The National Institutes of Health (NIH) has provided research support to two members of the Yale School of Medicine faculty through its Rapid Acceleration of Diagnostics (RADx) initiative, which seeks to speed innovation in the development, commercialization, and implementation of technologies for COVID-19 testing. Within that initiative, the RADx Underserved Populations (RADx-UP) program has funded research that aims to better understand COVID-19 testing patterns among underserved and vulnerable populations disproportionately affected by the pandemic; strengthen the data on disparities in infection rates, disease progression and morbidity and mortality; and develop strategies to reduce the disparities in COVID-19 testing, rates of infection, and outcomes.
“It is critical that all Americans have access to rapid, accurate diagnostics for COVID-19, especially underserved and vulnerable populations who are bearing the brunt of this disease,” says NIH Director Francis S. Collins, MD, PhD “The RADx-UP program will help us better understand and alleviate the barriers to testing for those most vulnerable and reduce the burden of this disease on all Americans.”
Yale is one of 32 institutions that have received awards, which total nearly $234 million, through the RADx-UP program.