The Minority Mental Health Research Program (MMHRP) at Morehouse School of Medicine was established in 1999 as a structure for conducting multiple studies and mentoring novices in clinical research. The group was formed by Dr. L. DiAnne Bradford, director and professor of Clinical Psychiatry. MMHRP is now the Research Division of the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences.

The cornerstone of the Research Group came from support from the NIMH Minority Research Infrastructure Support Program (MRISP), of which Dr. Bradford is director and principal investigator. Support from the National Center for Minority Health and Health Disparities (the NCMHD, Dr. John Ruffin, director), was crucial in initiating a research program on the polymorphism of CYP2D6 liver enzymes in African Americans, and establishing a research rotation for psychiatric residents. Other support has been provided by additional NIH funding. MRISP, along with other ongoing studies, provides the environment, structure and expertise for faculty development, and resident and undergraduate exposure to cutting-edge minority clinical research. Bradford has established an integrative, multidisciplinary program of research, spanning clinical pharmacology, pharmacogenetics, mental health, health-care delivery and disparities.

The MRISP grant provides the infrastructure necessary to conduct mental health research at MSM. This includes core research staff, including faculty mentors (internal and external), biostatistical input, data management, program development, and administrative support. MRISP also supports "developmental" protocols in which junior faculty design and conduct clinical research supported by seasoned staff.

PAARTNERS (Project Among African Americans to Explore Risks for Schizophrenia) is an additional major project of MMHRP. The objective of this multi-site study is to identify the genetic markers and environmental risk factors underlying schizophrenia in African Americans.

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