Architecture of the Chicago Cancer Health Equity Collaborative – A Partnership Delivering Transformative Cancer Health Equity Research, Education and Community Engagement

Abstract

Reducing cancer health inequities requires transformation of longstanding structures, including ways of ‘doing business’ and other deeply rooted traditions that perpetuate social injustice. We posit that moving the needle toward cancer health equity requires the building of large-scale partnerships with the infrastructure and reach to reshape the architecture defining how education, training, and research are conducted. It is with this vision that the Chicago Cancer Health Equity Collaborative (ChicagoCHEC) was conceived in response to a call for proposals by the National Cancer Institute (NCI) in 2015 that sought applications for a partnership across a NCI designated comprehensive cancer center and up to two institutions serving underserved health disparitypopulations and underrepresented students. ChicagoCHEC was conceived as a tri-institutional partnership comprised of the Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center of Northwestern University, a NCI-designated Comprehensive Cancer Center which serves a diverse nine county catchment area, Northeastern Illinois University, a minority-serving institution known for its connection to minority students, and the University of Illinois Cancer Center at the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC), a minority-serving institution and leader in community-focused cancer care and disparities research. Established in 2016, ChicagoCHEC is comprised of four functionally distinct cores that together serve the mission of advancing cancer health equity through meaningful scientific discovery, education, training, and community engagement. The successful functioning of of ChicagoCHEC is evident from the fruits borne by the partnership in research, education, and community engagement toward the goal of eradicating cancer health inequities.