Meharry Medical College (Meharry) is well-known for its service to African Americans, other racial and ethnic minorities, and underserved populations. Meharry focuses on improving health equity and reducing health and health care disparities through patient care, medical education, and research initiatives.

Founded in 1876 and chartered in 1915, it is the first medical school dedicated to the education of African Americans in the Southern United States.

As one of the nation’s oldest HBCUs and academic health science centers, Meharry educates health care providers, medical, dental, and biomedical researchers and public health and health policy experts. Meharry is one of the nation’s top producers of primary care doctors who work in underserved areas, reflective of the motto, “Worship of God Through Service to Mankind,” and mission of educating, practicing, and researching to improve overall well-being.

The Meharry Community Engagement Core (Core) was conceptualized and launched in 2017 through funding from the Research Centers in Minority Institutions Program in Health Disparities Research from the National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities. The Core is led by researchers with considerable experience in community-engaged, public health, and clinical research.

The Core purposefully builds on the networks developed through the history of education, service, and practice of Meharry to achieve its vision: to eradicate health and healthcare disparities through long-term, collaborative, mutually beneficial community/academic research partnerships. The partnerships exist to actively engage the community in all phases of research activities and to enhance community-engaged research at Meharry. Furthermore, the partnerships facilitate and support efforts to achieve health equity and reduce racial and ethnic disparities in health and health outcomes.