Center to Improve Chronic Disease Outcomes through Multi-level and Multi-generational Approaches Unifying Novel Interventions and Training for Health Equity
Despite medical advances in treating chronic diseases and epidemiological findings identifying risk factors for chronic diseases, there remain major persistent health disparities driven by the Social Determinants of Health (SDoH). The vision of the Center to Improve Chronic Disease Outcomes through Multi-level and Multi-generational Approaches Unifying Novel Interventions and Training for Health Equity (COMMUNITY) is rooted in public health which recognizes that medical advances alone can only partially reduce the burden of disease and that reducing health disparities in chronic diseases requires improving the health and wellness of individuals, families, communities and societies throughout life.
The COMMUNITY seeks to realize this vision within the communities they serve that are among the most highly diverse in the U.S. with approximately 2/3 non-white, 1/3 foreign-born, and 1/5 living below the Federal poverty line. Comprising of institutions in the New York area, the mission of the COMMUNITY is to reduce health disparities in chronic diseases in the New York City Region through rigorous testing, disseminating and sustaining of interventions that incorporate the multiple levels of influence from individual, interpersonal, community and societal approaches.
Partner Institutions

Projects
Team
- Mary Beth Terry, PhD
Principal Investigator (MPI)
Director, Administrative Core
Director, Methods & Data Sub-Core
Columbia University - Elizabeth Cohn, PhD, RN
Principal Investigator (MPI)
Hunter College School of Nursing - Dawn Hershman, MD
Principal Investigator (MPI)
Principal Investigator, Project 2: IMPACT Study
Columbia University - Erica Phillips, MD, MS
Principal Investigator (MPI)
New York-Presbyterian Weill Cornell Medical Center - Daichi Shimbo, MD
Principal Investigator (MPI)
Director, Investigator Development Core
Columbia University - Olajide Williams, MD, MS
Principal Investigator (MPI)
Principal Investigator, Project 3: The CHURCH Study
Columbia University Irving Med Center - Kim Burke, BS, MPH
Acting Project Manager
Columbia University - Judelysse (Judy) Gomez, PhD
Co-Director, Community Engagement Core (CONNECTOME) - Louise Bier, MS, CGC
Co-Director, Community Engagement Core (CONNECTOME) - Nour Makarem, PhD
Principal Investigator, Project 1: The DREAM Study
Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health - Rachel Shelton, ScD, MPH
Co-Director, Implementation Science Core
Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health - Nathalie Moise, MD, MS
Co-Director, Implementation Science Core
Columbia University Irving Med Center - Samprit Banerjee, PhD
Biostatician
Weill Cornell Medical College - Joseph Lee, DrPH
Biostatician
Columbia University Medical Center - Marisol Castellano, MS
Member Investigator Development Working Group
Columbia University - Ian Kronish, MD, MPH
Columbia University Irving Med Center/Presbyterian Hospital and Vanderbilt Clinic - Sidney Hankerson, MD
Columbia University - Parisa Tehranifer, DrPH
Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health - Tuhina De O'Connor, MS, MPH,BS
- Columbia University Irving Medical Center
- Jill Bargonetti, PhD
Hunter College - Kathy Crew, MD
Member, Common Data Elements & Data Harmonization Working Group
Columbia University - Jeanine Genkinger, PhD
Member, Common Data Elements & Data Harmonization Working Group
Columbia University - Rita Kukafka, DrPH, MA, FACMI
Member, Common Data Elements & Data Harmonization Working Group
Columbia University - Nicole Bayne
Columbia University Medical Center - Desiree Walker, BA
Patient Advocate and Community Partner
Columbia University