Research Overview

From world-renowned studies on heart disease, diabetes and hypertension to advanced treatment for cancer and a human physiology simulation program used by NASA, researchers at the University of Mississippi Medical Center are unraveling the diseases that affect Mississippians, creating new, high-tech jobs and injecting tens of millions of dollars annually into the state's economy.

As one of UMMC's three interlocked missions, research keeps our education faculty and health-care providers at the cutting edges of their fields. It also deepens scientific knowledge and improves the lives of Mississippians.

The research effort at UMMC is has been on a dramatic upward trajectory. Over the last four years, the total dollar value of research has approximately doubled to about $83 million in fiscal year 2010.

Research activities run the gamut from basic science, which seeks to understand fundamental principles of human health and disease, to clinical studies of novel therapies in humans. UMMC has also had a national impact in population research. The Jackson Heart Study, which seeks to uncover the risk factors for cardiovascular disease in African Americans, is the largest population study of black citizens in the United States and celebrates its 10th anniversary this year.

Many research programs are organized as centers or institutes, in which researchers from varied disciplines work together on a common problem. The UMMC Cancer Institute is the largest multidisciplinary program of this sort on campus. Two newer initiatives are the MIND Center, which is focused on neurodegenerative conditions such as Alzheimer's disease, and the Center for Obesity, Metabolism and Nutrition.