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Research Projects

To advance the public's health and well-being through education, research & service
with a focus on issues affecting Louisiana

Louisiana Tumor Registry
Louisiana Tumor Registry (LTR) program is a statewide population-based cancer registry. The LTR received one of the original CDC Tumor Registry Enhancement grants 1974, and it was designated as a National Cancer Institute SEER registry in 2000. The annual extramural funding for the registry is over $2 million with an additional $1 million from the State of Louisiana. The goals of the Registry are to: 

• assess the magnitude of cancer burden in the state
• identify high risk groups and geographic areas so that cancer control activities can be targeted
• monitor trends in cancer over time to detect unusual patterns
• serve as a database for planning and setting priorities for cancer prevention programs
• evaluate the effectiveness of cancer control programs
• generate hypotheses and direct cancer research areas
• serve as a resource for special studies

To accomplish these goals, the Registry publishes cancer statistics in the Cancer in Louisianamonograph series on a regular basis. In addition, its data are included in the United States Cancer Statistics, Cancer in North America publications as well as Cancer Incidence in Five Continents, published by the International Agency for Cancer Research, WHO.

Cancer Control
Three Cancer Information, Detection and Control Initiatives are administered on a statewide basis by the School of Public Health, Epidemiology, Health Promotion and Disease Prevention:

The Louisiana Cancer Information Service (CIS), part of the Mid-South Cancer Information Services and funded by the National Cancer Institute, provides cancer resources, data and information to underserved populations and non-profit groups.

The Louisiana Breast and Cervical Health Program (LBCHP), funded by and part of the National Breast and Cervical Cancer Early Detection Program of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), provides access to lifesaving services for early detection of breast and cervical cancers to low-income, uninsured, and underserved women in Louisiana.

The Louisiana Cancer Control Partnership, also funded by the CDC, is a coalition dedicated to reducing cancer disparities by providing a comprehensive, integrated, and coordinated approach to the continuum of cancer control service delivery.

Louisiana is one of only two states in which the CDC funding for these cancer initiatives goes directly to an academic institution rather than the state health department.

Louisiana Healthy Aging Center
The population of the United States is aging. In 1900, less than 5% of people were over the age of 60. Today, this number exceeds 16%, and in the year 2030 it will be in excess of 25%. Even more drastically, the oldest-old, those over the age of 85, have been increasing at a rate six-times higher than the overall population. In the decade ending in 1990, those over 65 in Louisiana increased by 17%, compared to a 0.3% increase in the general population.

Because the citizens of Louisiana can look forward to an ever-increasing lifespan, the Louisiana Healthy Aging Center is dedicated to keeping pace by enhancing the quality of those years through research, education, and patient care. This effort engages scientists and clinicians from many disciplines and specialties, reflecting the complex nature of the aging process. It also involves alliances with institutions around Louisiana and within the Southeastern region.

Chronic Disease Prevention and Control Epidemiology Unit
The Chronic Disease Prevention and Control Epidemiology Unit is housed within the Epidemiology Program at the School of Public Health. The Unit provides epidemiological expertise to assist the Department of Health and Hospitals – Chronic Disease Prevention and Control Unit (CDPCU) in meeting the goals and objectives of the surveillance component for the Community Transformation Grant (CTG) Program, Coordinated Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion (CCDPHP) Program, and the Louisiana Tobacco Control Program (LTCP). 

Epidemiology Research
In addition to the programs described above and instruction in the MPH program in Epidemiology, the faculty at the Epidemiology Program conducts a number of important research studies, descriptive epidemiology and analytic epidemiology, funded by the Federal and state government, the university, and foundations:

• Neighborhood Environment and Alcohol Health Disparities
• College Alcohol Environmental and College Drinking
• Ecological Modeling of College Drinking
• Changes in Alcohol Availability and HIV Rates
• Exploration of Obesity Risk for Cancer Prevention
• North Carolina - Louisiana Prostate Cancer Project
• Pancreatic cancer in Acadians: Gene-environment interaction
• Biomarkers of Heavy Metal Exposure Related to Pancreatic Cancer Genetic Mutations
• Prostate Cancer Outcomes Post Environmental Disaster (P-COPED)
• Environmental Determinants of Physical Activity in Parks
• Chemoprevention of Gastric Dysplasia - Long Term Follow-up
• Chemoprevention of Gastric Dysplasia
• Patterns of Care Studies
• Lower Mississippi River Interagency Cancer Study (LMRICS)
• MORE!