Asthma is a major childhood illness that causes chronic breathing difficulties, coughing and wheezing, and which sometimes can be fatal. African American children are three times more likely than whites to be hospitalized for treatment of asthma, and four times more likely to die from asthma-related complications. While the number of Americans with asthma – more than 14 million people – has doubled since the late 1980s, it is not known why African Americans are affected more frequently and more severely than whites. This center will investigate some of the reasons why.

The Meharry/Vanderbilt center focuses on four research areas.  Although each project is a collaborative effort, two of the four are the primary focus at Meharry and described in greater detail below.
 
At Meharry

• effectiveness of an intensive treatment intervention to help minority pregnant asthmatics
• ways that minority asthmatics experience and respond to asthma symptoms

At Vanderbilt

• outcomes of pregnant asthmatics
• potential differences in responses to asthma treatment in African-American and white children with severe asthma.

In addition, the Center will have a project (described in more detail below) related to the education and training of young investigators and students in asthma disparities in the hopes of attracting them into this area of research.