EQBMED is a collaborative, community-based partnership to address diversity in clinical trials funded by a grant from PhRMA.
 Equitable Breakthroughs in Medicine Development (EQBMED), a collaborative partnership dedicated to expanding clinical trial participation among communities of color and rural populations, today announced the selection of the final four clinical trial sites of the learning phase:
- Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist Comprehensive Cancer Center in Winston-Salem, North Carolina
- Health 360x bringing in 35 additional sites across 14 states (Alabama, Arkansas, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Maryland, Missouri, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Texas, Virginia)
- Southside Medical Center, in collaboration with Ocean Management Services, in Atlanta, Georgia
- University of Alabama at Birmingham Minority Health & Health Equity Research Center in Birmingham, Alabama
 With this expansion, EQBMED builds on its mission to address barriers to clinical trial participation, including limited access to trial sites, historical mistrust, misinformation, and lack of information. Led by Yale School of Medicine, Morehouse School of Medicine (MSM), the Research Centers in Minority Institutions Coordinating Center (RCMI-CC) at Morehouse School of Medicine, and Vanderbilt University Medical Center, this initiative reflects a focused, community-centered commitment to making clinical trials accessible and sustainable.
Spotlight on Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist Comprehensive Cancer Center
As part of Wake Forest University School of Medicine, Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist Comprehensive Cancer Center, through their Office of Cancer Health Equity, have spent over a decade improving access to clinical trials through education, outreach and partnerships.
In partnering with EQBMED, Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist Comprehensive Cancer Center aims to boost community engagement and implement a co-leadership and co-learning model across all community-based sites. This collaboration leverages enterprise-wide health records to ease staff burden, integrates clinical workflows, and improves patient outreach for cancer clinical trials. It will also expand staff capacity, strengthen community ties, expand therapeutic focus, allowing more clinical trials to reach rural communities across North Carolina.
âIncluding sites at different stages of clinical trial readiness is an essential part of EQBMEDâs approach to learning and growth,â said Tesheia Harris, MBA, MHS, EQBMED Senior Advisor and former Chief Strategy Officer at Yale Center for Clinical Investigation (YCCI) at Yale School of Medicine. âWe are excited to welcome Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist Comprehensive Cancer Center to EQBMED. Their experience is evident in the hundreds of clinical trials they conduct across areas like cancer, genomics, and blood disorders. As a NCI-designated center with numerous community-based sites, our partnership expands the ability to reach communities with exceptional clinical care, while exploring innovative strategies to support long-term site sustainability.â
âJoining the Equitable Breakthroughs in Medicine Development (EQBMED) initiative is an important partnership that will amplify our commitment to community engagement, making our clinical trials more accessible and promoting greater access to advanced treatments, accelerating discovery and ultimately saving lives, locally, regionally and nationally.â said Nadine Barrett, PhD, Senior Associate Dean, Community Engagement and Research Equity, Director, Community Outreach and Engagement, Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist Comprehensive Cancer Center.
Spotlight on Health 360x
Health 360x brings more than two decades of experience in clinical research, with an expertise in working with more than 30 small and medium-sized independent practices across 14 states to conduct both conventional and decentralized clinical trials serving diverse patient populations. Dedicated to scaling its operations, Health 360x will collaborate with EQBMED to increase access to its network’s decentralized trial capacities. They will also enhance the data integration capabilities of the Health 360x.ai Clinical Research Platform to reduce provider and staff burden and further promote a community-centric approach to recruitment and retention.
âThe Health 360x sites are committed to enhancing diverse participation in clinical trials across therapeutic areas such as cardiovascular and metabolic disorders, blood disorders, diabetes, hypertension, and womenâs health,â said Chamberlain Obialo, MD, FACP, FASH, FASN, Chief Executive Officer, Health 360x. âThrough our collaboration with EQBMED, we look forward to leveraging our Health 360x platform, expanding our network of trial capabilities and capacity, addressing critical barriers to participation, and ensuring that clinical research is more representative.â
âHealth 360xâs integration of technology, deep community ties, and focus on workforce capacity building aligns seamlessly with EQBMEDâs mission,â said Peter EmbiÌ, MD, MS, FACP, FACMI, FIAHSI, EQBMED Partner Leader and Professor of Biomedical Informatics and Medicine, Chair of Biomedical Informatics, and Senior Vice-President for Research and Innovation at Vanderbilt University Medical Center. âBy expanding our clinical trial network and engaging the communities they serve, we can foster greater diversity in clinical research.â
Spotlight on Southside Medical Center
Founded in 1967, Southside Medical Center, a Federally Qualified Health Center (FQHC) in Atlanta, has been nationally recognized by the National Association of Community Health Centers for having one of the best primary health care delivery systems for the medically underserved in the country. Collaborating with EQBMED, Southside with further focus on developing a replicable model which aligns with the clinical imperative of FQHCs with the sites research aspirations. EQBMEDâs support will also enable Southside to explore staffing models to sustain research infrastructure over time, providing patients with opportunities to participate in innovative clinical trials as part of outstanding care.
âIn partnership with EQBMED, we seek to activate a multi-location integrated accountable care research network to support research scientists and enhance team cohesion, to accelerate reach and impact for the Atlanta community,â said David Williams, MD, CEO, Southside Medical Center. âOur team consists of experts in the communities they serve, leveraging valued trust, deep community ties, and collective knowledge to create an accessible landscape in medical research.â
âThe addition of Southside Medical Center strengthens EQBMEDâs presence in Atlanta, building on Morehouse School of Medicine’s history of advancing medical innovation to improve health outcomes for the individuals and communities our institutions have both served for generations,â said Priscilla E. Pemu, MBBS, MSCR, FACP, FAHA, EQBMED Partner Leader and Associate Dean for Clinical Research, Director of the Clinical Research Center, and Professor of Clinical Medicine at Morehouse School of Medicine. âWorking together, this new partnership will provide EQBMED with a model the program can build on in other regions of the country.â
Spotlight on University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) Minority Health & Health Equity Research Center (MHERC)
Strategically located in the heart of the South, the UAB MHERC provides a critical connection between investigators and populations underrepresented in biomedical research. The Center generates and disseminates research knowledge from biomedical, behavioral, and social sciences to reduce health disparities and move us toward health equity. The MHERC has a strong foundation in clinical research, conducting trials across numerous therapeutic areas, including cancer, diabetes, hypertension, obesity, and womenâs health. Known for its deep, long-term commitment to community engagement, the UAB MHERC ensures its research reflects the unique needs and priorities of the populations they serve.
âUAB MHERCâs deep commitment to building trust and shaping research to the needs of the community strongly aligns with EQBMEDâs mission,â said Marcella Nunez-Smith, MD, MHS, EQBMED Partner Leader and Associate Dean for Health Equity Research, and C.N.H Long Professor of Internal Medicine, Public Health, and Management at Yale University. âTogether, this partnership expands access to clinical trials and can set a new standard for community-centered medical research.â
âTo achieve health equity, there must be equity and diversity in clinical trials,â said Mona Fouad, MD, MPH, Professor, General Internal Medicine and Population Science, Edward E. Partridge, M.D., Endowed Chair for Cancer Disparity Research and Director, Minority Health & Health Equity Research Center at the University of Alabama at Birmingham.
âThe MHERC has been building trusted community relationships for over 20 years. We are committed to addressing barriers to clinical trial participation by leveraging these trusted community partnerships, optimizing patient navigation, and amplifying community engagement through strategic initiatives,â said Fouad. âWith EQBMEDâs support, we aim to optimize clinical trial patient navigation, hire staff that reflect the community, further strengthen community partnerships in research awareness and engagement.â
 âEQBMEDâs expansion, including establishing partnerships with 10 Learning Phase sites, underscores its dedication to building an accessible and sustainable clinical trial ecosystem by meeting sites at various stages of clinical trial maturity, building on their strengths, and addressing community needs. We are witnessing the start of a transformation in clinical researchâone that places communities at the heart of discovery and innovation.â said Dr. Elizabeth Ofili, MD, MPH, FACC, EQBMED Partner Leader and Professor of Medicine and Principal Investigator of the RCMI Coordinating Center at Morehouse School of Medicine.