Jackson Heart Study Program

The Jackson Heart Study (JHS) is a collaborative program involving Jackson State University, Tougaloo College, the University of Mississippi Medical Center, and the Mississippi State Department of Health. The program receives support from the National Institutes of Health’s National Center on Minority Health and Health Disparities and the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute. Under this program, the College serves as the home of the Undergraduate Training and Education Center (UTEC). The goals of the UTEC are to:

1. Create a pool of well-trainedhigh school students who, upon entering college, can successfully completeundergraduate and graduate or professional degrees in health professions.
2. Introduce a program of college courses to prepare Tougaloo students to pursueadvanced studies toward public health, epidemiology, and biostatistics.
3. Involve the students in hands-on experience to create interest in health careers.
4. Provide basic epidemiology background for health care professionals. In order to accomplish the above goals, the UTEC has developed the following programs: the Science Language Arts and Mathematics (SLAM) Program for high school students, and the Jackson Heart Study Undergraduate Scholars Program.