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 as the central hub to carry out the three-part mission of JHS: research, training and education, and community engagement. Our role includes administrative and operational coordination like establishing a single IRB, managing subcontracts, invoicing, and building reliable computing and tracking 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 the tracking systems for participants, publications and presentations, ancillary studies, and data processes and DMDAs, event surveillance, annual follow-up calls, and to prepare for future study activities (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 build the next generation of researchers and scientist by creating or connecting trainees to internship opportunities and pipelines. We support the JHS Community Engagement Center in their outreach initiatives 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 in the future.