Our Research
Fostering a climate of community engaged research
Request Assistance
You can reach out to us at any stage of the research process — from idea generation, intervention development or evaluation to reporting results.
Engaging with Communities
Engaging with underrepresented communities is key to the success of research projects and clinical trials. However, barriers to participation in these communities can limit reach and retention. COE offers technical support to help you overcome these challenges by developing community-engaged best practices.
In most cases, our services are provided free of charge as part of pilot work. Opportunities exist for the inclusion of COE staff and community resources in funding opportunities and are determined on a case-by-case basis.
Request Assistance
You can reach out to us at any stage of the research process — from idea generation, intervention development or evaluation to reporting results.
COE Assistance Includes
Community Engagement
- Helping you engage with community members who have lived experiences that may influence the project
- Understanding recruitment barriers and challenges before starting the project
- Determining feasibility and appropriateness of the project for the community of interest
- Gaining insight into the cultural preferences of a community to inform the project design and materials
Strategy & Collaboration
- Guidance and support to develop a community-engaged outreach or research strategy
- Facilitating introductions with key stakeholders and potential research partners and sites
- Implementing health education components of an intervention
- Providing you consultation with our Community Advisory Boards and taskforces
Reach & Recruitment
- Collaborating on collecting data to inform a pilot project (e.g., focus groups, key informant interviews, surveys)
- Spreading the word about your project through our statewide networks creating enhanced exposure to your work
- Working with you to share your results back with the community
- Expanding your reach into new communities of interest
COE Success
As part of an NCI supplement to conduct a needs assessment of our catchment area, COE co-led the development of a multi-pronged recruitment strategy — using social media, mail, and in-person outreach — to survey our catchment area residents with a Cancer Control and Population Health research team. Through our vast network of community partners, we recruited 1,388 community members to take the survey.
Dr. Melissa Little (CPH) worked with COE to develop a list of community pharmacist contacts in rural Virginia to understand the feasibility of providing tobacco cessation through local pharmacies. The COE team connected with 77 community pharmacists to introduce the project and explain how their input would shape the intervention development. As a result, Dr. Little received pilot funding and is working on an R01 application.
“COE was instrumental in launching my research into the community. I can’t imagine trying to do this work without their assistance” ~ Melissa Little, PhD
COE Pilot Research Program
The UVA Comprehensive Cancer Center, along with Community Outreach and Engagement, provides funding to support community-based research projects. The projects are reviewed by an internal team comprising COE team members, Cancer Center investigators, and representatives from our Community Advisory Council.
2020 Recipients
Investigators: Wendy Cohn, Wang Yuh-Hwa
Area of focus: Lung Cancer
Overview: Determine whether environmental/dietary chemicals can generate DNA breaks to lead to lung cancer (non-smoking) and identify hotspots of lung to determine association with known fragile site inducers.
Investigators: Li Li, Bhatnagar Sanchita
Area of focus: Breast Cancer
Overview: Demonstrate that targeting TRIM37 will reduce disparate survival outcomes in African American women, or better identify patients most at risk for aggressive disease.