CEAL Milestones
January 2024
In collaboration with CEAL, the American Journal of Public Health released a special supplement, Leveraging the Power of Communities During Public Health Emergencies, featuring 25 editorials and papers that discuss CEAL’s community-engaged research during the COVID-19 pandemic. The collection spans topics such as how to craft effective community needs assessments and strategies to preserve and cultivate community trust.
January 2024
CEAL establishes the American Indian, Alaska Native, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander Enrichment Initiative to address disparities resulting from adverse social and structural determinants of health that impact the prevention and management of chronic diseases and emerging public health threats in these populations.
August 2023
To advance the goals of the NIH Implementing a Maternal health and PRegnancy Outcomes Vision for Everyone (IMPROVE) Initiative, NIH CEAL launches the IMPROVE Community Implementation Program. The program supports coalitions to promote research that addresses health disparities associated with pregnancy-related and pregnancy-associated morbidity and mortality.
March 2023
NIH CEAL funds the expansion of the Missouri CEAL’s iHeard public health information monitoring system as a pilot program. The Health Knowledge Monitoring and Response System (HKMRS) Pilot uses community partnerships to test the feasibility of an iHeard approach to building health knowledge and trust in communities in Colorado, Texas, and the Washington, DC area.
March 2023
CEAL, in partnership with the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, establishes the Alliance for Community Engagement – Climate and Health (ACE-CH). This CEAL program works to build partnerships with the most affected communities to understand their concerns and abilities to tackle climate-related health threats. Four two-year awards are given to research teams in Colorado, California, and Alaska.
July 2022
The Network for Community-Engaged Primary Care Research (NCPCR) is established. NCPCR aims to build short- and long-term community-based partnerships to address health inequities and improve diversity and inclusion in research.
October 2021
The Community Engagement Alliance Consultative Resource (CEACR) is established to elevate promising practices throughout CEAL and provide customized expertise to optimize inclusive participation across the research ecosystem.
October 2021
NIH CEAL leaders Drs. Eliseo J. Perez-Stable and Gary H. Gibbons win the COVID-19 Response medal for the Samuel J. Heyman Service to America Medals (Sammies), which celebrates outstanding achievements in the public sector. The NIH leaders spearheaded two major federal programs – RADx-UP and CEAL to reduce disparate levels of COVID-19-associated morbidity and mortality disparities experienced by the hardest hit communities.
April 2021
An additional $29 million from NIH expands community-engaged research through CEAL Regional Teams. The number of CEAL Regional Teams increases to 21 teams, including the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico.
Fall 2020
$17 million from the NIH forms the first CEAL Regional Teams, launching the NIH Community Engagement Alliance (CEAL) Against COVID-19 Disparities. Research teams in 11 states receive funding to create community engagement alliances, or CEAL Regional Teams, focused on COVID-19 awareness, education, and research to support people in communities of color. At the time, these communities account for over half of all reported COVID-19 cases in the United States.