Long-term health tracking for adults in the American South
Southern Community Cohort Study
Following tens of thousands of adults—many African American—in the U.S. Southeast to learn what influences cancer and other diseases over time.
Quick facts
| Grant type | U01 cooperative agreement |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Vanderbilt University Medical Center NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Nashville, United States) |
| Project ID | NIH-11184237 on NIH RePORTER |
What this research studies
This continuation follows nearly 86,000 adults who were recruited from community health centers across 12 southern U.S. states, with most participants enrolled between 2002 and 2009. The project keeps and uses stored blood, buccal (mouth) cells, urine, and DNA samples from many participants and links to medical records, cancer registries, Medicare data, and death records for ongoing follow-up. Researchers combine these long-term health records and biospecimens to find patterns and possible causes of cancer and other diseases that disproportionately affect people in the region. If you take part or allow use of your samples and records, you help researchers identify prevention and screening strategies that could benefit communities like yours.
Who could benefit from this research
Good fit: Adults who live in or received care in the Southern U.S., especially African American adults and patients of community health centers, typically those aged 40 and older at enrollment.
Not a fit: People seeking an experimental treatment or immediate personal medical benefit may not gain direct health benefits because this is observational research focused on long-term tracking and analysis.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: Could reveal causes of higher cancer rates and lead to better prevention, screening, or treatment for people in Southern and African American communities.
How similar studies have performed: Other large cohort studies have successfully identified important disease risk factors, and the SCCS is especially valuable because it uniquely includes large numbers of African American and low-income Southern participants.
Where this research is happening
Nashville, United States
- Vanderbilt University Medical Center — Nashville, United States (Active)
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Zheng, Wei — Vanderbilt University Medical Center
- Study coordinator: Zheng, Wei
About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page below.