the insurance industry, consumerism and trends in benefit design, Medicare Parts B and D, physician incentives and product distribution, and the role of specialty pharmacy firms.
Berkeley Population Center (BPC)
The Berkeley Population Center was founded in 2005 as an interdisciplinary center for population research on the Berkeley campus and beyond. BPC continues a 50-year old tradition of population research at Berkeley, and also fosters collaboration with the University of California campuses at San Francisco and Davis. In addition to the School of Public Health, center faculty come from a wide range of campus departments such as Demography, Sociology, and Economics. The Center's mission is to promote research and collaboration on all aspects of population studies.
Berkeley Systematic Reviews Group (BSRG)
The Berkeley Systematic Reviews Group was formed to summarize epidemiologic research through systematic reviews and meta-analyses in order to inform evidence-based clinical and public health practices; to conduct methodological research in the field of systematic reviews and meta-analyses; and to conduct training programs on systematic reviews in the U.S. and other countries.
Bixby Center for Population, Health, and Sustainability
The Bixby Center for Population, Health, and Sustainability is a collaboration of students, faculty, researchers, and staff working to address the critical impact of population on global public health and the environment. The center is dedicated to developing innovations in reproductive health for resource-poor settings, including reliable health information systems and local access to essential technologies to help guide policy makers in prioritizing interventions to maximize health impact.
California Program on Access to Care (CPAC)
The California Program on Access to Care brings the resources of the University of California to address significant health care policy issues affecting California's low-income populations. Through independent research and policy analysis conducted by the academic community both inside and outside the University, CPAC expands and enhances dialogue among government officials, healthcare advocates, and academic researchers.
California STD/HIV Prevention Training Center
The California STD/HIV Prevention Training Center is an integral part of a national network of training centers that offer dynamic continuing education courses. Clinical, behavioral interventions, partner services, and program support courses are designed to enhance the STD/HIV knowledge and skills of medical, health, and community professionals.
Center for Entrepreneurship in International Health and Development (CEIHD)
The Center for Entrepreneurship in International Health and Development was established in 2000. The center's mission is to promote and disseminate the use of entrepreneurial methods to improve the health of families in developing countries. CEIHD's purpose is to create financially sustainable, modular systems that employ the skills and knowledge of local entrepreneurs as partners and eventual owners of this process.
Center for Environmental Public Health Tracking (CEPHT)
The Center for Environmental Public Health Tracking is one of three funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention as part of a new program to develop a national approach to improved tracking of environmental factors that contribute to disease and the diseases that result. The center's primary mission is to support the development of the national approach and particularly to support the efforts of states. The seven state partners for the University of California Center are the states of California, Oregon, New Mexico, Montana, Nevada, Utah, and Washington. The center also has proposed specific projects to contribute to this overall effort.
Center for Exposure Biology (CEB)
CEB focuses on developing biomarkers and biosensors to allow cost-effective testing for blood cancer risks.
Center for Family & Community Health (CFCH)
The Center for Family and Community Health focuses its efforts on health promotion and disease prevention through programs directed at families, neighborhoods, and communities. It is one of 28 Health Promotion and Disease Prevention Research Centers sponsored by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The center's mission is to improve the health of families and communities in the San Francisco Bay Area by establishing linkages between the University and government and community-based organizations, providing analytic and quantitative expertise to local communities and health agencies, and training students in prevention research and public health practice.
Center for Global Public Health (CGPH)
The Center for Global Public Health (CGPH) has a fourfold mission to synergize research on critical global health issues; facilitate training of the next generation of researchers and leaders in global public health; inform and educate the media, governments, multi-lateral agencies, and private sector donors about global health issues and solutions; and partner with others to facilitate evidence-based implementation design that delivers measurable public health impact at the community level.
Center for Health and Public Policy Studies (CHPPS)
The Center for Health and Public Policy Studies conducts research and policy analysis on current issues in health policy and politics that affect California and the nation. The center provides data and organizes convenings that support public policies to develop an affordable, high-quality health care system and to promote health and prevent disease. In this work, the center collaborates with government, industry, academic, and public service institutions.
Center for the Health Assessment of Mothers and Children of Salinas (CHAMACOS)
CHAMACOS is a community-university partnership investigating the environment and children's health in the Salinas Valley, Monterey County, California. CHAMACOS is examining routes of pesticide exposure to children and their potential health effects and developing sustainable strategies to reduce pesticide exposure among children. CHAMACOS is also engaged in studying which factors in the environment might cause or exacerbate asthma in children. Overall, the goal of CHAMACOS is understand the relationship of the environment to children's health and develop interventions that reduce the incidence of environmentally related childhood disease.
Center for Health Communication (CHC)
The Center for Health Communication conducts research and provides training and consultation to help organizations and government agencies improve the quality of their information for the public. The center oversees the California Health Communication Project which provides technical assistance to help HMOs and other organizations address health literacy barriers. The center is also exploring the potential of eHealth communication to increase access to information and care.
Center for Health Management Research (CHMR)
The Center for Health Management Research-a National Science Foundation-sponsored Industry/University Cooperative Research Center-is a unique collaborative venture that strives to effectively address the need for a well-crafted and efficient health care system in the United States. Underlying the formation of the center is the belief that solving the nation's health care crisis starts with a solid foundation of research that combines the expertise of health care professionals and academic faculty. The center's 15 member universities and 11 industry sponsors work together to set the center's research agenda, addressing key issues of interest and importance to both parties. CHMR is housed on the Berkeley campus within the Center for Health Research.
Center for Health Research (CHR)
A member of UC Berkeley's Institute of Business and Economic Research, the Center for Health Research serves as a campuswide forum for bringing together social scientists and other investigators to address the challenging issues facing America's health sector. The Center's 60-plus members-faculty researchers on the Berkeley and San Francisco campuses of the University of California- represent many of the social sciences: economics, demography, political science, public health, business, psychology, social welfare, and sociology.
Center for Infectious Disease & Emergency Readiness (CIDER)
The mission of the Center for Infectious Disease and Emergency Readiness is to educate and train frontline public health staff to detect, investigate, and respond to infectious disease threats through collaborative learning, continuous training, evaluation, and research.
Center for Medicine, Humanities, and Law (CMHL)
Center for Occupational & Environmental Health (COEH)
The Center for Occupational and Environmental Health and its sister centers at Los Angeles and Irvine serve government, industry, schools, health professionals, and the general public through programs and partnerships designed to deepen understanding of occupational and environmental hazards and to prevent disease, fatalities, and injuries.
Chlamydia Genome Project (CGP)
The Chlamydia Genomes Project includes the annotated DNA sequence for the chromosomes of Chlamydia trachomatis, serovar D (D/UW-3/Cx), trachoma biovar; serovar L2 (L2/434/Bu), LGV biovar; and, C. pneumoniae, CWL029. The sequencing was a collaborative effort between researchers at the University of California, Berkeley, and Stanford University. The Chlamydia Genomes Project had two specific aims: (1) determination of the DNA sequence of the Chlamydia trachomatis serovar D, serovar L2, and C. pneumoniae chromosomes; and (2) to establish a DNA sequence database for the genomes.
Dr. Robert C. and Veronica Atkins Center for Weight and Health
The center provides leadership for the development of interdisciplinary, science-based solutions to body weight, health, and hunger-related problems.
Fresno Asthmatic Children's Environmental Study (FACES)
The Fresno Asthmatic Children's Environment Study, which began in 2000, is a large epidemiological study of the effects of air pollution on children with asthma. About 300 asthmatic children who reside in the Fresno area of the Central Valley of California were enrolled in the study. The overall goal of this study is to determine the effects of different components of particulate matter, in combination with other ambient air pollutants, on the natural history of asthma in young children.
Global Center for Health Economics and Policy Research (GCHEPR)
The GCHEPR is currently focused on international research in health insurance, financing, and health care labor markets; health and social capital; mental health care; and the global market for Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder medications. The GCHEPR trains young scholars and clinicians from Central Europe in finance and service delivery methods through its Mental Health and Policy Research Training Program funded by the Fogarty International Center/NIH.
Global Health Sciences Prevention & Public Health Group
The Global Health Sciences Prevention & Public Health Group is committed to improving health and increasing access to effective and affordable health services in all countries. The group's goals are to improve people's lives by decreasing premature death and disability; build capacity of local communities to improve health and health care access; and motivate the public and private sectors to drive consensus and action for the improvement of health globally.
Health Initiative of the Americas (HIA)
The Health Initiative of the Americas, formerly known as the California-Mexico Health Initiative, is a collaborative effort involving government, academia, the private sector and community-based organizations of both countries. Its objective is to coordinate and optimize the availability of health resources for Mexican immigrants and their families through bilateral training, research, and health promotion activities.
Health Professions Partnership Initiative (HPPI)
The SF Bay Area Health Professions Partnership Initiative-Public Health is an exciting joint venture bringing together several educational institutions and K-12 schools in the Bay Area. The HPPI Project seeks to improve students' academic skills, increase their knowledge of health careers (particularly public health), help sustain their motivation, and build their self-confidence.
Health Research for Action (HRA)
Health Research for Action (formerly the Center for Community Wellness) at UC Berkeley is one of the School of Public Health's initiatives to translate research findings into successful resources and programs for the public. HRA works with communities, foundations, and government agencies to reduce health disparities and create more hopeful, empowered communities. HRA's research shows that people are healthier when they have a strong sense of control over their lives.
International Training And Research In Emerging Infectious Diseases (ITREID)
Funded by the Fogarty Center of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the International Training & Research in Emerging Infectious Diseases Program has been working for the last five years to develop a training and research infrastructure in Latin America. Based on the concept of global sharing of scientific knowledge, the program seeks to facilitate timely field epidemiologic and laboratory investigations in response to infectious disease problems that are emerging and reemerging in the region. The program's primary goal is to provide both didactic and field based training to physicians, public health professionals, microbiologists, and epidemiologists in Latin America, who are dedicated to respond to the threat of such diseases. For more information, contact Lee Riley, M.D. lwriley@berkeley.edu.
Labor Occupational Health Program (LOHP)
Labor Occupational Health Program is a community outreach program of the Center for Occupational and Environmental Health at the School of Public Health, UC Berkeley. The LOHP staff is dedicated to improving health and safety in the workplace. The program serves labor, management, community organizations, health professionals, government, schools, and the general public.
Petris Center on Health Care Markets & Consumer Welfare (Petris Center)
The center helps to guide public policy by creating the data and conducting the research needed to understand today's complex health care market. It provides up-to-date information on changes in the health care system that may impact the health care marketplace and alter its capacity to provide high-quality care at competitive prices. It assesses issues related to the welfare of California consumers, especially affordability, availability and access to health care with a particular focus on low and moderate-income consumers. It concerns itself with the role of consumer choice and participation of front-line workers in the health care delivery system. It conducts studies and provides objective information to lawmakers, regulators, consumer-advocates, health care providers, and the public at large.
Resource Center on Aging (RCA)
In October 1985, as part of its new Academic Geriatric Resource Program, the University of California, Berkeley, officially opened the Resource Center on Aging. The center is the coordinating mechanism for activities in aging on the UC Berkeley campus, and also serves as a clearinghouse for information on aging activities both on and off campus. It maintains affiliations with organizations in aging which provide resources for field research and current information on issues in aging in the community.
Robert Wood Johnson Health & Society Scholars Program
A national program of The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, the Health & Society Scholars Program is designed to build the field of population health, which takes a broad approach to understanding why some groups of people are healthy and others are not. The goal of this interdisciplinary program is to improve health by training scholars to investigate vigorously the connections among biological, behavioral, environmental, economic, and social determinants of health; and develop, evaluate, and disseminate knowledge and interventions based upon integration of these determinants.
Robert Wood Johnson Scholars in Health Policy Research Program
Established in 1992 to foster the development of creative thinkers in health policy research as a collaborative effort involving faculty and resources of two University of California campuses, Berkeley and San Francisco, the program offers scholars a unique opportunity for advanced study and research on significant health policy issues. Each year, the program enables up to four highly qualified individuals to undertake a two-year fellowship.
Safe Transportation Research and Education Center (SafeTREC)
The mission of SafeTREC is to reduce traffic fatalities and injuries through multidisciplinary collaboration in education, research, and outreach. The center's aim is to strengthen the capability of state, county, and local governments, academic institutions, and local community organizations to enhance traffic safety through research, curriculum and material development, outreach, and training for professionals and students.
Superfund Basic Research Program (SBRP)The Superfund Basic Research Program is directed by Martyn T. Smith, Ph.D., professor of toxicology, School of Public Health, at the University of California, Berkeley. This multidisciplinary, multi-campus research program is dedicated to gaining an understanding of the relationship between hazardous substances in the environment and their impact on human health. Funded by the National Institute of Environmental Health Science, the program addresses research questions critical to reducing the human burden of disease from environmental exposures.
One of the oldest and most successful of all university-sponsored health newsletters, the University of California, Berkeley Wellness Letter takes the expertise of the School of Public Health and other researchers at UC Berkeley, as well as other top scientists from around the world, and translates their leading-edge research into practical advice for daily living. The UC Berkeley Wellness Letter is governed by an editorial board composed of School of Public Health faculty.
The Wellness Guide and the Spanish version of the guide, La Guía del Bienestar, are comprehensive health resources that have reached millions of individuals and families with important up-to-date information and resources. This guide features easy-to-read text, an appealing design, and photos of diverse people solving real-life problems. It includes more than 100 well-researched toll-free phone numbers, web sites, and links to local services through California phone books. It covers a broad range of user-selected topics on everyday life issues, staying well, and parenting.