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Dr. Lisa Cooper Wins PCORI Research Funding - 09/28/2015

Dr. Lisa Cooper Wins PCORI Research Funding

Release Date: September 28, 2015
Lisa Cooper, M.D., M.P.H.
Lisa Cooper, M.D., M.P.H.
Credit: Johns Hopkins Medicine

Lisa Cooper, M.D., M.P.H., a professor of medicine at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, and her research team, have been selected by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to receive a $12.2 million research award, which will be funded by the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI) through a partnership with NIH.

Cooper, a nationally recognized leader in research to eliminate health disparities, will use the award in a study to compare ways to improve blood pressure control in specific populations at risk for health disparities related to high blood pressure and to close the gaps in health outcomes experienced by these groups.

The study will focus on racial/ethnic minorities, low-income individuals, and rural and urban residents across Maryland. It will compare clinic-based primary care to a collaborative, stepped approach to care. In the stepped approach, patients first interact with a multidisciplinary team of health professionals in the clinic and then, if their blood pressure control does not improve, with a community health worker and/or a subspecialist, such as a cardiologist or behavioral health specialist. The trial aims to recruit around 1,890 patient participants.

“This is challenging but rewarding work,” says Cooper. “We are excited by the significant opportunity this award brings for us to work in partnership with patients, health care systems and communities toward health equity in Maryland — and to develop a sustainable model that can be implemented in settings across the country.” 

The research team includes investigators from the Johns Hopkins University schools of medicine and nursing, and the Bloomberg School of Public Health, including Jill Marsteller, Ph.D., M.P.P., associate professor of health policy and management, who is co-leading the study with Cooper.

About PCORI

The Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI) is an independent, nonprofit organization authorized by Congress in 2010. Its mission is to fund research that will provide patients, their caregivers and clinicians with the evidence-based information needed to make better-informed health care decisions. PCORI is committed to continually seeking input from a broad range of stakeholders to guide its work. More information is available at www.pcori.org.