Media Outlet Highlights Temple and Maternal Wellness Village Partnership Selected for $5.99 Million in PCORI Research Funding for Study on Black Maternal Heart Health

Researchers at the Lewis Katz School of Medicine at Temple University, in partnership with community-based providers from Maternal Wellness Village under the auspices of Oshun Family Center, have been approved for a five-year, $5.99 million award from the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI) to compare two approaches for reducing heart disease risk factors in Black birthing people. The overarching goal of the study is to eliminate disturbing disparities in heart disease, including heart attack and stroke, among Black women and birthing people during and after pregnancy. Sharon J. Herring, MD, MPH, Associate Professor of Medicine and Director of the Program for Maternal Health Equity at the Katz School of Medicine, is co-principal investigator on the study with Saleemah McNeil, MS, MFT, Program Director of Maternal Wellness Village, a collective of Philadelphia-based Black birth workers. Additional partners on the study include faculty and staff from Temple’s Center for Urban Bioethics and the Departments of Obstetrics and Reproductive Sciences, Cardiology and Clinical Sciences. Scoop USA highlighted the news.