The NYU Center for the Study of Asian American Health (CSAAH) has been funded as a National Institutes of Health (NIH) National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities (NIMHD)‒funded Specialized Center of Excellence (COE) across four consecutive funding cycles. The center is based in NYU Langone’s Section for Health Equity.

About the NYU Center for the Study of Asian American Health

Established in 2003 through an NIH NIMHD Project EXPORT (Excellence in Partnership, Outreach, Research, and Training) Center grant, and funded across four cycles as a NIHMD COE, CSAAH is committed to understanding, addressing, and reducing Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander (NH/PI) health disparities through rigorous, transdisciplinary, and community-engaged research.

Since 2007, we have partnered with the Asian & Pacific Islander American Health Forum (APIAHF)—a national organization with 30 years of experience in community coalition building and health promotion activities, working with more than 100 community organizations to support the optimization of health access and equity for more than 21 million Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders. The APIAHF co-leads our Community Engagement and Dissemination Core, co-facilitating CSAAH’s National Advisory Committee that includes grassroots community and clinical providers who serve our communities across the United States and Pacific Basin. Together, we have co-led NIH- and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)‒funded programs to reduce chronic disease disparities among communities experiencing social needs through dissemination and implementation of science-based community, community‒clinical linkage, and community health worker strategies.

Our Approach and Guiding Principles

Under the leadership of Chau Trinh-Shevrin, DrPH, and Simona C. Kwon, DrPH, MPH, CSAAH has been established as a one-of-kind center dedicated to research, education, and evaluation on Asian American health and health disparities. Our work is guided by a population health equity framework that, in close collaboration with more than 75 local and national community partners, has allowed us to evolve our mission and goals to advance our research to promote excellence for all. Informed by social determinants of health, theory-based behavioral change, and implementation science frameworks,

We employ innovative and rigorous approaches, leverage community health workers, technology, and electronic health record‒based strategies to improve access to care in Asian American communities – methods that have not previously been adapted or systematically tested before.

In addition to the guiding principles of the Section for Health Equity , our research, training, and partnership development are guided by the principles of community-based participatory research:

• Promoting active collaboration and participation at every stage of research
• Facilitating co-learning and capacity-building
• Ensuring research and interventions are community-driven and culturally appropriate
• Defining community as a unit of identity
• Yielding potential benefits simultaneously for communities and researchers
• Fostering trusting relationships between researchers and communities
• Enhancing the quantity and quality of collected data
• Increasing the use and relevance of research questions and collected data
• Promoting dissemination of findings
• Facilitating infrastructure building and sustainability

Section for Health Equity Research Tracks

Investigators from CSAAH contribute heavily to the Section for Health Equity’s five major research tracks. Our research focuses on:

• Cancer
• Cardiovascular Dealth and Diabetes
• Mental health
• Healthy Aging, Alzheimer’s Disease and Related Dementias
• Women’s Health Equity
• Innovative Pilot Projects

CSAAH’s research, including studies on diabetes led by Nadia S. Islam, PhD, and stomach cancer led by Simona C. Kwon, DrPH, MPH, aims to bridge the knowledge gap in sustainable, scalable health interventions coordinated with healthcare systems and community-based providers.

For each research track study, we develop and test integrated and sustainable interventions that build on community assets, improve structural competency and healthcare access, and reduce disease disparities among Asian Americans.

Career Development and Pilot Project Program

Our mission includes providing a mentored, supportive research environment for postdoctoral fellows, and early-career investigators. We aim to stimulate career advancement opportunities in health disparities research. We work toward strengthening the next generation of investigators through our Career Development and Investigator Development Core Pilot Project Program, co-led by Lorna E. Thorpe, PhD, MPH and Jiyuan Hu, PhDJiyuan Hu, PhD, which provides opportunities to conduct research that promotes health in all communities.

Community Engagement and Dissemination Resources

In close partnership with the Asian & Pacific Islander American Health Forum, we have developed an innovative model for community engagement and dissemination of research-based health interventions and informationdissemination of research-based health interventions and information. This model serves Asian American and NH/PI populations in various community and practice settings. Our collaborations allow us to serve as a national information and dissemination resource in translating scientific research into community and clinical practice, addressing the social, environmental, and biological needs of Asian American communities.

Our AA & NH/PI Health Central hub provide resources, including archived and recent CSAAH-developed health education toolkits, curricula, and related materials. We partnered with organizations to support Asian American and NH/PI communities during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Contact Us

For more information about the NYU Center for the Study of Asian American Health, please contact Rebecca Lee, MPA, program manager, at rebecca.lee3@nyulangone.org.

To subscribe to CSAAH’s listserv, please email Jennifer Wong, MPH, program manager, at jennifer.wong@nyulangone.org.