The location and service areas of the UChicago and UIC in Chicago make them ideal partners because they are uniquely positioned to address major environmental concerns and important urban health issues.
UChicago is located in city’s Southside in the middle of some of the most disenfranchised communities in Chicago. The UIC is located 8 miles away in the near Westside where, as a public university and hospital, it largely serves nearby South- and West-side Hispanic, African American and Asian communities. Both regions encompass areas with the greatest health disparity and highest pollution in Chicago which positions us to directly address these problems. The Universities are far enough removed that they serve separate catchment areas and have distinct community research programs, while they are close enough such that Center members can easily interact, attend joint seminars, focus group meetings, etc. Further, both institutions have existing infrastructure that allow CACHET member interactions using video- and web-based systems.
Although there have been some EHS collaborations between UChicago and UIC in recent years, CACHET provides a formal mechanism by which EHS investigators from both institutions interact frequently and undertake innovative and impactful projects together. We have already observed cross-fertilization of ideas and expect that CACHET will create a powerful synergy and greatly enhance environmental health science research portfolio of both institutions.