Tougaloo College Biomedical Research & Training Center

Project Summary / Abstract The Tougaloo College Biomedical Research and Training Center (TCBRTC) will be new construction and serve as the College’s first facility dedicated entirely to research. The research focus in chronic diseases leading to health disparities is aligned with our faculty members’ interests, our established collaborations, and

the health disparities in the state, the region, and the community. This facility will enhance institution-wide research programs and facilitate collaborations with research intensive partners to transform the department to one that develops relevant research programs, building upon existing biomedical pipeline initiatives.

Founded in 1869, Tougaloo College (TC) is a private, coeducational, historically black four-year liberal arts institution. It sits on 500 acres of land located on West County Line Road on the northern edge of Jackson, Mississippi. Tougaloo College has been accredited through the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools

since 1953. Through its diverse academic program, Tougaloo College grants undergraduate baccalaureate degrees in a wide range of fields related to biomedical or behavioral sciences. In 2021, 81% of undergraduate students at Tougaloo College received financial aid in the form of grants or loans. This represents a decline of

14.7% with respect to 2020, when 95% of undergraduate students received financial aid. In 2021, 142 degrees were awarded across all undergraduate and graduate Programs, 74.6 awarded to women and 25.4 to men. All the graduates were African American. As of fall 2022, Tougaloo College has 657 undergraduate students, with

39% male and 61% female. In addition to ranking among the top 25 U.S. institutions whose graduates earn Ph.D. degrees in science and engineering disciplines, TC also ranks among the top 15 historically black colleges and universities for graduating female students with physical science undergraduate degrees. Over 60% of TC

graduates attend professional schools immediately after graduation. While TC is a federally designated Limited Resource Institution (LRI), it is devoted to fostering diversity in early career STEM scholars. Tougaloo College qualifies as an Institution of Emerging Excellence (IEE) based on all the criteria in 42 USC

283k(c)(2). Tougaloo has a research program, the Jackson Heart Study, which is focused on cardiovascular diseases and other health disparities. The leading cause of mortality in Mississippi is heart disease. The Tougaloo College campus has a federally qualified health center on campus, and Mississippi is also an IDeA

and EPsCoR State. The Tougaloo College Chronic Disease Research and Training Shared Facility will enable Tougaloo faculty, students, and collaborators to develop research expertise in cardiovascular and other chronic diseases that produce health disparities in African Americans.