The Jackson Heart Study Program is a collaborative effort involving Jackson State University, Tougaloo College, and the University of Mississippi Medical Center. The program receives support from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Office of Research on Minority Health (ORMH) and the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute (NHLBI). Under this program Tougaloo College’s role is to serve as the Education and Training Program to prepare students for careers in public health and epidemiology related to cardiovascular diseases. Some students are selected into the program and receive a stipend; however, the program of curricular activities is open to all students.
Our Mission
The purpose of the Jackson Heart Study Education and Training Program is to train minority students, especially African-Americans to carry out medical research studies like the Jackson Heart Study.
Our Goals
The specific goals of the Jackson Heart Study Education and Training Program are to:
Create a pool of well-trained high school students who, upon entering college, can successfully complete undergraduate, and graduate or professional degrees in health professions and public health
Introduce a program of college courses to prepare the students to pursue advanced studies toward public health and epidemiology
Involve the students in hands-on experiences to create interest in public health careers
Provide basic epidemiology backgrounds for health care professionals
Summer Programs
SLAM Program
The SLAM program’s goal is to provide a large pool of well-trained high school students who, upon entering college, can successfully complete the curriculum requirements at an undergraduate college and have the necessary background and interest to pursue careers related to cardiovascular disease. Tougaloo College’s summer workshops are designed to provide excellent preparation for success in higher studies and to pursue advanced degrees in health professions.
Six Day Introduction Epidemiology Course
This course introduces the principles and methods of epidemiological investigation of diseases. It illustrates the different study designs used for evaluating risk factors and the effectiveness of health interventions and services. In addition to lectures, the course will present laboratory problems providing experience in epidemiological methods and inferences, and will deal with issues related to experimental and non experimental designs, sensitivity and specificity of diagnostic tests, confounding effects, and the use of the life-table approach to evaluate longitudinal data.