Jonathan Links, PhD, professor and director of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health’s Center for Public Health Preparedness, has been awarded a five-year $7,663,066 million grant from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to study disaster preparedness risks and needs for vulnerable populations. The grant was part of a commitment by the CDC to establish Preparedness and Emergency Response Research Centers (PERRCs) at seven universities. The PERRCs will conduct research that will evaluate the structure, capabilities and performance of public health systems for preparedness and emergency response activities. The Hopkins grant is unique in that the research conducted will focus on both enhancing the public health emergency preparedness system and assessing the risks of vulnerable populations, particularly those with mental illnesses. The CDC-funded Center for Public Health Preparedness, which Links directs, is part of a national system of centers that provides training for public health workers across the country. The Centers of Public Health Preparedness (CPHP) were established in 2000 to strengthen terrorism and emergency preparedness by linking academic expertise to state and local health agency needs. Public Affairs media contact: Tim Parsons at 410-955-7619 or tmparson@jhsph.edu.
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