The Partners in Health and Housing Prevention Research Center (PHH-PRC), funded since 2001 by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), is an equitable four-way partnership among researchers, community members, and public agencies. The four partners that make up the PHH-PRC are the Boston University School of Public Health, administrative and academic home for the Center;  the Community Committee for Health Promotion, representing the residents of the Boston Housing Authority’s family housing developments; the Boston Housing Authority, which houses about 10 percent of the city’s residents; and the Boston Public Health Commission, the city’s health department.

The Center’s mission is to improve the health and well-being of the residents of Boston’s public housing, and reduce health disparities, by engaging residents in community-centered research efforts and prevention activities.  Thus our programs  and our research are closely intertwined.  And, as one of 37 prevention research centers nationwide, the PHH-PRC is part of CDC’s nationwide network of academic researchers, public health agencies, and community members conducting applied research in disease prevention and control. 

As Director and Principal Investigator of the Center, Professor Deborah Bowen heads up a diverse roster of public health researchers and program managers. At Boston University School of Public Health, she is on the faculty of the Department of Community Health Sciences and is Assistant Dean for Research.  Dr. Bowen is also an investigator in the regional Cancer Prevention Network, focused on community-based research on cancer prevention targets, and she is a co-investigator in the regional Native American Community Health Network, a group of investigators and community health experts working to conduct research and training in Native communities.