First-of-its-kind Collaboration in Wisconsin to Bridge Science and Faith Communities to Address Public Health Needs

Milwaukee, Wis. – A new collaboration, that is the first-of-its-kind in Wisconsin and led by researchers at the Medical College of Wisconsin (MCW), will create a platform for the science and faith communities to come together to advance community health and health equity through research and discovery.

The Center for Collaboration of Science and Faith (CCSF) was recently launched by the Clinical and Translational Science Institute of Southeast Wisconsin (CTSI) and builds on the faith-based partnerships that CTSI has established during the past 10 years to foster the cooperation of faith and science. Advising CCSF will be the Council of Faiths, which includes 11 leaders from traditionally underrepresented in science and medicine and representing different faith communities in Milwaukee.

“The Center for Collaboration of Science and Faith is a pioneering initiative that seeks to bridge the gap between two seemingly disparate worlds. By fostering a space where scientific inquiry and spiritual beliefs can coexist harmoniously, the Center aims to revolutionize the way we approach public health challenges,” said the Center’s founding director Reza Shaker, MD, director of CTSI, and associate provost and senior associate dean at MCW.

CCSF will also serve as a national and international resource to facilitate rapid response efforts to urgent public health needs, as well as provide education and training for faith-science partnerships.

“The Medical College of Wisconsin has a deep commitment to community engagement, which includes serving as a bridge between the scientific and faith communities. This novel Center builds on that commitment to further advance community health and health equity for everyone,” said John R. Raymond, Sr., MD, MCW president and CEO.

The CCSF is one component of CTSI, a unique academic-community partnership formed in 2010 and led by Dr. Shaker that includes healthcare and academic organizations from the Milwaukee area. CTSI was established through a Clinical and Translational Science Award (CTSA) from the National Institutes of Health. MCW is one of only about 60 CTSA programs nationwide; fewer than half of all U.S. medical schools have received a CTSA award since the program’s inception in 2003. CTSI’s main goal is to accelerate the translation of research discoveries into new and improved medical treatments in Wisconsin and beyond.

“Having a mechanism to initiate and promote collaboration between science and faith is unique and important to the community,” said Bishop Charles H. McClelland, leader of the Wisconsin Northwest Jurisdiction of the Church of God in Christ and founder and president of Word of Hope Ministries, Inc. “The collaboration of science and faith has resulted in the development of valuable services in our community, and we look forward to expanding those collaborations.”

Bishop McClelland’s church houses CTSI’s pilot CommuniCare Unit – part of CTSI’s Community Care Initiative, Risk and Prevention Program – where MCW researchers work with community members to improve health.

“This new Center is an innovative approach to linking faith and science. Now, during a time in which there are many divisions, this work has the potential to advance understanding and the health of our communities,” said Joseph E. Kerschner, MD, MCW’s provost and executive vice president and The Julia A. Uihlein, MA, Dean of MCW’s School of Medicine.

“Leveraging our successful partnerships with faith communities for improving public health, and through collaborative research efforts and open dialogue, the Center hopes to unravel the complexities of health disparities and innovate solutions that resonate with both science and faith-based principles,” said Doriel Ward, PhD, MPH, the Center’s co-director, executive director and chief administrative officer of CTSI, and assistant provost and assistant dean at MCW.

In addition to MCW, those included in the Clinical and Translational Science Institute of Southeast Wisconsin are Children’s Wisconsin, Clement J. Zablocki VA Medical Center, Froedtert Hospital, Marquette University, the Milwaukee School of Engineering, the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, and Versiti Blood Center of Wisconsin.

To learn more about CTSI’s Center for Collaboration of Science and Faith, visit: https://ctsi.mcw.edu/news/center-for-collaboration-of-science-and-faith.

NOTE: This press release was submitted to Urban Milwaukee and was not written by an Urban Milwaukee writer. While it is believed to be reliable, Urban Milwaukee does not guarantee its accuracy or completeness.