About
About Texas CEAL Consortium
Learn about our history, goals, projects, and leadership team.
Who we are
We are a partnership of academic organizations, health centers, and community groups seeking to address health disparities caused by COVID-19 and other chronic diseases among racial-ethnic minority communities in Texas.
Our History
We began in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic
Under the umbrella of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Community Engagement Alliance (CEAL), the Texas CEAL Consortium began in 2020 to address the urgent need for minority communities to participate in COVID-19 therapeutic and vaccine trials. Since then, we’ve reached hundreds of thousands of people in Texas through the health initiatives of our regional partners.
Our Goals
Our work expands beyond COVID-19
While the pandemic may no longer be a daily headline, many Texas residents still feel long-standing — and detrimental — health effects from COVID-19. We continue to address these impacts, while also expanding work to include projects related to long COVID, mental health, and chronic disease among underserved communities.
Current Projects
During 2023 – 2024, we continue to reach high-need communities in Texas through 5 projects led by our partners in Bexar, Harris, Hidalgo, and surrounding counties.
View current projectsPast Projects
In our first 3 years, our regional partners led 17 projects impacting community members in Bexar, Dallas, Harris, Hidalgo, Tarrant, and surrounding counties.
View past projects
Jamboor K. Vishwanatha
PhD
Dr. Vishwanatha is a principal investigator for Texas CEAL Consortium. He is also the Regents Professor and Vice President, and Founding Director of the Texas Center for Health Disparities at the University of North Texas Health Science Center at Fort Worth. Additionally, he serves as a principal investigator of the National Research Mentoring Network, NIH Specialized Center of Excellence in Health Disparities, and AIM-AHEAD Coordinating Center.
Erika L. Thompson
PhD, MPH, CPH
Dr. Thompson is a multiple principal investigator for Texas CEAL Consortium and an associate professor in the School of Public Health at the University of North Texas Health Science Center (UNTHSC) at Fort Worth. She also serves as Director of Community Engagement for the Institute for Health Disparities at UNTHSC.
Hoda Badr
PhD
Dr. Badr is a principal investigator for Texas CEAL Consortium. She also serves as an associate professor in the Department of Medicine at Baylor College of Medicine and as leader of the Cancer Prevention and Population Sciences Program at the Dan L. Duncan Cancer Center.
Robert L. Ferrer
MD, MPH, FAAFP
Dr. Ferrer is a Texas CEAL Consortium principal investigator. He holds several other roles, including as Vice Chair for Research, Family and Community Medicine at UT Health San Antonio; Dr. John M. Smith, Jr. Professor of Family and Community Medicine; and Director, Community Engagement, Institute for the Integration of Medicine and Science (CTSA for UT Health San Antonio). Additionally, he is an adjunct professor at the San Antonio Regional Campus, UT Houston School of Public Health.
Ioannis A. Kakadiaris
PhD
Dr. Kakadiaris is a principal investigator for Texas CEAL Consortium. He has also served as a Leadership Mentor for the 2022 AIM-AHEAD Leadership Fellows. He founded and directs the Computational Biomedicine Lab (CBL) and is a Hugh Roy and Lillie Cranz Cullen University Professor of Computer Science, Electrical & Computer Engineering, and Biomedical Engineering at the University of Houston.
Bich-May Nguyen
MD, MPH
In addition to serving as a principal investigator for Texas CEAL Consortium, Dr. Nguyen is a Clinical Associate Professor at the University of Houston, Tilman J. Fertitta Family College of Medicine.
Jasmine J. Opusunju
DrPH, MSEd, CHES, CPH
Dr. Opusunju is a principal investigator for Texas CEAL Consortium, as well as Executive Director of CAN DO Houston. She is also a Clinical Associate Professor at Baylor University in the Department of Public Health.
Candace A. Robledo
PhD, MPH
Dr. Robledo serves as a Texas CEAL Consortium principal investigator and Adjunct Faculty Member for the Department of Health Promotion and Behavioral Sciences at the UTHealth School of Public Health in Brownsville, TX. She is also an assistant professor for the Department of Population Health and Biostatistics, School of Medicine, UTRGV, in Edinburg, TX.
Luis R. Torres-Hostos
Ph.D.
Dr. Torres-Hostos is a principal investigator for Texas CEAL Consortium and the Founding Dean and Professor for the School of Social Work, University of Texas Rio Grande Valley.
Resources
Explore resources
Find resources about COVID-19, long COVID, and other chronic health-related topics created for researchers and community members.
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