Cross-cutting Topics: Minority Health and Health Equity Regulatory Science Research
FDA’s Office of Minority Health and Health Equity (OMHHE) leads efforts to advance minority health and health equity- focused regulatory science research. To support research efforts, OMHHE engages across all FDA product centers and offices, as well as a broad range of stakeholders, including academia, minority-serving institutions, government agencies, and non-profit organizations.
OMHHE leverages various funding mechanisms, collaborations, and partnerships to advance its mission by establishing new scientific initiatives and supporting novel health disparity and health equity-focused intramural and extramural research. The OMHHE Challenge Grants support intramural research in collaboration with FDA scientists. The OMHHE extramural research program supports extramural research in collaboration with diverse organizations through OMHHE Innovation Award grants, the Broad Agency Announcements, the Centers of Excellence in Regulatory Science and Innovation, Research Collaboration Agreements, and Inter-Agency Agreements.
OMHHE advances regulatory science by supporting research that contributes to the reduction of health disparities and advancement of health equity. For example, supporting research that contributes to advancing inclusion of racial and ethnic minority populations in clinical trials, and the continued evaluation of FDA regulated products by demographic data including, but not limited to, ethnicity, race, age, and geography. OMHHE also advances scientific workforce diversity by supporting post-doctoral fellowship programs such as the Genomic Science and Health Equity (GSHE) Postdoctoral Fellowship, a joint program with the FDA OMHHE and the National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI) at the National Institutes of Health (NIH).
OMHHE Mission
The FDA Office of Minority Health and Health Equity (OMHHE) works to promote and protect the health of diverse populations through research and communication that addresses health disparities. OMHHE serves as the principal advisor to the Commissioner and other key officials on scientific and policy issues relating to the health of racial and ethnic minorities, and other underrepresented or underserved populations. OMMHE advocates, collaborates, and partners within and outside FDA for the participation of racial and ethnic minorities, and other diverse populations in clinical trials. OMHHE also supports activities to expand language access.
| Minority Health and Health Equity | Women’s Health | Maternal Health | Pediatric Health |
| Oncology | Rare Diseases | One Health Initiative |
Research Capabilities, Tools, and Resources
| Research Management and Collaborations | Technology Transfer and Public-Private Partnerships | Physical Standards and Reference Materials | Intramural Grant Programs | Extramural Funding Mechanisms |
Scientific Education, Training, and Communication
| Fellowship and Training Opportunities | Professional Development and Continuing Education | Communication and External Meetings |
Infrastructure
| Facilities and Shared Resources | Safety and Compliance |
| Office of the Chief Scientist | Contact Us: FARS@fda.hhs.gov |