A University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences researcher is among nine promising investigators recently awarded grants to conduct research that will provide public health practitioners with valuable information – evidence that will help guide financial and workforce decisions critical to the future of the public health system in the wake of the Affordable Care Act.

Michael Preston, MPH, director of Cancer Control at the UAMS Winthrop P. Rockefeller Cancer Institute, was awarded the $10,000, one-year grant by the National Coordinating Center for Public Health Services and Systems Research (PHSSR). The Center’s sixth round of Junior Investigator Awards will not only produce evidence needed by the public health community, but also will help develop new qualified investigators in PHSSR. The field aims to examine the organization, financing and delivery of public health services.

The goal of Preston’s research is to provide a comprehensive understanding of the impact of health care reform on overall colorectal cancer screening, disparities in screening, and the role of provider recommendation in mediating these efforts.

Made possible by a grant from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, the awards to doctoral candidates and junior faculty give awardees an opportunity to work closely with prominent PHSSR experts as they launch their careers. The studies are set to be completed by spring 2014.

Over the past five years, the National Coordinating Center has awarded more than 30 grants to junior PHSSR investigators. Click here for a complete list of the 2013 PHSSR Junior Investigator Award recipients and their projects.