The newly established Center for Reproductive Health Research in the Southeast (RISE), at the Emory University Rollins School of Public Health, has received $6.8 million in funding for the next three years from a large, private, anonymous foundation.

"We are absolutely honored and thrilled to receive this award to establish RISE," says Kelli Hall, PhD, principal investigator and founding director of RISE. "With this initial grant, we are launching five timely and highly complementary research projects that are expected to provide new scientific knowledge about the social determinants of reproductive health in the Southeast and identify evidence-based strategies to improve access to family planning care in the region." 

RISE aims to build an evidence base and implement solutions for adverse reproductive health outcomes and disparities impacting women and their families in the southeastern United States. To reach its goals, the center has developed initiatives that fall under three main cores: a research core, a translation core, and an education and training core, which will support at least two post-doctoral fellows and four PhD students during this funding cycle.

"This project has culminated at the critical juncture of right time and right place," says James W. Curran, MD, MPH, James W. Curran Dean of Public Health at the Rollins School of Public Health. "Through RISE, the Southeast will gain the resources of an academic center dedicated to the multifaceted health issues women and their families face. Dr. Hall and her collaborators are well-suited for the work of identifying those challenges and working within communities to develop solutions."

Fifteen of the center's initial directors and core investigators come from schools across Emory University. Additional co-investigators and collaborators include partners from the University of Georgia, University of Alabama at Birmingham and Temple University.