Wake Forest University School of Medicine’s role in the Jackson Heart Study is to support and strengthen the study’s long-standing work in Jackson, Mississippi and beyond. As the Coordinating Center partner, we serve the coordinating role for carrying out the three-part mission of JHS: research, training and education, and community engagement. Our role includes administrative and operational coordination, such as establishing a single IRB, managing subcontracts, overseeing invoicing, and building reliable computing and participant-management infrastructure so the study’s day-to-day work can remain steady, efficient, and well-supported.
The Wake Forest Coordinating Center works with the JHS Field Center to update systems that support participants, publications and presentations, ancillary studies, data processes and DMDAs, health event ascertainment processes led by the Field Center, annual follow-up calls, and preparation for future study activities, including planning for Exam 5 and enrolling a new young adult cohort of participants. We work with the JHS Training and Education Centers and local institutions to help build the next generation of researchers and scientists by creating or connecting trainees to internship opportunities and career pathways. We also support the JHS Community Engagement Center in its outreach initiatives by facilitating communication, transparency, and community-facing updates.
Wake Forest brings infrastructure, systems, and coordination capacity to this important, long-standing study, building on a foundation laid over 25 years ago and growing together into the future.