The CHR is located on Wayne State University’s (WSU) main campus on the third floor of the Cohn Building, which is home to the College of Nursing (CON); thus, the CHR location provides easy access by CON faculty researchers and their graduate student assistants. The CHR is led by a Director, Judith A. Floyd, PhD, RN, FAAN, Professor and Associate Dean for Research, and staffed with three full-time methodologists: 1) An epidemiologist, Cheryl Nordstrom, PhD, 2) a psychometric expert, Thomas Templin, PhD, and 3) a senior biostatistician, Hossein Yarandi, PhD. In addition, the CHR houses several part-time technicians who assist with specialized analyses and proved technical services such as data entry and graphics for dissemination of research results. The CHR also has three full-time support staff: a budget analyst, an accountant assistant, and a program specialist who assists the Director with the coordination of the day-to-day use of CHR facilities by CON faculty and their research team members. This combination of methodologists and support staff is able to provide consultation on all aspects of grantsmanship and pre-/post-award management of grants and links the CON researchers with the WSU Office of the Vice-President for Research (OVPR) and University Sponsored Programs Administration (SPA). Currently the CHR administers 35 grants on which CON faculty members serve as PIs, co-PIs, methodologists, and statisticians; several doctoral students in the PhD in Nursing and related-discipline PhD programs are participating as research assistants on these grants. Active funding levels for faculty research ranges between 1.5 and 2.1 million/fiscal year with the total value of the active-grant portfolio ranging from 8-10 million dollars.
Since the Center for Health Research’s (CHR) inception in 1968, the Wayne State University (WSU) College of Nursing (CON) has been a national leader in scholarly nursing inquiry. Maintaining high standards of CON faculty research productivity remains central to the mission of the CHR. An integral part of the CHR mission is to facilitate interdisciplinary health research across diverse settings where nursing is practiced and healthcare is provided. Settings used to support nursing faculty’s involvement in health research include other WSU Centers and Institutes, e.g., the Center for Urban African American Health (CUAAH) and the Institute of Gerontology (IOG); clinical research partnerships with the Detroit Medical Center, the Henry Ford Health Care System, and William Beaumont Hospitals; and, an extensive network of community health care centers, worksites, churches, schools, and community service groups such as Arab Community Center for Economic and Social Services (ACCESS) and the Arab-American and Chaldean Council (ACC).
